I'm new to the whole prepaid sim card scene ...all my previous phones never had that function but I am buying a new Curve 8300 within the next week or so. My dilemna is, I normally use about 500 peak minutes on average and 1000 night/weekends. My ?'s are

1. Should I just choose the $39.99 (450 minutes peak / 5000 night/weekend) and just pop in a sim card for any additional minutes I use over the 450? It seems rather crazy to go for the 900 peak minutes plan for an addition $20 per month.

2. Should I just go for the 900 peak minutes plan, pay the extra $20 per month & forget the whole sim card plan.

3. If I should go with the sim card, would you recommend I unlock the Curve so I can use any providers sim card.

4. What confusion (if any) would the sim card cause if I had it in and logged onto the internet? (I will have the $39.99 personal max data plan w/AT&T)

5. Where would you recommend I buy the prepaid sim card from ... Ebay, myworldphone.com, other?

If you replace the AT&T SIM with a prepaid one you will have a voice only phone. No data.

Unlocking the phone is a good idea as you will then have access to all GSM prepaid carriers.

Have you looked into other carriers who may have a plan that suits you better? AT&T may not be the best choice for you.

How long have you been an at&t customer? If you are out of contract or a longtime customer you may be able to get 50 recurring bonus minutes per month from them if you let them know this issue is making you consider other carriers.

I actually have Sprint right now with a standard samsung phone (no sim). I hear good things about AT&T so I figured they were the best fit with purchasing the 8300. What I was weary about was internet capability on the 8300 if I chose another provider besides AT&T. Will other carriers be able to provide the data plan necessary to have internet access on the 8300 just like AT&T?

Oh, and I really don't want to spend $200+ on a phone (if that were the case I would just get the 8320, so sigining onto AT&T with a plan will cost me $0 for the 8300 after rebates.

Every carrier offers internet access on their blackberries. Every carrier will give a discount on the hardware to a new customer.

I personally use t-mobile for my blackberry. If their coverage works for you (check on tmobile.com) they will give 600 min and u/l nights and weekends for $40 and $20 for the BIS data plan. You will be able to get a good price on the phone when ordering online from amazon.com or wirelessbuy.com (once those stores stock the curve, they should have them in a few days)