[bhc7447]

Hey Guys-

First and foremost I want to say that this forum has been an amazing resource. I've learned a lot about the Blackberries and the knowledge of the users here is astounding, good work on building such a large knowledge base.

That being said, I have a question that may be frequently asked but I can't seem to get a straight answer from retailers and I can't seem to find a solid answer on such a pointed question.

At work I have a PDA that's paid for by my company. I use it for email and web access. I'm a younger guy and members of my family and a lot of my friends use text messaging services and I was hoping to get a Blackberry for personal use that's more geared to that end. I don't really need it for it's web content because of my work PDA but I'm unable to use the PDA for private use as the company seems to scrutinize.

My question therefore would be is there a service or carrier that seems driven to this end? I like the Blackberries a lot and I could utilize a lot of its features other than the internet. It's also my understanding the Blackberries dont handle SMS, but I know you can send messages via email if you know the carrier of the recipient, is there a way to pick up just messaging or just a data plan? Is there a carrier that doesn't mandate a "data plan?" Nextel for example mandates a voice and special data plan, whereas the addon unlimited text feature for 15$ suits my need perfectly. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks in advance.

[bhc7447]

I was looking more around the forums and I wanted to narrow my question a little more... Is there a carrier that has an inexpensive addon or plan that would include messages? I'd say with a company like T-Mobile it might be possible to get a low-end plan and use the unlimited text messaging add on but if Blackberries don't support text messages, isn't that useless? I really just need the features of the Blackberry but with the primary goal of text messaging, it's big among co-workers, family, and friends and I'd hate to pay upwards of 70 dollars a month just for text messaging on a device that's more convenient with the QWERTY keyboard and obviously more sophisticated than the average cell phone. Thanks again guys.

[Mr Pink57]

my suggestion to you might be then to go with a sidekick 2 instead. possilby even on prepaid, it sounds like your pda you have now takes care of what you need.

pink

[bhc7447]

Do the Sidekicks require a voice plan, does anyone know? I would assume so but it would be ideal if not. Any other suggestions? Thanks for the quick post also.

[arche3]

tmo, verizon, cingular all do txt messaging just like a normal phone.
(Send and reply to cell numbers) There is option to use email address equivilent of phone number also. they r cell phones also after all.

You can prob get a tmo 7230 and not activate bb plan. Just get unlimited txt with a voice plan and your good to go.

[bhc7447]

The thing about t-mobile is their cell coverage sucks. I checked the site map and overall it just has very sketchy coverage. Is there another carrier, like Verizon or Cingular that carries the Blackberry and would let you get a voiceplan with a text addon without getting the "data plan" also? Any help on this matter would be appreciated. Again, thanks for all the quick responses and pointing me in the right direction.

[jacobsaa]

I have tmobile, and it has worked fine. I have not had any coverage problems. The cost is very reasonable, moreso than other carriers. You can get unlimited SMS with a voice plan or you can add a blackberry plan on there, which is still a minimal cost - compared to the other carriers. However, you may also want to take a look at verizon and cingular. Nextel's SMS is not very good, many have said as it is most likely not the SMS you are accustomed to.

[tpblackberry]

I know exactly what you are thinking as far as T mobile goes and the service. I thought the same thing up until my friend got a Sidekick 2 with tmobile, and the service couldn't be any better where I am at, although it doesn seem pretty sketchy with the map.

My suggestion:

Go for tmobile, get a nice 7230, or a 7290, ride with that for a while, and if you don't like it, just turn it back in before the 15 days is up, and make sure you have that trial period.

Also, does your friends/family use AIM, or MSN, or ICQ? Because you can load apps on to the Blackberry that message via instant messaging also.

[jbairdjr]

You could also try a Blackberry from Cingular. Their coverage is better than TMobile's , and they give you 30 days to try and return

[coreyg510]

Go With Cingular

[coreyg510]

Go With Cingular. I have the 7290. I have added Data, however, if i didn't, i would still have sms. I pay 10.00 for 1000 text messages. coverage is great in NC.

[bigdaadio]

Originally Posted by bhc7447

I was looking more around the forums and I wanted to narrow my question a little more... Is there a carrier that has an inexpensive addon or plan that would include messages? I'd say with a company like T-Mobile it might be possible to get a low-end plan and use the unlimited text messaging add on but if Blackberries don't support text messages, isn't that useless? I really just need the features of the Blackberry but with the primary goal of text messaging, it's big among co-workers, family, and friends and I'd hate to pay upwards of 70 dollars a month just for text messaging on a device that's more convenient with the QWERTY keyboard and obviously more sophisticated than the average cell phone. Thanks again guys.

t-mobile - is cheap! check the service in your area ( try it for 14 days rick free) w/o a voice plan $29.99 a mo unlimited BB/Unl web/ 300 text messages, and tmo does suport sms, so take my advice. Get the 7290 ( as it is quadband for tma's roaming partners) and let er rip for 14 days.