[dataquest]

I have a new iphone but I want to make certain I chose the right device before my 14 days are up. I've never had a blackberry for 2 reasons, (though I have always been interested in getting one someday.) The monthly price and no camera option. Now, finally they came out with a nice blackberry with a full keyboard and a good camera (8300). But the monthly price to use it still seems to be the showstopper for me, but I need to know something. With the iphone it costs $20 a month for unlimited web browsing, unlimited email, and 200 included texts. Though it can't send MMS messages, yet, (though i hear that that will change soon enough). And it won't record video, it has a great camera! And this too, will change in the near future to allow video recording. What is the cheapest blackberry plan that equals this? Thanks in advance.
(Service is with AT&T)

[ezrunner]

39.99 for unlimited data with 1500 Messages included (includes pic,video,text) there is a 29.99 plan but that is 20Mb of data and no messaging ability included other than pay per use. you would have to add a messaging plan

[dataquest]

Originally Posted by ezrunner

39.99 for unlimited data with 1500 Messages included (includes pic,video,text) there is a 29.99 plan but that is 20Mb of data and no messaging ability included other than pay per use. you would have to add a messaging plan

Thanks for the reply. I guess my best bet is to stick with the iphone since the blackberry plans are so extremely expensive. Maybe someday soon the iphone plans will exert enough competition pressure and force AT&T to match the plan prices for the Blackberry. Until then, I see a lot of Blackberry customers moving to the iphone for a cheaper monthly price. Time will tell. Competition is a wonderful thing.

[greggov]

I'm not entirely sure where you got those rates, but Get Started - AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless says that for $34.99 you get unlimited data, not 20mb. for $10 more, you get 1500 messages. Also if you have a qualifying voice plan, you get a $5 discount making it $29.99/month

[Dawg]

Originally Posted by dataquest

Thanks for the reply. I guess my best bet is to stick with the iphone since the blackberry plans are so extremely expensive. Maybe someday soon the iphone plans will exert enough competition pressure and force AT&T to match the plan prices for the Blackberry. Until then, I see a lot of Blackberry customers moving to the iphone for a cheaper monthly price. Time will tell. Competition is a wonderful thing.

I phone and blackberrys are completely different devices and one doesnt influence the other. If you want a cool toy stick with the iphone if you want a stable secure business device go with the berry. But Compare apples to apples and berrys to berrys.

[sean76]

the cheapest bb plan is $29, unlimited email, web browsing and media, and 200 text! For an extra $10 bucks you get 1,500 text messages ($39 a month)

[seafoam]

I thought the minimum was a $59.99/month plan. How did you get it for $20?

iPhone Exclusively from AT&T and Apple - AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless

To use iPhone, you'll need to sign up for a 2-year service agreement.
Plans start at $59.99 and include Visual Voicemail and Unlimited Data—email and web—and 200 SMS text messages (you can add more text messages for a little more a month). You can browse the Internet and send emails as often as you like without being charged extra.

[Flashman]

Originally Posted by seafoam

I thought the minimum was a $59.99/month plan. How did you get it for $20?

He must have added to an existing plan. In which case he WOULD qualify for the $5 discount mentioned above on a BlackBerry plan.

The reason a BlackBerry is a 'little bit more' is that it isn't just data you are paying for, but also for the AT&T BIS server that does all the neat push email stuff. Think of it as $20 for data (same as iphone) and $10 more for BIS server account.

[jetspeedz]

also check your work to see if they offer corp discounts... you would be surprised.... good luck with your choice

[aristobrat]

Originally Posted by seafoam

I thought the minimum was a $59.99/month plan. How did you get it for $20?

iPhone Exclusively from AT&T and Apple - AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless

The $59.99 iPhone plans breaks down to:

$39.99 = voice
$20.00 = data + 200 SMS
-------
$59.99

I think that's the $20 data plan he's talking about.

[JGBerry]

Originally Posted by ezrunner

39.99 for unlimited data with 1500 Messages included (includes pic,video,text) there is a 29.99 plan but that is 20Mb of data and no messaging ability included other than pay per use. you would have to add a messaging plan

what???? you are totally mistaken.
the $29.99 ATT Blackberry plan has unlimited data, but it doesn't include any text messages

[jrdul6748]

I'm so glad I have a BB through T-Mobile, wow...

[dataquest]

Originally Posted by JGBerry

what???? you are totally mistaken.
the $29.99 ATT Blackberry plan has unlimited data, but it doesn't include any text messages

Thanks for all of the replys. Yes this seems to be true, The $34.99 Blackberry Personal Plan covers only email and internet, but no text or MMS messaging.
The cheapest Blackberry plan that I have found that compares with the $20 iphone plan is a whopping $44.99 a month! It's called the Blackberry Personal Max with 1500 messages. I assume that includes MMS and Text messages.
That's way too much for me. Yes I know that with Blackberry part of the price is for the legendary blackberry service, but for me, getting an email within 5 seconds after it is sent is not that crucial. So, until AT&T has a more favorable blackberry plan that is all inclusive at an affordable price like the iphone, I will stick with what I have.
But from the short time that I got to play with the Blackberry Curve in the store, I think that it is a great device. Nice compact shape. Seems sturdy. Good screen, good keyboard, good camera from what I could tell. Trackball seemed kinda neat after I figured out that you are supposed to slide your finger on it rather than press it side to side. Light weight too is great.
It seemed that it would be easier to throw around without breaking it, unlike the Iphone--(have you felt how heavy it is?!)
Oh well, I am glad that a lot of people seem very happy with the Blackberry.

[mk1151]

Originally Posted by dataquest

Thanks for all of the replys. Yes this seems to be true, The $34.99 Blackberry Personal Plan covers only email and internet, but no text or MMS messaging.
The cheapest Blackberry plan that I have found that compares with the $20 iphone plan is a whopping $44.99 a month! It's called the Blackberry Personal Max with 1500 messages. I assume that includes MMS and Text messages.
That's way too much for me. Yes I know that with Blackberry part of the price is for the legendary blackberry service, but for me, getting an email within 5 seconds after it is sent is not that crucial. So, until AT&T has a more favorable blackberry plan that is all inclusive at an affordable price like the iphone, I will stick with what I have.
But from the short time that I got to play with the Blackberry Curve in the store, I think that it is a great device. Nice compact shape. Seems sturdy. Good screen, good keyboard, good camera from what I could tell. Trackball seemed kinda neat after I figured out that you are supposed to slide your finger on it rather than press it side to side. Light weight too is great.
It seemed that it would be easier to throw around without breaking it, unlike the Iphone--(have you felt how heavy it is?!)
Oh well, I am glad that a lot of people seem very happy with the Blackberry.

I might be wrong here, but it sounds like you don't want or need a Blackberry at all. If all you want is internet access on a cool looking device, then the iPhone is the right device for you.

I couldn't spend the $500-$600 up-front plus the $110 every 1.5-2 years for battery replacements. With all the cash needed for the iPhone, what difference does it make to spend an extra $20/month to get equivalent blackberry service on a device which costs much, much less and has cheap, user replaceable batteries?

Some quick math tells me that with an iPhone there is a 20-24 month ROI when looking at the price different between it and the Curve, even with the more expensive data plans - and this isn't including the battery change the iPhone will need near the end of the ROI period. By then I will be looking to get a new phone anyway, iPhone, Blackberry, or otherwise.

[aristobrat]

Originally Posted by mk1151

Some quick math tells me that with an iPhone there is a 20-24 month ROI when looking at the price different between it and the Curve, even with the more expensive data plans - and this isn't including the battery change the iPhone will need near the end of the ROI period. By then I will be looking to get a new phone anyway, iPhone, Blackberry, or otherwise.

What's why I'm thinking the battery isn't going to be a big deal for many iPhone folks. By the time it needs changing, they'll have upgraded.

[fftonyb]

A co-worker bought the iPhone. An impressive gadget. I like my Curve. It's smaller. I like that feature more than all the gizmachis on the iPhone.