Backstory; (skip down to Short questions, if you want)
I'm a former Treo owner who switched to the iPhone. Love it, actually, except for one thing: it's not officially unlockable. I've been able to get the unlock codes for years now from AT&T, and able to travel internationally with other SIMs, etc. As an Apple fan, I'm a little disappointed in the email client (though I know that will change with 2.0), and the lack of AIM, or any other chat application for that matter. My Treo is fat and ugly (both inside and out).

My corporation has a BB server, and I'm not terribly familiar with the platform (do you setup personal emails that are forwarded to R.I.M.?) but I understand the push email is great. I won't be using it for work, though. Also, I have a FAN, so those prices apply (yay).

I really don't want to wait for the 9900 series, since it's still in rumorland, and will probably not be very price-competitive to the 83xx series, as tempting as it might be. I will be using it for more travel lately (some work, mostly not; I'll use my laptop for that), and would like to use its GPS features. I understand that TeleNav is a great feature, albeit a paid-for option.

Short questions
a) My understanding is that the iPhone SIM will work and the two drawbacks are 1) Visual Voicemail becomes annoying with text alerts on the Curve, and 2) if you don't have a BB plan enabled, you will not get push email?

b) AIM application uses the data stream correct? And there is an application available? Google returns older threads about an AIM client not existing, and not working on AT&T; these are outdated, correct?

Any further thoughts, experiences ("wait a few more weeks", "don't switch"), etc. appreciated. Thanks a million.

yep, 8130 is not GSM. do you mean the 8110 or 8120? You need the BB Data plan to get the email, the iPhone data plan will not get you anything but a basic internet connection.

The email application will not work without a specific BB plan; really?
Thanks.

that is correct. the email ONLY works with the BB Plan. welcome to the forums *moving to the 8300 forum and adjusting title*

Thanks.

So just some limited data; alas.

HowardForums: Your Mobile Phone Community & Resource - Switching from 8310 to iPhone & Back.

A few more questions please:

a) Subjective opinions from iPhone --> Blackberry Curve users: Worth it? Why? What did you learn was better/worse? Missed features? Regrets? Returning?

b) The BB plans are spendier, comparably speaking, yes? (may as well use it for work, then; I think they pay some subsidy of data... no idea... have to check the intranet).

c) For the Premier plan I recently upgraded my wife's phone, and now 'Upgrade Phone' is no longer an option for her. Do I run the risk of not being able to purchase new phones now for the next year/two years?

Thanks again!

Oh, a few more; sorry:

Will TeleNav work with the iPhone plan? Or does it require the BB plan(s)?

AIM application from BB also requires a BB plan, or does it run through data?

Are there any email applications that don't use the BB servers that are comparable (will need to install one, right?)

The BB is not going to be my primary phone, but would like to maximize its features as much as possible.

Thanks again!

Telenav should work with the iPhone plan as long as the TCP APN settings are programmed into the BB. I am not certain about the AIM client, but Jive Talk is an excellent multi client IM program that will work with it also. There are a couple email programs floating around for pop and imap services however they seem to me to be a bit rough around the edges. The gmail application is really nice if you use gmail and I also recommend Flurry Mail is a good basic application/service that works with multiple mail accounts (an aggrigator of sorts). I used flurry on my Blackberry before my provider had BB services, it can be found at flurry.

Hope this helps.

BTW I have an 8310, the GPS works well and its a great overall device.

Added: You might be a bit hard pressed to find the Desktop Installation files for Telenav, however I did use it when I was using a standard PDA plan and don't recall when I found them. If you cannot find them then find someone with an ATT BIS plan and have them place their sim into your device and do a quick OTA download of the applications you want installed. Once you reinsert your SIM back into it the blackberry browser will disappear again but the apps you installed should still be there. Do not open and run them while the other persons sim is in the device, you want the applications to initialize internet connections via your data plan not BIS.

Good Luck and Happy Berrying!

Fabulous, thanks!

Hopefully AT&T will restore the Premier site (it's broken to Upgrade for me), and refurbs are available; otherwise I'll just pony up the $250 (ouch) to get one. That's like 40 euro, isn't it? :D

Here's a quick rundown of what will not work without a Blackberry data plan.

1.Blackberry Messenger will not work.
2.No OTA downloading as the Blackberry Browser is part of BIS service books and will not be available to you, however Opera Mini will work fine for browsing.
3.MMS on blackberry is part of service books also so you will not have picture message capabilities unless your provider has a workaround for it.
4.No genuine push email (via the native email client).

With that being said, any applications you install on the device will have to be installed via Desktop manager (.Alx & .cod files) and Java apps (.jad/.jar files) can be placed into a folder on your BB media card and then installed from there. That is of course unless you find a friend with BIS via your provider and do as described in the above edited post. There are many Blackberry Applications that will work without BB data and many that won't so you may have to do a trial & error to find the setup that works for you.

Happy Berrying!

Got it; so there are workarounds for not having a BB plan (and you know why I wouldn't want one).

What are the top replacements for a non-BIS BB?

1) Opera mini for Web browsing
2) Gmail client for IMAP (gmail only?)
3) AIM from Blackberry: works for non-BIS/BES plans?
...?

Actually I have a friend with BIS at work (though he won't use BES here; too much politicking just to get it to work)... could you go over the steps of using his SIM without activating again?

Thanks again.

1. Opera Mini- yes
2. Gmail- yes
3. JiveTalk multiIM client can be found @ BeeJive :: JiveTalk mobile messenger - instant messaging to go not free but there is a free trial and it is positively the Best IM client out there for Blackberries. The actual AIM client for Blackberry seems to be a bit hard to find and most people opt for a multiclient option. However this is all a matter of taste and need.

Just insert your friends sim card into your device it will be provisioned for the blackberry browser so the browser should show up. Go to the sites for the software you would like to install and do OTA download. When your done, put your sim card back in and you should be ready to go. If the browser does not show up it is possible you may have to to into Options/Advanced and register on the Host Routing table. It is very unlikely that you will have to send service books for the browser, but if you do it's a simple process for your friend to do via his BIS account setup website.

Happy Berrying!

OK, I think I got it; to install apps (especially Opera), you need to somehow get Opera on the device because the BB browser won't work with a plan, which will open the door to other applications (hopefully).

OK.

Thanks!

OTA is only available via BB Browser, however many applications offer both OTA and Desktop Install options. I would suggest the D Install option when available so you have backups of the apps you want.

And lastly but not leastly, always keep your device backed up via Desktop manager.

Good Luck.

Desktop install; just like Palm. Got it! Thanks again!

Argh. What about SMS? Sounds like I should just get a BB plan?

SMS will work fine without any kind of data plan.

And.. Yes the phone will be crippled to a certain extent without a BB data plan, however it will still work fine as regular phone, pda, sms messaging and web browsing with Opera Mini. It just boils down a personal preference, what works for you may not work for someone else and vice versa.

So I guess the final question is, will AT&T change plans 2x within a certain period of time?

I don't have ATT and have no insight there, but my suggestion is for you to get the BB and try it with the iPhone data plan first, although you won't have all features, it will give you a good feel for the device and it's functions before doing the data switch. That is unless you already know for sure that you will not want to go back to the iphone. Hopefully someone that has ATT will chime in here with advice on this.

Just my 2 Cents worth.