[missyaicha]

I just bought the 8100 Pearl and am stunned to find out that in order to send picture messages or download ringtones I have to pay an EXTRA $20 a month!!! WTF? Seriously? I thought I could at least hook my phone up to my computer to get my photos but it doesn't appear so. So I paid $200 for this phone and now they want even more money on top of my monthly bill to send a picture text??? Is there any way around this? I am going to have to return it if not...thanks...

[NJBlackBerry]

Seriously? Yes.
You must have a BlackBerry Data Plan in order to fully utilize a BlackBerry.. Sorry.

[disp350]

I am sorry to hear you did not get the plan features you were expecting. But these days, you need to have them spell out everything in writing (and in the contract) before you buy, expecially if you are new to using Blackberry technology. However, if you do decide to purchase the data plan, I dont think you will be disappointed with how much you can really do with the Pearl. Its truly a great device to use.

[SanFrancisco]

Originally Posted by missyaicha

I just bought the 8100 Pearl and am stunned to find out that in order to send picture messages or download ringtones I have to pay an EXTRA $20 a month!!! WTF? Seriously? I thought I could at least hook my phone up to my computer to get my photos but it doesn't appear so. So I paid $200 for this phone and now they want even more money on top of my monthly bill to send a picture text??? Is there any way around this? I am going to have to return it if not...thanks...

Are you saying that you cannot download your pics from the phone to your computer without the $20 plan? I am not sure, but I do not think that is correct. You do not need a plan to transfer pics from the Pearl to the PC.

As to e-mailing of pics, how did you buy your Pearl? On the Net? If you bought it from a dealer, in person, he or she should have explained how the phone's "extra features" cost extra $.

Actually, nowadays most people know that there are extra costs when using additional features on a phone, that is, other than making calls. But I still think using the camera is free.

Before the days of removable storage and USB cable connections, with Companies like Sprint one would have to pay the Company $10 a month so one could upload pics to Sprint's site, then to download them to one's computer. Ten dollars a month to use the camera? It was a ripoff but back then there was no way to get the pics off the camera and on to a PC.

Be advised that the $20 a month data plan with T-Mobile includes the ability to use the BlackBerry e-mail service. So you need that to send and receive BB e-mail.

Also, T-Mo's $20 unlimited data plan is the cheapest of all the carriers. It's a bargain.

But if all of the above does not please you, best to return the phone.

[billclark]

While paying for a data plan is the best (and for a data device, the most obvious)... you could always use Blackberry Desktop 4.2's Media Manager to transfer pictures and ringtones to and from the phone.

[hrhenry]

Originally Posted by missyaicha

I just bought the 8100 Pearl and am stunned to find out that in order to send picture messages or download ringtones I have to pay an EXTRA $20 a month!!! WTF? Seriously? I thought I could at least hook my phone up to my computer to get my photos but it doesn't appear so. So I paid $200 for this phone and now they want even more money on top of my monthly bill to send a picture text??? Is there any way around this? I am going to have to return it if not...thanks...

I don't know what provider you're with, but if you look on your bill, you were most likely already paying an extra 20 bucks a month to do MMS, which is what you would need at the minimum to send picture text. At least that's the way it is with Cingular.

With a data plan, you'll be able to do far more than just send/receive MMS, and it'll be unlimited too.

Once you get a data plan, you'll find that most of the other charges on top of phone usage will not be necessary anymore, so the pricing actually works out.

R.
==

[simeezee]

at first, i just got the pearl without the data plan. i was just curious and tried it out. now i can't live without it. hahaha

[krsdj1]

Originally Posted by SanFrancisco

Are you saying that you cannot download your pics from the phone to your computer without the $20 plan? I am not sure, but I do not think that is correct. You do not need a plan to transfer pics from the Pearl to the PC.

As to e-mailing of pics, how did you buy your Pearl? On the Net? If you bought it from a dealer, in person, he or she should have explained how the phone's "extra features" cost extra $.

Actually, nowadays most people know that there are extra costs when using additional features on a phone, that is, other than making calls. But I still think using the camera is free.

Before the days of removable storage and USB cable connections, with Companies like Sprint one would have to pay the Company $10 a month so one could upload pics to Sprint's site, then to download them to one's computer. Ten dollars a month to use the camera? It was a ripoff but back then there was no way to get the pics off the camera and on to a PC.

Be advised that the $20 a month data plan with T-Mobile includes the ability to use the BlackBerry e-mail service. So you need that to send and receive BB e-mail.

Also, T-Mo's $20 unlimited data plan is the cheapest of all the carriers. It's a bargain.

But if all of the above does not please you, best to return the phone.

I agree with sanfrancisco 20$ is a great price i did my homework with t-mobile they have the best priced rate plan for unlimited data

[windwagen]

You can download using Bluetooth too, or if you install a Micro SD card, the memory behaves like a flash drive. So you can up/download with no software.

[Krazilyinlove712]

It's only $20 bucks. I think it's pretty good...i personally don't mind paying $20 bucks that's useful to me.

Also i don't think you need any plan to be able to transfer pics from ur pearl to your pc. But i dunno...maybe.

I wouldn't return the phone just b/c you dont want to pay a lil extra. It's really a gr8 phone, and very enjoyable. I say just pay the $20 bucks if the transferring to your pc doesn't work.

[missyaicha]

I didn't buy the Pearl because it's a data phone. I didn't even know what that was. I bought it because I got a huge financial aid check and I liked how the phone looked and how light it felt, and I was REALLY tired of my phone. I figured out last night how to upload my photos to my computer, so no issue there anymore. Thanks for the tips and I really hope I don't become a pretentious BlackBerry owner!

[saffron]

You can get financial aid for buying a Pearl??? Where do I apply?

[greggebhardt]

Originally Posted by missyaicha

I didn't buy the Pearl because it's a data phone. I didn't even know what that was. I bought it because I got a huge financial aid check and I liked how the phone looked and how light it felt, and I was REALLY tired of my phone. I figured out last night how to upload my photos to my computer, so no issue there anymore. Thanks for the tips and I really hope I don't become a pretentious BlackBerry owner!

Glad to see you have your priorities. Sounds like our tax dollars ara at work again!

[backbeat]

Originally Posted by greggebhardt

Glad to see you have your priorities. Sounds like our tax dollars ara at work again!

Sounds like an assumption has been made.