I just tried that link from above, and it worked again. Then I selected BlackBerry from the drop menu.

I work for a large, “very large” not for profit. I would say that we are one of RIM’s largest clients as we have Blackberry’s in use all across the country. We deal directly with a Government Sales Associate from Verizon and according to him, the 8703 will definitely be available as of Monday per our conversation 30 minutes ago.

Exactly!!

Yea right, and what about their corporate letter announcement that is on RIM's and Verizon's website. Obviousely the guy didn't know anything, can't trust the employees at retail stores ever, they are only there to sell, and like said before, they are usually the last people to know anything until it arrives in the store. You could have called an employee and for all you know, it is the guy's first day on the job...

Also, i wouldn't order from a website that isn't supposed to be visible to anyone yet, not to mention that it is a "test' website. mine as well wait the 2 days and make sure everything is smooth.

Let's say you could order one on the Testman VZW website... How would you go about ordering it without any plan? Just the BB... full retail?

Let's say it's Saturday night, Midnight and the BB is on the actual VZW website ready for Online order... can you order one full retail or do you have to have a plan with it?

If I had to order a plan with it, could I do that... receive the BB and just cancel the plan within the 14 day period... keep the BB... and just pay full retail for it then?

I'm going crazy. CRAZY.

why would anyone give credit card info on a test site?

1. I dont believe its possible to purchase full retail on the site

2. I dont trust a TEST site, god only knows what your setting yourself for

Why not wait until Sunday afternoon, order it, play with it, if you dont like it then return it to the store

so is there a way on sunday to purchase for full retail? i know you can through the upgrade site, but someone said that won't be working... can I call to purchase full retail? is that just the 1800-2-JOININ number for sales? I really hope i can buy it on sunday!!! i would be shocked though if they didn't have a way to take my 450 bucks..

When I registered my number for employee discounts thru my employer, I receive an email with contact info:

If you have any additional questions, please contact us at 800-711-7773 or by email at . The Internet Support Team is available Monday through Friday 8AM - 7PM and Saturday 8AM - 5PM.

I plan on calling them to place my order on Monday.

Call. Then say, "8703e full retail please". Then proceed to bend over and let Verizon stick it in. Follow with a cold shower and some diary entries.

Enjoy.

I'm in the same boat. I'll be purchasing full retail... but if Sunday is Online sales only (no full retail purchases) when can one buy it full retail? Can I call CS or TeleSales on Sunday? Or is CS/TeleSales only for B2B on Sunday?

I look forward to it! The number you would call is the 18002JOININ?

Or customer service?

I just ordered it and im just waiting till hopefully tuesday.

I will be curious to see if the testman site actually these fulfills orders.. If so, I am jealous!!!

i could be wrong, but it is part of the verizonwireless web domain, so HOPEFULLY they will

so I just spoked to a VZW customer service rep who said it will NOT be available on the phone until later next week. It will only be available online I guess? Which puts me in an interesting situation since I need to pay full retail... He said that it should be on the upgrade site on sunday though and that I could do it there... does anyone have any idea if this could be true/verify this?

it better be there as an upgrade option on Sunday then... because it seems that's the only way for those of us who have to pay full retail can get it. ............ahhhhh

The way my account works is, if i want to buy one full retail i just go to Upgrade your phone on the verizon website, if a phone isnt available for an upgrade you can buy it at full retail online...so basically what im saying is that you can probably buy one at full retail if you already have a verizon account, if you dont have an account, you cant just buy a device without a contract through verizon's website.

Well, when i ordered the 7130 and then the Motorola Q (sucks!) when Verizon rolled them out for the first time, they were not there on my upgrade page until days/weeks later. We'll see if things are going to be different Sunday.

if you were say doing a one or two year contract extension, wouldn't you still have to do the upgrade link? or can you use just the front page buy option and just select one year and then add it to your account somehow? i have never bought a phone from vzw online if you cant tell..

You have to somehow login to your account, then there are options to upgrade a phone etc... there's nothing to upgrade if ya don't have an account =P

not true i ordered my motorola q on the online release date through my account as an upgrade for full retial. But it was avaiable to regular customers maybe 3 hours before upgrades

also there is no overnight shipping option, but there is a number u can call upgrade it. which i did for my Q, verizon ended up upgrading everyone to overnight shipping anyway... (i still paid the 14.99 or w/e anyway)

This is quoting me on a Q forum on Wed May 31, 2006 8:08 am

i'm pretty sure this will be valid for the 8703e.

Not sure if this information is posted anywhere as this is my 1st post here! so dont flame me.

they wont charge you if u order from testman,

I'm hoping you're right. You can see in the testman link (cant post links here yet) that they give the option to current VZW customers to log into their account and buy the 8703 with their existing number. As long as this testpage is the actual thing come launch time, we should be good to go.

I'm positive, but like i mentioned new customers might be able to order it before my account does!

I wish we new a vaild account for testman's testing purposes.

I wouldnt worry about it

FYI: Here is the deal. After 2 hours on the phone with VZW, I have the entire story.

For regular customers:

It will be available Sunday online only (no phone support at all, no tricking the system)
You have to do the ENTIRE transaction online.
Customer service will receive the phone at the same time as the stores AT LEAST a week after the internet release.

Business Customers:

You can order the phone now at the 2 year price of 349, the 1 year price of 399 or the full price of 469. It will be shipped Monday.

I have transfered my account to a business account and OFFICIALLY have an order in for the VZW 8703e BlackBerry. I gave credit card info and all. It will ship on Monday and arrive on Tuesday. I paid 349 + S/H and the agent said there may or may not be a rebate included in the pack.

This is the OFFICIAL deal. I spoke to a VZW supervisor and VZW business rep. I know that I do not have Boy Genius' credibility, but I promise this is the deal.

Mike

is that the same for corporate employees

2 year price of 349? oh man I guess you miss the 100 off for online purchase.. shit

maybe ill call and say there are problems with the website and blah blah

I didn't purchase it online. I am going to receive a $100 credit from technical service for the trouble I have had with the 7250.

But yes, inpocket, a little complaining usually leads to at least $50 in credit

Mike

i hear you, but my theory is to call on sunday and say im trying to early upgrade, but the website is not working.. can you put the order through for me.

This way I can get it at the 2 year price with the online 100 discount

I was told that phone support will not have any authority to put through orders until it is released in stores AT MINIMUM a week earlier.

Trust me I hope that you can pull that off, VZW is the best service in America and they take care of their customers in a top notch fashion.

yea man. there is no other option since it doesnt give you an early upgrade option online.. and none of my family qualifies for the merits program

we shall see, too all those who were able to sneak in and grab one - good for you!




























..lucky bastards I hope you choke on the C key..

It is amazing to me how the Verizon departments are so separate. The customer support said that they have NO access to the online ordering until they see it in their own system, which could be as late as the stores! I had the early upgrade before I switched to a business account and I was told that I would have to wait for a while top get it. If I were you, I would call 1 800 922 0204 and press 0 0, talk to a person. Tell them you are unhappy with whatever you have and you NEED the 8703e. Tell them you want an early upgrade and they will grant you permission (here is the tricky part). Tell them you will pay retail and you want them to credit you the difference to the 2 year activation price. They told me (prior to swapping to business) that this was not possible at first, but then gave in.

Mike

Hey Mike,

Let me run something by you... you said "no tricking the system"... Here are my thoughts...

Usually... when you buy a new phone with a new contract... but cancel the contract within the 15 day trial period and return the phone... there are no costs except for the usage during those days that you had the service.

And during that return, if you decide you want to keep the phone (hardware) then VZW simply charges you the full retail value of the phone and you can keep it.

Now... my dilemma is this: I can only upgrade to the BB by paying full retail... but the only way I can get the BB in my hands by Tuesday is to order it online on Sunday with a plan...Can I simply cancel the plan at a store after receiving the phone on Tuesday... and tell them I'm keeping the phone? ...which will prompt them to say that they will have to charge me the full retail price of the phone... which I will gladly say "great!"?

This isn't technically tricking the system... since I "could" be a new customer purchasing a new BB with a new plan... and after having received the BB decided that I no longer wanted the plan... cancelled the plan.... and decided to keep the BB by paying full retail...

What do you say? This seems to be the only way to get the BB without waiting until October :( Unless CS is able to take orders over the phone on Sunday... which it sounds like they won't.

Hanwei

ill just say "windows mobile. credit now."

they are closed now, but whats the benefit of a "business account"..? I own a small business..but I currently have no emplyees.. just me and a partner.. and I got my business phones through sprint (Sero plan...awsome stuff)

technically that sounds accurate. Receive the phone, cancel the plan, pay the difference.

*edit: except that its not "in stores" if you were to bring it and pay the difference.

what do you mean? they won't be able to charge me at the store since it's not in their store computer systems yet?

Just for my personal reference

Plans:

1) Call CS for the website and try placing an order through them, or..

2) Purchase online, cancel plan, pay difference, or..

3) Add a line for $10, get new phone (but new number...waste), or..

4) Purchase online, get phone, explain in-store about my early upgrade, cancel plan, keep discount, or..

5) Wait until October...

Im not sure, but logistically speaking that seems plausible

Exactly... I'm going to try #1 on Sunday, then #2.