Hi all,

I have been asked for an opinion that I am not capable of giving (but said I would do my best to gather):

What is better: BB7250 on Bell or the new 7100 series on Rogers. Neither scenario will be using BES but will utilize the Blackberry webclient for OWA Exchage mail handling.

I have been using BB7250 on Bell w/o BES for about 5-6 months now and have no major complaints, in fact it is probably one of the most reliable setups I've had. But some things do irk me, most importantly the lack of TCP access (for IM and other products -- a big issue) and global roaming (some of these guys will be roaming in Europe 1-2 time a year -- not a big issue).

I don't want to come back with such a one sided response, i.e. I don't want to sell Rogers short just because I don't have any experience with them -- same holds true for the 7100 series devices...more I see them, more I like them.

Any input from either side would be appreciated. Thanks for the time.
Spence.

Keep in mind that you're really asking two questions here.... There is the comparison of the 7250 device with the 7100 (while they're both Blackberries, they are two very different devices), and the comparison of Bell vs Rogers (which seems to be answered well in the thread linked above).

If the primary consideration is a comparison of the carriers, then the 7250 on Bell and the 7290 on Rogers are virtually identical devices in terms of feature set (the only real difference being that one is CDMA and one is GSM).

However, if it's a comparison between the 7250 and the 7100 that you want, with the carrier being a secondary consideration, then you'll find a number of posts elsewhere that compare those two devices.

The short answer is that if you want the 7100 you'll have to go with Rogers, since they are the only ones who offer it, and you'll have to consider if having a 7100 and going with Rogers service is worth whatever trade-offs you may encounter between them and Bell.

However, if you're simply looking to compare the services on a level playing field, the comparison should be between the 7250 and 7290.

> But some things do irk me, most importantly the lack of TCP access

Bell still has no TCP/IP? That's mindboggling. They are seriously shortchanging their customers who bought a blackberry after heaving read about all the cool stuff you can do with it beyond email and voice. I think this should really be noted in a sticky as a warning to people who are in the process of selecting a carrier before they lock themselves into a multi-year plan. What's Bell waiting for anyway?

shadowbox
7290
Rogers