Hi, I'm new to the group and am looking for some help with a Blackberry 7280. I picked this one up and it's branded for Cingular, which is my current cell phone provider. I've used the 7100 and 7520 at work on different networks and liked them so I got a second hand one for myself

I'd like to get some feedback on provisioning service from Cingular before I talk to a sales droid

Can I order just voice and instant message service through Cingular for the BB 7280? I figure that will cost around $60 a month and I can't afford the extra $50 a month for data service at the moment but would like to use text messaging as well as the calendar and contacts features in the BB.

My BB 7280 came with a SIM card, is there any chance I can get Cingular to reactivate it or will I have to buy a new one? The previous owner says it's been out of service for about two months and when I fire up the 7280 I get a "SIM card error" message, no surprise

From what I've read the SIM card in my Cingular Nokia handset won't work in the BB, although it would be great if I could just swap my Nokia SIM in and get voice service, does anyone know if that would work (I'd rather not blow up my working phone to try it...)

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help the group can provide,
Dave Hennen

Well, I'll try to answer some of your questions.

First, you have to have a data plan with a Berry, but Cingular just started a fairly reasonable one for under $30. Look around the forums - there's a lot of postings on it. See Cingular rolls out BIS 2.0 & Unl Price drop! for a start.

Second, Cingular will not support IM (yet?). You will get the Blackberry Messenger, but that will only work with other Blackberry users. RIM does have a Yahoo client, but it won't work with Cingular. You can find some free IM Clients (Google Talk being the most notable), but you have to pay for the better ones. Some have annual fees, but IM+ is a one time $50. It's pretty good. I also looked at Causerie Messenger and Verichat, and they have more and better features than IM+, but they're both annual subscriptions. See BlackBerry Instant Messaging FAQ for a full run down on IM on the Berry.

As for the SIM, as far as I know, if you have a SIM card with Cingular working now, you should be able to just put it into your Berry. You should - and may even have to call Cingular and let them know about the transfer, but a SIM card is a SIM card. The one that came with the Berry you purchased has been deactivated, and once a SIM is deactivated, it can't be reactivated as far as I know.

Hope that helps.


J

Actually the Cingular BB plan including unlimited email, web, and BB messaging only costs 29.99 per month. I myself have a second hand 7280 and this data plan! Go for it.

The BIS client is much better than the BES client, or service for me. I was using the BES before and it was problem after problem. I switch to the BIS and I can still get my work email along with others plus if cost me a lot less.

You said you allready have Cingular so all you have to do is pop in your SIM card and you can talk and stuff, just no web or email. If you have a SMS plan then its will also work instantlly with your SIM card in the 7280. For an extra 29.99 a month you get unlimited web and email, IT IS SO WORTH IT!