[bob_az]

hello! i am thinking about upgrading from my 8703e to the 8830 on verizon. have a few questions for anyone who has it/is using it, especially overseas.

first off, how is the international service? do you simply call verizon to activate it and then throw a SIM card in and go? i used to have tmobile international service with an 8700g and it was super easy. anyone have experiences willing to share? ease of use, etc.?

also, positives/negatives between the 8703e and the 8830. i know form factor is a huge thing, but what else are the benefits of upgrading?

any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by bob_az

also, positives/negatives between the 8703e and the 8830. i know form factor is a huge thing, but what else are the benefits of upgrading?

It's mostly a difference in features. Have you compared them using the comparison tool at Blackberry.com?

[woodi68]

I've not heard great things about the international coverage for the 8830 yet. One thing to note is that the TMO phone you had would have been a natural GSM phone and thus would have seamlessly worked overseas. This "dual mode" set from Verizon is fairly new, especially for this device, and thus I'm not sure I'd want to rely on it from what I hear. The new OS on the 8830 is WONDERFUL! The new Media capabilities are a plus too. I do agree with Takeshi though, check out the comparison charts on blackberry.com. You can pull in several different models to compare all the newer features to your current/past phones.

[2 Samuel 22]

I have received very positive feedback from the 8830 users I work with who have traveled overseas in Europe and Asia.

Although the device is locked to a VZW/Vodafone SIM, so far we have not seen an issue where we did not have coverage, the exception being Japan, with no CDMA or GSM coverage.

[woodi68]

Great to hear 2 Samuel 22!

I've heard Japan is odd for most BlackBerries. I've heard they have a CDMA system, but US carrier CDMA phones won't work on their system.

[2 Samuel 22]

Originally Posted by woodi68

Great to hear 2 Samuel 22!

I've heard Japan is odd for most BlackBerries. I've heard they have a CDMA system, but US carrier CDMA phones won't work on their system.

Sorry, I re-phrased for clarity. No CDMA or GSM coverage in Japan....with the 8830.

[mcmben]

So I am a long time Verizon customer blah blah..... But Verizon uses CDMA so I have two phones. With the 8830 I could just have one. But there are some issues.

I was looking at the AT&T/Cingular website. They say their 8830 has 'Integrated GPS navigation.' Does this mean that there is a physical GPS receiver in the BlackBerry? Does the Verizon model have the GPS physical in th BlackBerry and Verizon disabled it?

Does anyone know why Verizon does not have a roaming agreement for Argentina? Vodafone has a company there; Comcel GSM.

These are the two outstanding issues that I have with the Verizon 8830 but Verizon keeps on telling all sorts of answers. Maybe you could provide better insight.

[infinity]

So typical of Verizon with their usual Bull$h1t about the GPS receiver. They did it before and they'll keep doing it. At least Cingular and Sprint left it alone. Cingular just didn't load blackberry maps on the 8800, but you could still load the app and use the GPS. The provisioning for the Gps in this phone has been removed at the factory for Verizon....However the phone actually does have an integrated GPS receiver that works quite well. Too bad nobody has a tool to reenable it....

Originally Posted by mcmben

So I am a long time Verizon customer blah blah..... But Verizon uses CDMA so I have two phones. With the 8830 I could just have one. But there are some issues.

I was looking at the AT&T/Cingular website. They say their 8830 has 'Integrated GPS navigation.' Does this mean that there is a physical GPS receiver in the BlackBerry? Does the Verizon model have the GPS physical in th BlackBerry and Verizon disabled it?

Does anyone know why Verizon does not have a roaming agreement for Argentina? Vodafone has a company there; Comcel GSM.

These are the two outstanding issues that I have with the Verizon 8830 but Verizon keeps on telling all sorts of answers. Maybe you could provide better insight.

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by mcmben

They say their 8830 has 'Integrated GPS navigation.' Does this mean that there is a physical GPS receiver in the BlackBerry? Does the Verizon model have the GPS physical in th BlackBerry and Verizon disabled it?

At&t's 8800 does -- the 8830 is CDMA.

Yes, Verizon has disabled the GPS in the 8830 but that shouldn't be surprising at all given their track record with crippling their devices. It's why I won't consider them as a carrier regardless of how good their coverage might be.