Switching from Sprint Treo 650 to Cingular BB 8700 FAQ

[christof]

Hello folks--

I'm a new member and am pleased to say that I'm close to "switching" from my Sprint Treo 650 to Cingular BB 8700. I do have a few questions; however, and am a bit confused as to how data works on Cingular. I've searched the forums but didn't turn up any concrete answers--it seems as if Cingular has changed data pricing a bit over the past few years.

MEDIA NET vs BLACKBERRY UNLIMITED vs EXPRESS MAIL vs TEXT MESSAGING
I'm a bit confused about which plan is needed for what. Ultimately, I want to do three things: get online (with EDGE), check e-mail (company Microsoft Exchange, and personal IMAP and POP GMail) and send text messages. What exactly do I need? I'm thinking that the "best" solution is BlackBerry (International) Unlimited + a text messaging plan. Is this correct? I also read somewhere that BlackBerry Unlimited is going away and is being replaced with MEdia Net Unlimited???

MMS MULTIMEDIA MESSAGES
While the 8700 doesn't have a camera, what if I'm receiving MMS from other users? Would I need to add a messaging plan for this as well?

INTERNATIONAL DATA ROAMING
Can anyone tell me more about the BB International Unlimited plan? It's my understanding that EDGE is only deployed in North America; as such, with many carriers in Europe, I'd be roaming (for "free") on GPRS networks.

BLACKBERRY E-MAIL CAPABILITIES
In order to gain access to my company's Microsoft Exchange e-mail, do I need to subscribe to BlackBerry Internet Service? Is this an additional "plan" that I need to subscribe to with Cingular or RIM? I'm really confused about this. Ultimately, the question is: What data plan (and software) do I need to use my 3 e-mail accounts: (1) company Microsoft Exchange, (2) personal POP GMail and (3) personal IMAP e-mail?

INSTANT MESSAGING
I assume VeriChat is the "best" AOL AIM client. Are there any Jabber clients for BlackBerry out there?

VOICE PLANS
I assume that you pick any voice plan. With any voice plan, data is discounted $5.

HOW CAN I GET ONE ASAP? BEST DEALS FOR CINGULAR?
I wonder how I can switch from Sprint Treo 650 to Cingular BB 8700 quickly. I've read that the device is due out on 22 November; however, how can I guarantee that I get one on 22 November (or sooner)? As with Sprint, is there a business channel that I go through to place a pre-order? Or, can I simply go to a Cingular company retail store? I imagine that Amazon will have the device even cheaper in the next few weeks--can anyone comment on this?

Thanks, folks. I hope that this post is helpful for not only myself, but the many new individuals who will be switching to Cingular/Rogers for this new BlackBerry 8700.

Best,

Christof

[Mark Rejhon]

MEDIA NET vs BLACKBERRY UNLIMITED vs EXPRESS MAIL vs TEXT MESSAGING

At this stage, BlackBerry International Unlimited and a text messaging plan is what you want. Keep in mind that configuring IMAP and POP behaves somewhat differently -- you configure it through BlackBerry Internet Service (or BlackBerry Web Client) rather than on the device itself. However, you can get what you need.

MMS MULTIMEDIA MESSAGES

The newer OS 4.1 supports MMS on GSM/GPRS/EDGE devices. You can receive pictures and send pictures (It is my understanding you use those that are preinstalled on BlackBerry, or saved from email attachments, or saved from web pages).

INTERNATIONAL DATA ROAMING

Generally, phones that support EDGE fallback automatically to GPRS if EDGE is not available. This is expected to remain true for BlackBerries, under the same data plans at the same cost (roaming unlimited).

BLACKBERRY E-MAIL CAPABILITIES

The BlackBerry Internet Service is included with all BlackBerry plans (any plan called a "BlackBerry" plan, purchased personally, always include BWC or BIS which includes an @<hidden> email address which can be customized to also receive email from multiple POP3 and IMAP sources). The ultimate power user will prefer to purchase a BES hosting service for 100% wireless on-the-fly synchronization between Outlook and the BlackBerry (email, addressbook, calendar, notes, tasks). As long as all email accounts support POP and IMAP, you can use the standard BlackBerry plan. However, if you cannot remotely POP or IMAP your business email, you may want to get your business to set up a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), or maybe they already have one which you can easily be added to. For more info, see my BlackBerry FAQ, "Methods of Email on BlackBerry" to get ideas.

INSTANT MESSAGING

VeriChat used to be the best. However, some people complain about its poor reliability these days. Good ones such as YakOn and Ramble has come into view. Try YakOn, there are good preliminary reviews.

VOICE PLANS

Correct. Choose the voice plan you need - it behaves like a standard cellphone voice plan.

HOW CAN I GET ONE ASAP? BEST DEALS FOR CINGULAR?

You'll have to go with Cingular's release date for the 8700c - Nov 22nd. There are some preorder channels, but I am not privy to Cingular's.

[nb_mitch]

I am semi-new to this too, but have had cingular for about 18 months. I only have the BB unlimited and 450 voice plan, which runs me about $75 a month. I have had no other charges, I can't help with the international stuff. I currently have a 7290 which I plan to swap this month for the 8700.

I have been happy with the service, other than I have been unable to get IM+ to work, gave up trying since I don't really use it that much.

I would watch out for anything that might throw you into the "Cingular messaging" as in text messaging which cost 10 cents a message, you might also want to read the post in the general info about the $1100 bill for non-BB data.

Mitch

[dolo]

Hello all,

I myself am also looking to finally make the plunge back to the 8700 since my old 950 days (which i think was one of the best bb's to date! :P)

To clarify - mitch, you said $75, but with $40 + $45 + tax > $75?
Txt msgs are not included in the BB data plan, am I correct?

I have been looking at tmo's plans and the service in nyc has received mixed reviews. I understand you get what you pay for, but with an UL data plan @<hidden> $20 + UL txt msgs, that's a pretty compelling value prop.

In any case, it would be great to see Cingular drop the BB plans to a more consumer friendly level - even $30 a month would be a huge break.

Regards,
dolo

[supermanfan]

Hello all,

I myself am also looking to finally make the plunge back to the 8700 since my old 950 days (which i think was one of the best bb's to date! :P)

To clarify - mitch, you said $75, but with $40 + $45 + tax > $75?
Txt msgs are not included in the BB data plan, am I correct?

I have been looking at tmo's plans and the service in nyc has received mixed reviews. I understand you get what you pay for, but with an UL data plan @<hidden> $20 + UL txt msgs, that's a pretty compelling value prop.

In any case, it would be great to see Cingular drop the BB plans to a more consumer friendly level - even $30 a month would be a huge break.

Regards,
dolo


Bear in mind that T-Mobile's $20 Unlimited BB plan does not include access to a BES. You pay $30/month for that unlimited plan, last I heard.

[christof]

There's also some debate as to whether the $40 BlackBerry Unlimited Data plan is needed for Sprint PCS customers... I've read some reports of "normal" Vision customers able to use their BB7250 without a hitch.

Can anyone weigh in on this? If one were to stick to "normal" (some of them, grandfathered $10/$15 unlimited) Vision plans, what drawbacks are there, if any? (I can only think of compressed/lower-quality images rendered when web browsing.)

This may change whether I switch to Cingular... Especially if I can pick up a BB7250, stick to $10 unlimited/grandfathered Vision and upgrade to EV-DO with a software update in a few months.

[nb_mitch]

Dolo says: "To clarify - mitch, you said $75, but with $40 + $45 + tax > $75?
Txt msgs are not included in the BB data plan, am I correct?"

I get a 19% discount on my service because my wife is a Disney cast member. The total bill runs about $95 or so with taxes, but since I have had my BB my actual bills have run $62.99, 72.05, 83.61 & 82.31. Maybe it is going to settle out in the low 80s.

To the best of my understanding, Text Messaging is part of the phone service and is charged on a per message basis. At least that is what the 3 or 4 Cingular reps I have asked have always said. I believe from reading their website that is the case too.

Mitch

[rjharary]

What is a BES?

[ceebz]

To receive MMS, you need to call Cingular and ask that "MMS Pay-Per-Use", be added to your account.

You will then recieve the MMS service book, and be able to recieve MMS.

[dolo]

Mitch,

That discount is a beautiful thing!

Regarding the txt msgs - i thought this would be the case too. $.10 can add up pretty quickly.

Regards,
dolo