Hi there,
I am based in the UK and my mobile service is with T-mobile. I have recently had my Nokia 7610 'reallocated to another ' i.e stolen and am reviewing my options for a replacement. Advice from this forum would be welcome.
I have always had 'serious' phones in the past (Nokia 6210, 6310i) and had the 7610 to see what new tech could offer me. However I quickly realised that whilst I loved browsing the web and having mobile e-mail (for a website I run-no major business) the multimedia left me cold, I used the camera a lot but mostly "because it was there" and could have done as well with a cheap 2MP pocket digital for those one off pics. I also keep in touch with my daughter who is at University.
The new BB models seem to do a lot of the things I like , they have big colour screens and good batterry life and organisers (I also use a Sony Clie for this) but obviously they are somewhat different to a run of the mill 'phone so advice is needed as follows;
1- I am a Mac user, I know there is a mac sync app but does it allow for software updates and transfer of images to the BB ?
2- I have a plan with free WAP on dial up not GPRS (CDS ?) can I configure the BB to use this method for browsing (yes I know it's slow)
3- How good are the new blackberries as 'phones ?- just plain and simple. Am I better off with another S60 phone ?
4- If I wanted to receive and forward MMS/SMS can I do it ?
5- For my purposes the 7100 seems a better bet than the 7290 which T-mobile offer, any comments on this ?
Finally- I am used to a 6310 battery life - You lost the charger with that thing it was so little used - how would a BB compare ?

Thanks to anyone who replies- Hope the post has not cured too many insomniacs

Hey mac - welcome to BBForums; I'll take a shot and hope others chime in...

No - PocketMac is syncing only... Software updates are PC based. Images can always be sent via e-mail or downloaded from a web site.

I think the BB can only use GPRS for web browsing, and you will need a BlackBerry Data Plan for any data work whatsoever.

The 7100 is a good phone - my wife replaced her old Treo 600 with one. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles (the aforementioned multimedia crap), but it is a good phone.

BlackBerrys at this time do not support MMS. I have never tried to forward and SMS...

Very difficult to answer. If you are text/e-mail based, then the 7290 could be better. If you are voice based, then the 7100 is better. If you have never used a BlackBerry, then the 7100 should work.

Sorry to be dim, can't I just use the GPRS service from my provider ? Does this mean that I will have to pay for an additional service ?

That is correct. You *must* have a "BlackBerry Data Plan" from your provider. Your existing GPRS plan will not connect you to the BlackBerry network. You may be able to cancel your old data plan.