Been a BB user for many years and ready to buy a new 8703...been with Sprint but very unhappy with customer service and dropped calls. Have narrowed down my search for a new carrier to Verizon or T-Mobile. Any recommendations? Would like to be able to set up a shared minutes plan for my BB with 2 lines for my teenage sons, all on one bill. From reading the forum posts, it seems as if the performance of the device is the same regardless of the carrier....but the coverage and reliablity of the carrier might vary. I live in Santa Monica, CA (Los Angeles). Thanks!

The first thing you need to look at is who has the coverage that will meet your needs. Both Verizon and T-Mobile have family plans that will allow you to share minutes and have one bill for all lines. Verizon has the 8703e with EVDO, and T-Mobile has the 8700g with EDGE. I think the only place you will really notice a speed difference between the two devices is if you use them to tether to a laptop. Both Verizon and T-Mobile have the ability to let you tether, but Verizon charges $15 more a month for it, bringing your total price for the BIS BB Plan to $59.99. T-Mobile does not charge for tethering, and their monthly price for the BIS BB Plan is $19.99.

In my location, both carriers have good coverage, so that was not a factor. I had been on Verizon, but chose to leave them for what I believed to be an overpriced BB Plan, and poor customer service.

You'll really need to do some local research, and talk to some people in the area where you live to get their opinions on what is better as far as coverage.

Also, Welcome to the forums!

Wirelessly posted (BLACKBERRY 8703e (ALLTEL): BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/106)

Verizon cripples there phones.

Take a look at Alltel if they cover your area.

EVDO shouldn't even be compared to EDGE.

Well I've used both EVDO and EDGE BlackBerry's and when net surfing on the BB, in my opinion, the speed difference negligible. However, as I said, tethering is different.

Unless, of course, you need to travel outside of North America, which is an issue for many professionals.

Then EVDO doesn't exist and you should get a GSM/EDGE device.

Thanks...I'm starting to lean toward T-Mobile simply b/c their calling plans are substantially less expensive than Verizon....and the BB add on is only 19.99 with a voice plan. After perusing this board for a while, it appears that many hate Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cingular and just as many love each of them as well....appears to be a pretty personal opinion formed by one's owb experiences. As far as the device itself, sounds like it functions just the same regardless of the wireless provider....of course, i'd love for someone to correct me or explain to me otherwise if i'm wrong.

Functionality is pretty much the same except with Sprint and Nextel you have built-in GPS (you do with Verizon too but you can't use it).

You'll find that everyone complains about a given carrier at some point but studying the percentages would be useful. I'd hazard to guess that Cingular gets more complaints for poor CSR education, random reprovisioning, and so on. Obviously, I can only really cite my anectdotal experience but TMO's customer service is orders of magnitude better. Sadly, their coverage isn't sufficient for my needs so it really doesn't matter how good their CS is... Coverage should always be a top concern unless you're looking to buy a fancy and expensive Blackberry-branded paperweight. ;)

I agree 100% that coverage is key...what good is the device if you can't use it?? But the only way i know to check out the quality of coverage here in Santa Monica/Los Angeles is to choose a carrier and try it out...but wish there was an easier way...don't like the idea of setting up device, using, then possible repacking to start the process all over again with someone else. Is there anyone out there in BB Forum Land who lives out my way that could share their experiences?? Thanks!