I'm a fairly mobile guy, on the move a lot, and a BlackBerry would be exactly what I need.

I want to get one but I am not sure about how exactly they work. I spend most of my time in Europe although I am from Canada. I want to get a BlackBerry device to my Vodafone subscription in Romania but the only one they have available is the 7290 for 450$ US...which I think is a total rip-off.

I am in Canada right now and I would like to purchase a BlackBerry from here to use overthere. I saw that I can buy a bunch UNLOCKED but they all have that little letter at the end - t for T-mobile, v for Vodafone, etc, etc.

Does that letter still matter if the phone is unlocked ? Are there any special settings that remain for T-Mobile even though the phone is unlocked ?

Q1. In other words, can I get an unlocked 7100t from the US and use it on my Vodafone plan ?

Q2. I also have other SIM cards for other countries where I travel. Does inserting a new SIM card in the phone automatically lock the phone to that carrier ?

Q3. When downloading e-mails, does it actually download the entire e-mail or just the headers ? I am asking because if it downloads the entire e-mails, I might have to put a filter in place for messages above X size not to make it to my BlackBerry e-mail.

Edit: I am talking only about data transfers(getting my e-mail) - I don't care for phone calls.

Thanks in advance!

I'm sorta a newbie, but I'll answer your questions the best i can

Q1. In other words, can I get an unlocked 7100t from the US and use it on my Vodafone plan ?

yes, you can. that's the beautiful thing about the BB. My last phone (sidekick 2 *shudders*) data services were inherently tied to the original carrier (IE an unlocked sidekick 2 would only work on T-mobile service for data)


Q2. I also have other SIM cards for other countries where I travel. Does inserting a new SIM card in the phone automatically lock the phone to that carrier ?

It won't "lock" the phone to any carrier if you purchased an unlocked Blackberry. it will, however, attach the BB to whatever service provider you are using temporarily

Q3. When downloading e-mails, does it actually download the entire e-mail or just the headers ? I am asking because if it downloads the entire e-mails, I might have to put a filter in place for messages above X size not to make it to my BlackBerry e-mail.

the entire e-mail. I'm not sure if you can set it up to only receive headers, and then if you want the entire e-mail, you can retreive it.

Does that letter still matter if the phone is unlocked ? Are there any special settings that remain for T-Mobile even though the phone is unlocked ?

No, the letter doesn't matter at all. It is a model identifier. The 7100r, v, x, t uses slightly different cases. The 7101i and 7130 are different devices and different networks.

Q1. In other words, can I get an unlocked 7100t from the US and use it on my Vodafone plan ?

Yes. But they do not come unlocked and if you buy a locked one - beware of eBay - you may have difficulties unlocking it. Outside of the original carrier, there are no free unlocking services.

Q2. I also have other SIM cards for other countries where I travel. Does inserting a new SIM card in the phone automatically lock the phone to that carrier ?

No. But be aware that unless the SIM card is enabled with a BlackBerry Data Plan - NOT JUST GPRS - you will not get your e-mail. Easier said than done.

Q3. When downloading e-mails, does it actually download the entire e-mail or just the headers ? I am asking because if it downloads the entire e-mails, I might have to put a filter in place for messages above X size not to make it to my BlackBerry e-mail.

The previous poster is incorrect. Only the first 2.5k of the message comes down. You select "More" or "More All" to get the rest of the message.

thanks for the infos!

can you then tell me what the difference is between all the 7100's then ?

I see that despite sharing the same specs on the BB site, they all look different - are there any differences underneath ?

Am I better off from a technical point of view with a 7100t/v/r/x ?

EDIT: Thx NJBB - looks like you already answered this new question of mine before I even asked it!

Also, I will not be getting the GPRS plan but rather the BB 30mb for 35$ US per month plan. I hope that will do it

The 7101i is for Nextel/iDen network only.
The 7130e is for Verizon/Sprint CDMA networks only

The 7105t is a slightly updated version of the 7100t. A little different keyboard and screen.

All of the other 7100 variants are exactly the same. No differences under the hood. Different case. That's it.

do yall know if u can put ringtones on a 7100i

No thread hijacking please.

There is a dedicated forum just for Ringtones, Themes and Wallpapers. Please search in there - there are tons of ringtone threads.

thanks for all the replies NJBB - you really know your stuff.

only have a few last ones.

I think I read a FAQ on this site where they recommended various phones for various situations - international use, domestic, etc.

Is that FAQ still valid and if yes, how come the 7100 wasn't listed as best international ? Is it because in that example they weren't comparing the unlocked version ? Am I better off with another model if I am to travel a lot and use different GSM providers or will the 7100 be just fine ?

Lastly, is the 7100 fairly new or is there a newer model coming soon and I should wait for that instead ?

Thanks again for all your help!

the 8700 is already out for cingular, and should be released on T-mobile in the very near future (mid-april right?)

the 8700 has the full QWERTY keyboard, faster processor, and EDGE support

I have a 7105t (T-Mobile) since they came out last fall. I've been very happy with the device. It replaced my original RIM 957 and a Verizon phone. Paired with a Plantronics Discovery 640 BT wireless headset.

I have the phone and Blackberry (BES) plan as my employer supports BES (although my 7105t is a personal device and not paid for by my employer). I've got it linked to BES and to several personal email accounts. All works like a charm. Love the size, but wish it had EDGE network support for the increased speed. See that the 8700 is coming to T-Mobile, but would prefer not to have the increased size. Perhaps T-Mobile will support EDGE on a future 7105 sized BB device???

Also will note that recently was in Australia for two weeks. Everything worked like a top. EMails cam through just fine (I have the additional "world" plan for data from T-Mobile.