[kuby]

I'm a brand new blackberry 8700c user. Never owned a blackberry. I'm now wondering if I should have got the treo, I am familiar with the use of the palm piliot, because I have a t3.

I have the cingular plan. I'm not sure if this is a problem with the blackberry, cingular, or user dummyness but I can't send text messages, I can't receive text messages and I can't download ringtones.

I can send email and surf the a bit. My husband send me an MMS and now the message blinker is blinking. No new messages in my voice mail, no no messages in my email. My husband has a razor.

Cingular does allow for a switch, but only one. I want to make sure that this is truly a limitation of the backberry/cingular and not user error.

thanks bunches for any input

Kuby

[NJBlackBerry]

I am pretty sure you are encountering a problem sometimes referred to as PEBKAB (OK, I am joking here - Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Brain). Just kidding

SMS should work. It works on every other GSM BlackBerry. If voice works, then SMS should work. Perhaps the wrong number was used? What happens when you send a text message?

For the blinking light, check "Saved Messages" and your calendar and also check the browser for an updated web site. Both of those can cause the blinking light.

Personally I hate the blinking light, so I turn it off in my default profile.

Good luck!

[kuby]

Hi,

Thanks for your response. I get a red X when i try to SMS.

When I try to 'configure my SMS' it askes me for my PN2 whatever that is. Where do I find this?

I looked all over and cannot find any saved messages. Only that 'tips' email that I read already.

Thoughts?

Kuby

[NJBlackBerry]

For Saved Messages, open the Messages folder, click the wheel and scroll down to saved messages.

I would call Cingular and find out why you don't have SMS. Doesn't sounds like a BB thing to me.

[SamBerry]

Re the blinking light, it took me a long time to figure out that there's a setting that causes the light to continue blinking whenever you're in range of a signal.

Options/Screen-Keyboard/LED Coverage indicator

Drove me nuts

[mas90guru]

I am not familiar with the Cingular setup but it may be that there needs to be another option entered into the system. Most of the cellular companies have pretty good BB support desks.

I have found:

-Very easy to SMS via the 8700C due to the keyboard
-You can set a # of SMS to display on your screen via Options - SMS. There is also a place in there to set a service center # though I think this is supposed to update automatically during the configuration.

Depending on what you would use the TREO for, you may or may not want to switch.

If your sole need is email and calendaring and you care little about 3rd party programs (word or excel document creation) then you can probably learn to love the 8700.

I used a Treo for about 6 months and switched everything over to the BB. I found that I just didn't need all those add-on programs that the Treo supported, and that by using so many additional programs it made the Treo unstable.

Ultimately I love the "turn it on and go" nature of the Blackberry.

The 8700 is my new favorite. Pair it up with a Motorola HS850 Bluetooth headset if you haven't already. I love that you can swing open the microphone and it automatically connects with the BB...!!

[Seattle18]

These sound like minor, beginner issues. Believe me when I say that if you stick it out for just a fews days and really give it an honest try, you will, like the rest of us, be addicted and in love. Once you go Black(Berry), you never go back... Either find a BB addict you know and get some tips, or go by the Cingular store and ask for the resident BB guru to give you the skinny. Also do many a search in here for your questions. And visit this link (http://home.comcast.net/~tamsterra/B...Model_Tips.pdf) for lots of helpful tips on the device. Don't give up so easily - it will be worth it in the end - it will actually change your life so that life before BB will seem odd...

[bobn]

8700 is the best blackbeery to data is my opinion; the treo as a pocket pc has pros and cons, but there's nothing as simple to use as th blackberry

[tfaz1]

No offense, but these all sound like user problems rather than problems with the BlackBerry. Can I ask why you decided to go with a BlackBerry when you are more familiar with the Treo? What about the BlackBerry appealed to you?

[DaddyRick]

I have a 7290 w/Cingular and I know that it is different from the 8700, but when I first got my 7290 I was getting the same RED X when I tried to send an SMS.

A friend did the following and it worked:

Go to "Options" then to "SMS" under "Network TO SEND OVER" it should say GSM. It worked on my 7290, don't know if it would help or not just my .02

[torifile]

Give the BB a try for another week or so. If you can't figure out what you'd like to do, take it back. There's no real rush during the first 30 days to decide.

That said, the BB is a different machine from the Treo. It'll take a while to learn. I've had mine for about 6 weeks now and I'm still getting used to it.

[fatbboy]

I believe Cingular requires a seperate SMS plan on top of your voice plan and data plan. Someting like $2.99 or $4.99 for 200 messages per month.

[kuby]

Hi All,

Thank you all so much for your input. I did end up calling Cingular and got to the 3rd level of Customer Support. They had me chance a few settings and now all is working fine.
TO: Samberry: thanks so much for the practical tip. That worked perfectly.
TO: Daddyrick: you were correct in that setting. It wasn't on that. That was one of the things Cingular had me change.
TO: All the folks who said it was a newbie thing, of course you were correct. I considered that possiblity. I'm still learning. I only got this on Saturday!

Thank you all again. Hopefully I'll keep reading here and learn more.
Kuby