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MrMitchell · 06-15-2006, 03:07 PM

Im thinking about getting my wife a Blackberry. My company pays for mine.

Is there a good site for comparing rates and services among all the service providers? I just havent found one.

Doesnt seem worth owning and activating your own device already since there are some nice models that are free after rebate. What I mean is there doesnt seem to be any price breaks if you already own a Blackberry Device.

You would think older blackberries could get cheap service. Like if all you wanted was text messages someone should offer that at a reduced rate because then the blackberry device is nothing more than an overglorified 2 way pager. Sorry to rant like that but most features of a blackberry are not used. Most use them as e-mail extensions which is just passing encrypted text back and forth. Maybe someone should bring back that pager company with the space monkeys wearing tin foil hats.

MrMitchell · 06-15-2006, 03:25 PM

I would add I manage my own Bes Server so it wouldnt be an ISP only account. Prefer unlimited.

lgreenberg · 06-15-2006, 03:31 PM

I beleive T-Mobile has the "cheapest" rate plans.

However, I wouldn't base the decision on which service provider to select based on cost.

MrMitchell · 06-15-2006, 03:32 PM

Sadly I felt that way too but T-Mobile isnt here in Charlotte North Carolina.

lgreenberg · 06-15-2006, 03:35 PM

Than I'm going to say Cingular's new $29.99 unlimited BIS plan would be the next logical thing to look at.

MrMitchell · 06-15-2006, 03:41 PM

I saw one priced like that but it wasnt for those of us with our own servers. I will check them again. If you come across a link for that please send it. Would be nice if she could see my hectic schedule but maybe I can work around that.

All the compare plans I found on the web were for cell phone rates and none of them were comparing blackberry plans and when I did find one it was heavily outdated. Maybe there is a buisness model for someone to offer.

Thanks.

VR6 · 06-15-2006, 04:42 PM

damn it!!! only $29.99 for unlimited data for BB?!?! only in America...

it's like $90 for unlimited with Rogers...what a rip off...good thing my company pays for my BB!!

EricaJ1074 · 06-15-2006, 04:51 PM

I know you said that T-Mobile wasn't in your area but here are their plans for BlackBerry Internet Service and Enterprise Service:

BIS Plan Name

BlackBerry Unlimited (Data Only)
No Whenever Minutes No Nights No Weekends $29.99 USD

BlackBerry Minutes and Mail
1000 Whenever Minutes No Nights No Weekends $59.99

BlackBerry Minutes & Mail Ultra
1500 Whenever Minutes No Nights No Weekends $79.99

BES Plan name

BlackBerry Unlimited w/Enterprise E-mail (Data Only)
No Whenever Minutes No Nights No Weekends $39.99

BlackBerry Minutes & Mail Enterprise
1000 Whenver Minutes No Nights No Weekends $69.99

BlackBerry Minutes & Mail Enterprise Ultra
1500 Whenever Minutes No Nights No Weekends $89.99

lgreenberg · 06-15-2006, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricaJ1074

BlackBerry Unlimited (Data Only)
No Whenever Minutes No Nights No Weekends $29.99 USD

BlackBerry Minutes and Mail
1000 Whenever Minutes No Nights No Weekends $59.99

BlackBerry Minutes & Mail Ultra
1500 Whenever Minutes No Nights No Weekends$79.99

What provider is that from?

EricaJ1074 · 06-15-2006, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgreenberg

What provider is that from?

T-Mobile. I just listed it as an option even though it's not available in the carrier's area.

Aroc · 06-15-2006, 10:58 PM

Well if you don't get T-Mobile, then how many carriers with BBs can you get? Sprint/Nextel, Cingular, Verizon, or maybe Altell? Granted a website would be nice. But surely you could just look up the data youself and make a table in word or use Excel to compare your findings.

The execitive summary I believe is Nextel or Verizon will be the most expensive per month (especially with voice minutes included) and T-Mobile as the cheapest. Sprint and Cingular are in the middle.

One think to consider is as of now only Cingular and T-Mobile have the 8700 in the United States. and since the wireless data rates will be the same regardless if what device you use (no discounts for old devices) you might as well use the latest and greatest.

Also if "you're only using the device to send text emails" then consider dropping down to the 4MB service after a couple months of usage. that should save $10. Also cingular and T-Mobile offer BIS-only service for people without a BES server.

Otherwise get a flip phone with $5/mo Sprint vision and tell us how well the email works for her. The BB service might not seem to expensive after all! After playing with "gadgets" I'm happy to just pay my BB fees (I cover my personal one and work covers the other BB) and get on with my life. I'm inelastic in that regard. So I cough up the dough **kableoch**.

Even with an old and slow device with 16MB of memory, your wife is still getting that fantastic push email service we all enjoy. It's reliable and consistent. However I do agree with you that it would be nice if older BBs paid less in monthly fees. But the way I see it is this. RIM is a hardware company. That is where their revenue is. Since many of us are paying about $45/mo for data ($69/mo for international data), you might as well buy the latest and greatest (especially if you consider the amortized cost of a $200-300 handheld over 12 or 24 months vs what you're paying in service fees, you'll see the handheld costs much less than you pay in service. So you have that in your favor.

also the great thing about owning your own BB is no contracts and ETFs.

hbomb341 · 06-16-2006, 01:57 AM

Nice Post Aroc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aroc · 06-16-2006, 06:53 AM

Thanks hbomb341 .

A BES-capable blackberry is way more than a glorified two-way pager. (rolls eyes). Also the BIS 2.0 service is nothing to sneeze at either. We've come a long ways from things like two-way SkyTel pagers. If you're not using the extra features, then you should be. If you use the device correctly it helps you make even more $$$.

If your wife really only needs email (and not full BIS-push email) then get a used, older BB, and see if you can get one of the $5-20/mo "cell phone" internet plans on it. You might get lucky and be able to get something like Sprint Vision, t-Mobile "T-Zones," or Cingular MEdia Net (sic) and still be able to send/receive email using WAP on a BB. In that case you'd have text email, basic WAP web browsing, and voice capabilities - essentially your "glorified two-way pager."

This won't work on Nextel. They will detect the BB and add you automatically to the BB data plan on you next bill.

Unfortunately push-email as a certain market value to it (which the carriers and RIM charge for, and with with exception of BES/BIS and 4MB/unlimited the services are not a la cart. Most of what your paying for is the email anyway. I see the other features as freebees.

I understand your point of view. I don't mean to come across as a RIM or a carrier sympathizer or apologist. I just don't see the market agreeing with you (or me) yet.

For now my wife uses her SonyEricsson z520a flip phone like a poorman's (or is that poorwoman's?) BlackBerry. We can sync the phone using USB/IrDA/Bluetooth to Outlook 2003 (addresses/contacts, calendar) running on her notebook computer. She uses SMS/MMS text messaging as her "push email." from her friends and family. So she sort of has BB-like functionality. It works well enough for her.

takeshi · 06-16-2006, 07:47 AM

There really are so few carrier choices that you should be able to easily jot down the differences among the carriers that offer Blackberry service. I'd definitely recommend checking coverage though as unusable is unusable no matter how cheap it is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrMitchell

You would think older blackberries could get cheap service. Like if all you wanted was text messages someone should offer that at a reduced rate because then the blackberry device is nothing more than an overglorified 2 way pager. Sorry to rant like that but most features of a blackberry are not used. Most use them as e-mail extensions which is just passing encrypted text back and forth. Maybe someone should bring back that pager company with the space monkeys wearing tin foil hats.

Not really -- the carriers treat them like any other wireless device. No breaks if you bring your own equipment.

I also have to agree with Aroc that the Blackberry is a lot more than just a 2-way pager. A given user might use it like a 2 way pager but its certainly capable of more and most people here certainly use more of its features. For one, I have yet to see Google Local or Berry411 on a 2-way pager...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aroc

If your wife really only needs email (and not full BIS-push email) then get a used, older BB, and see if you can get one of the $5-20/mo "cell phone" internet plans on it. You might get lucky and be able to get something like Sprint Vision, t-Mobile "T-Zones," or Cingular MEdia Net (sic) and still be able to send/receive email using WAP on a BB. In that case you'd have text email, basic WAP web browsing, and voice capabilities - essentially your "glorified two-way pager."

I know this won't work on TMO -- they closed that hole long ago. I don't think it works with Cingular either. You pretty much need a Blackberry data plan unless you just want a fancy phone.

Aroc · 06-16-2006, 10:33 AM

Most of our colleages in the UK just use SMS messaging. This was a pain when we were on Nextel **, but isn't a problem now since we're on Cingular. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but our UK contacts seem to rely on SMS as if it were mobile-push email. (in some ways it is, even though it isn't)

** note: (couldn't tell who sent the message unless the sender said so in the message body, not to mention the SMS messaging delays with Nextel's SMS gateway - which was well documented in the past)

bobgastle · 06-16-2006, 10:36 AM

Help! I had a 7290 bb on rogers, and was able to use it as a modem, now I have the 8700, installed the software, and neither the 7290 or the 8700 will now act as a modem for my laptop - does anyone know where to locate the necessary drivers (they do not appear to be on the disk). bobg

Aroc · 06-16-2006, 01:30 PM

Bobgastle:

I see you are new here or have not posted much. Your inqury is not related to the current discussion. Please post a new thread and you may get better responses.

Aaron

slimothy · 06-16-2006, 09:26 PM

Suncom offers a $20 addon plan (with voice plan) if you don't roam (data roaming charges apply), and a $25 standalone plan. Both are with unlimited data. With roaming, it is $45 and $50, respectively.

You can go to their website for more details.

aviationwiz · 06-17-2006, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aroc

also the great thing about owning your own BB is no contracts and ETFs.

Well, that's *IF* you buy it at the full retail pricing on an existing line, but if you're starting up a new line, you'll have to sign a contract with just about every carrier there is, not to mention that without the carrier subsidies, a Blackberry can cost $400-$500 as opposed to $100-$250.

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