Cheapest phone with messenger?

[Arcana1]

Right, so all my son's friends have Blackberry and all use BBM all day long and he feel left out, so I'm checking out the options.

I don't want him to have a £130 Curve as he's already 2 phones stolen in the school :x . Besides, I think it's rediculous he should have a phone that's more expensive than mine as he's only 13.

Anyway.... what I'm thinking is an older second hand phone from ebay that cost max. £60. Is that possible? Obviously it probably shouldn't be more than maybe 2 years old.
I mean, he really only want it for BBM.

Sorry, I just don't know anything about Blackberry phones hence why I'm asking here.

[tsac]

Some carriers offer phones at a very low cost but if he already had two phones stolen, you’re going in the right direction by getting a used BB. I had issues with one of my kids loosing the cell phone( claimed it was stolen) and told him one is bad luck, two is very bad luck. He never got to three. He never let it out of his sight. As for EBay, you have to be very cautious. There are a lot of problem BB’s on Ebay. Do a search on this forum for Ebay and read some of the horror shows.
You will also have to have a full blackberry data plan to get BBM.
In any event good luck.

[rambo47]

You can get an unlocked 8700 on eBay for around $20 US. Great keyboard, solid device. It's the tank of BlackBerrys.

Like tsac said though, you have to be careful buying a used BlackBerry. If the previous owner didn't remove it from his account you won't be able to activate it on your account. And you need to have the BlackBerry data plan to use BBM.

[Dubdub]

Please read this before buying ANY used device - from eBay or elsewhere: Buying a BlackBerry off eBay - BlackBerryFAQ (http://www.blackberryfaq.com/index.php/Buying_a_BlackBerry_off_eBay)

And remember that buying a used BB isn't as simple as buying any other used cell device.

[Arcana1]

Thanks for the replies.

8700 is an option - but being 4 years old I'm wondering what the next step up would be?
After a quick look on eBay it seems a lot more expensive in UK - around £30-35, which of course still is a pretty good price for a mobile phone.

How much are the data plans in UK? I can't find much information other than Vodafone's cheapest plan seems to be around £15 which really is a bit much as it will only be used for BBM.
All the data plans seems to be something you get when you buy a contract - with a Blackberry phone that is.

For example, 3 have a £5 unlimited texts plan, but I'm not sure that would work with Blackberry?
threestore.three.co.uk/dealsummary.aspx?offercode=1SO0D006

[rambo47]

You need a data plan that specifically states that it's a BlackBerry data plan. Just a texting plan won't give you BBM. It will let you send text messages to your heart's content, but it won't give you any data functions. The cheapest I've seen is a £5/month bolt-on for BlackBerrys. That bolt-on will give you BBM.

I suggested the 8700 because it is durable and relatively cheap. You could also look at the original Curve 83xx devices. Newer than the venerable 8700 but still "legacy" and therefore also cheap.

[Arcana1]

thanks rambo.

Yeah, 8320 might be another option. I'll check out a few reviews on both.

I just found this while browsing.
blackberry.vodafone.co.uk/blackberry-on-pay-as-you-go/ - sorry, I'm not allowed to post proper links yet.

"Get the BlackBerry Internet Service FREE until 30th June 2011 " and then £5 after that.

And it seems like Vodafone will even provide a free SIM
/shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/order/freeSimDetails.jsp?dependantSkuIds=sku690047&skuId=sku180025

Seems almost too good to be true. Can I really get a free SIM + a £30 8700 and 6 month free BIS - and £5 a month after that. Is that really all I need?

[tsac]

The 8700 is a rock. for a Kid it might be your best option

[MidnightDraven]

And yes, UK networks offer BIS at around £5 per month, ontop of any other plan charges.
It's just a matter of finding the plan pricing.

[Arcana1]

And yes, UK networks offer BIS at around £5 per month, ontop of any other plan charges.
It's just a matter of finding the plan pricing.
Don't know if you checked my links but in regards to PAYG there's isn't any "other plan charges", is there?

[MidnightDraven]

I was generalising for all networks and all types of plan.
Are you locked to using vodafone, or was that the only network you could find BB data on when googling?
Orange and O2 also offer PAYG BB data.

[Arcana1]

Not bothered about the network as such, but with Vodafone providing 6 months free and £5 a month after that I thought that was the best deal I could find, unless there's some catch I'm not aware of as I'm not familiar how data plans work?

What confuses me is the "bolt on" bit which usually refers to something you add to your existing contract, but with PAYG there is no contract so I'm not sure why the term "bolt on" is used?

[MidnightDraven]

Bolt-on is used by O2, and is an additional cost on a contract, but O2 have released a Blackberry Web and Text tariff. This is a PAYG tariff with Blackberry data.
I believe Orange is the same price on PAYG; but yes, the 6 months free on vodafone would be the best deal.

[Arcana1]

Ok, sounds like Vodafone is the way to go.

What's the deal with PIN and IMEI? I have contacted 3 sellers on eBay about 20 hours ago and 2 haven't responded and the last guy didn't know what it was. And these guy have like ratings of hundreds with 99% positive feedback. Is PIN and IMEI a US thing? Just seems odd that people either ignore the question or don't even know what it is.

I'll contact another 3-4 and see if there's some more positive responses :(

[MidnightDraven]

No its not a US thing.
But my guess would be alot of people don't understand how the phone's PIN and a BIS account relate to each other.
Asking if the BIS account was deleted, [what's that?] the account used to setup push email; would be a simple way of asking.

[Arcana1]

No its not a US thing.
But my guess would be alot of people don't understand how the phone's PIN and a BIS account relate to each other.
Asking if the BIS account was deleted, [what's that?] the account used to setup push email; would be a simple way of asking.
Ok, I've tried using those words now but I'm really running my head against the wall. Must have contacted around 8 eBay sellers by now :-(

What exactly is the Pin? Is that a Pin number you'd have to type in to enter the phone after bootup? I presume most phones don't come locked as it would be useless for the buyer.
I understand IMEI is like a unique product number that each phone has.

[MidnightDraven]

Nope. Its the unique identifier of the phone. Only Blackberries have a PIN. It is used for PIN to PIN messaging i.e. blackberry messenger.
That's how one BB knows how to send a message to another BB. Using the unique PIN of the phone.

This PIN gets registered with a BIS account when setup for email and BBM, and if not released [either by a new BB PIN being used on that account, or the account being deleted] then you cannot use it for data services.