am i crazy to be considering switching from telus to rogers so i can have the 8700? i need feedback from rogers customers or people that have done the switch. or have switched from rogers to telus and why. thanks in advance

How much are you paying right now per month for your current BlackBerry?
How much Data do you usually use per month?

How is Rogers's coverage for you?

If it's poor, my opinion would be yes.

Never switch to a provider just for the phone.

i'm on $100 a month voice plan, and $60 a month data. i usually use about 12 mb of data a month i'd say. rogers coverage is pretty much the same as telus coverage, i'm in a major city. i really have no complaints with telus other than i want the 8700.

Isnt rogers the company with the data billing issues?

Rogers so called unltd data is actually capped at 25Mb/monthly. If someone uses 12Mb/mo like the original thread starter they will be fine. Quadband device= 850 coverage which is a must in Canada. Coverage is not the issue as Rogers is great for coverage I have never had any major issues and I am a 10yr+ customer. Check out: http://www.rogers.com/blackberry to see data only or combined voice and data rates. http://www.rogers.com/8700r has information on the 8700 and http://www.rogers.com can get you general info on coverage, rate plans and what not. When I upgraded to the 8700 they also gave me 3 months unlimited data with no cap so I abused the heck out of it. You'll get the 3 months also as a new customer.

hmmm i'm very tempted now. but is the 8700r a world phone? or is the 7290 the only blackberry rogers has with world phone capabilities?

ya its a quad band

Technology: GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Size: 11 x 7.0 x 2.0 cm
Weight: 131 grams
Talk Time: 240 minutes
Standby Time: 8 days

so would it be correct to assume that if i signed up for $100 a month for voice, $60 a month for data. that i could go to well a lot of different places without having to buy anything extra or pay for anything unless it was overages?

I don't currently live in canada and I don't know about either of these companies, what I can say, is go with the company that can give you the most for your money. Here's my example, I'm in the navy and I receive all my emails for personal, and work on my blackberry...but any blackberry can do that. As a side job I deliver pizza for extra cash because I'm bored, so I chose a 7520 because of the GPS now I pay 10 a month for telenav, 39.99 for BIS and 59.99 for 1000 daytime mins. Long distance nation wide DC. So I'm getting my money worth(actually I'm making money from telenav, better directions, quicker times=bigger tips) and the coverage here is great. The moral of the story is, go get the most for what you're gonna pay, not the "cool" factor, sooner or later you're gonna regret paying for a blackberry that may not live up to the hype! On a different note: I'd kill for an "8700i"

Even with moderate use, its very easy to go past 25MB per month with an 8700. And overage is $7/mb! Very steep....

I would not recommend going with Rogers for Blackberry. Wait for the 8700 series...it's coming....and it'll be worth the wait. As mentioned earlier, never make a carrier decision based on a device.

it's not just because of the device, but because of the world phone capabilities as well. i don't know if telus will ever be able to offer a world phone. anyone know?

No, it would not be correct. You will have to pay data roaming charges while travelling outside your wireless provider's coverage.

yeah, i realized i was stupid after i read your post. anyone know if telus is planning on i guess being world phone capable?

TELUS uses CDMA (and iDEN for MiKE) and neither of these two standards are very well supported outside of North America. So, in terms of being able to bring your specific BlackBerry with you, you are probably out of luck.

However, the CDMA carriers (TELUS, Bell, Verizon) used to supply their users with GSM/GPRS phones to use when they go overseas. Call TELUS or drop by your local TELUS spot to see if they can hook you up with a quad band GSM phone for your travels.

It's just a temporary solution (e.g. the phone they give you will just be a loaner), but it might be better than abandoning an existing contract and paying the cancellation fees.

TELUS does offer a world phone, the motorola a840 with international sim card
(you choose either CDMA or GSM network on the phone, and no, it's not automatic)

http://www.telusmobility.com/qc/pcs/...ola_a840.shtml

see also http://www.telusmobility.com/qc/cove...ng_about.shtml concerning global roaming coverage and charges

i'd like to stay with the blackberry though, i have no use for a phone and a blackberry. all i want is data when i travel, the phone doesn't much matter to me while away. i think i may switch to rogers when my contract is up

You can buy the international sim card for 24.99 (or near that) and use that in your blackberry

here's the link

http://www.telusmobility.com/qc/pcs/...rter_kit.shtml

Like the others above have stated, base your decision on what you are getting from the carrier in terms of service. Rogers is the only one who is going to give you data capability outside N.A. (and parts of the Caribbean and H.K.) If you travel, and need your data, your choices in Canada are limited – Rogers.

Sure the others can give you a roaming card, or hook you up with a loaner while you travel - I cannot even fathom how this could be an option for anyone anymore. I want a device, that works around the world, both phone and data. I don't want to swap or get loaners before I go.

Just shows Bell and Telus' short sightedness on this CDMA network. Gee, maybe with the whole global economy thing, companies from Canada have offices now in southeast Asia and actually travel there. Or, OMG, how about Europe!!! Get with it Bell / Telus. 98% of the world’s population is outside of N.A., maybe we should get on the same page cellular network wise as the rest of the world. I don’t think they are going to change for us…

Rogers latest ad campaign says it best - "We travel internationally, just like you do." (wonder what took their marketing dept. so long to come up with that one)

Don't think I am pushing Rogers as the all great cellular company, (I’m not, and I don’t use them) they are just as impotent as the others at times, especially with their lousy voice / data plans for B.B.'s. Guess what, we actually have people that need more than 300 minutes per month roaming... How about 2500 across N.A.? Maybe all our B.B's in Canada wouldn't be on a Cingular plan out of the U.S. All 3 of them have to be losing business because of these issues. It costs us $5 more per month to get our B.B. from Cingular in the U.S. and put it on a “Canadian” plan. And my B.B. works in China,, Europe and the Middle East. Everywhere our company does business.

But if you never leave N.A. – or don’t need data outside N.A., stick with Bell or Telus. Personally, I would take Bell. (bad taste from dealing with Telus in the past)


oops... fell off my soapbox!