BlackBerry Forums Support Community

trevor1189 · 02-04-2007, 02:58 PM

I am considering getting a Blackberry on Verizon. Currently I have a LG 8600 for voice, so this would be strictly for data. I see that Verizon only offers voice and data combos on their site now, do they still have the data only plans? I am looking at getting the 7250 as it is cheaper, is there any real disadvantage to this? The extra $150 for the 8703e is a lot to me. Also, the only way I could really afford this is to get the 10mb plan, not the unlimited one. Before you flip out advising me to get the unlimited, there is no way I am spending 45.00/month on top of my current cell phone bill. How many emails do you think I could get on the 10mb plan. Be aware, I have fairly light email usage with only a few per day.

My main questions here are: How much data do you use per month? How many emails do you estimate you get? Is there anyone here on the 10mb plan?

Thanks for your help.

I also posted this on Howard Foums for any cross-readers who think they are having deja vu.

trevor1189 · 02-04-2007, 04:38 PM

Okay, I spoke with a Verizon Online Chat rep and they told me that an email is approximately 1024 kb so I could recieve 1024 emails on the 10mb plan. Does that sound right? Becuase if that is how many emails I can receive I should be good, I probably only receive 10 emails a day if that. So I could get all my emails plus some web browsing.

JSanders · 02-04-2007, 04:54 PM

I have the unlimited plan from TMO, and rarely get over 10mb of usage in a month, and that is with using the browser, an IM app, BB Today, BB Weather, etc etc. I am betting for e-mail only, you will be fine with the 10mb plan as a light e-mail user.

trevor1189 · 02-04-2007, 06:06 PM

Wow, by what you are saying it sounds as if I would definitely be okay. Thanks for your input. I would still like to hear from other people though.

Dodge DeBoulet · 02-04-2007, 07:20 PM

From 11/20 to 12/19, I did 14,775 KB on data alone, this includes email and web browsing, of course. From 12/20 to 1/19, I did 7,165 KB on data. My inbox will receive from one to four dozen messages a weekday, though, with virtually nothing on weekends.

The BlackBerry was pretty new to me in November, so I used it for browsing a lot more then than I do now . . . the novelty does wear off at some point

I use it for tethering too. My total for BroadBandConnect on the last bill was 41,449 KB. Of course you can only do that with an unlimited plan.

Dubdub · 02-04-2007, 11:53 PM

I use 40-50 MB per month data only, mainly email. I have used 4.4 MB since Jan 24th. Last bill, I used 41.4 MB.

My suggestion is you go with an unlimited plan for a few months and see how your usage goes. You can always change the plan. If you go with a 10 MB plan, you might get hit with an unexpected very high data bill.

trevor1189 · 02-05-2007, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dubdub

I use 40-50 MB per month data only, mainly email. I have used 4.4 MB since Jan 24th. Last bill, I used 41.4 MB.

My suggestion is you go with an unlimited plan for a few months and see how your usage goes. You can always change the plan. If you go with a 10 MB plan, you might get hit with an unexpected very high data bill.

How many emails do you get in a day, or the whole month? It sounds like you use it pretty heavily. I myself am a fairly light email user with less than 10 a day. If I have to pay for the unlimited plan, then I am not going to purchase it, it is an extra $20 for unlimited and that would be on top of my normal bill.

Also, how much of the email does the blackberry download? I saw on verizon's site it only downloads 2 KB then if you want it downloads the rest is that correct?

Chinasaur · 02-05-2007, 08:01 AM

I do about 20MB a month on average. I do a fair amount of web use and emails for work on a BIS plan.

If you can keep yourself from browsing, and sending/receiving large emails, you'll probably be ok with a 10MB plan. You'll have to decide if you want to live with a cap on your usage that requires monioring.

Dubdub · 02-05-2007, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trevor1189

How many emails do you get in a day, or the whole month? It sounds like you use it pretty heavily. I myself am a fairly light email user with less than 10 a day. If I have to pay for the unlimited plan, then I am not going to purchase it, it is an extra $20 for unlimited and that would be on top of my normal bill.

Also, how much of the email does the blackberry download? I saw on verizon's site it only downloads 2 KB then if you want it downloads the rest is that correct?

I don't know how many I get every day. Never counted. Less than a hundred is my guess.

gdpmumin · 02-05-2007, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trevor1189

Okay, I spoke with a Verizon Online Chat rep and they told me that an email is approximately 1024 kb so I could recieve 1024 emails on the 10mb plan. Does that sound right? Becuase if that is how many emails I can receive I should be good, I probably only receive 10 emails a day if that. So I could get all my emails plus some web browsing.

Your math doesn't add up. 1024kb is 1MB, so you would only be able to receive 10 e-mails on the 10MB plan. But, a 1MB e-mail is a big e-mail. No way are they that large unless there's an attachment. They're closer to 1 or 2kb, in which case you would be able to receive roughly 1000 e-mails a month.

Another thing to think of--and this was mentioned by another user in another thread--Verizon says there's no way to block their BlackBerrys from searching for and accessing the data stream. That means if you ever reach 10mb, it won't cut off the data. It will still receive and you'll be billed for the overage (and that would cause you to have a very bad day). That's apparently different from the WM5 and Palm devices, where Verizon can stop the data stream at the customer's request (my boss has been operating like that for a year and a half with his WM5 PDA phone).

In short, I would never recommend going for anything other than the unlimited data plan.

BOHIC · 02-05-2007, 09:55 AM

Speaking of incorrect math:

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdpmumin

They're closer to 1 or 2kb, in which case you would be able to receive roughly 1000 e-mails a month.

If you wanna assume email only usage and email sizes of 1-2KB, you're looking at approximately 5000-10000 emails per month. Anyhow, those aren't great assumptions, so I wouldn't worry too much about the math.
Reviewing data usage for the BlackBerry handhelds I support, about two thirds of them use less than 10MB of data per month and all of them use less than 20MB. Seems like if you pay attention to your usage, you can definitely stay under 10MB.

gdpmumin · 02-05-2007, 09:57 AM

Thanks for the correction!

cmpugh · 02-05-2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trevor1189

How many emails do you get in a day, or the whole month? It sounds like you use it pretty heavily. I myself am a fairly light email user with less than 10 a day. If I have to pay for the unlimited plan, then I am not going to purchase it, it is an extra $20 for unlimited and that would be on top of my normal bill.

Also, how much of the email does the blackberry download? I saw on verizon's site it only downloads 2 KB then if you want it downloads the rest is that correct?

The beauty of the data plan is that it can be changed anytime. I would start with the 10mb, and limit your use of web browsing at first. Check your account online about a week or so in to the month, and see how much data you are using on average per day. Then you should be able to tell how much web browsing you will be able to do on top of your average daily email volume.
My guess is that you will be able to browse freely, and never really have to worry about going over.

trevor1189 · 02-05-2007, 03:50 PM

Okay, I am sure this will work but just want to check. Even though the blackberry won't have phone service can I still dial #data to check my usage?

trevor1189 · 02-05-2007, 05:53 PM

Well I just ordered it through Verizon, I got the 7250 with 10mb data plan for $200 with $50 mir. I am definitely excited. However, she said that they are currently not in stock, but they should be tomorrow. She said if they are instock tomorrow I should have it by Friday. All I can say is that they better be in stock tomorrow.

Are there any tips that I should know as a beginner crackberry addict?

JSanders · 02-05-2007, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trevor1189

Are there any tips that I should know as a beginner crackberry addict?

Yes, read all the FAQ questions on the forum here, the tips for themes, wallpaper, etc., will all be useful to you. Look for the sticky notes at the top of these forums and those will answer many questions.

And welcome to the BB world. You will never be the same.

vandeda · 02-07-2007, 07:16 PM

I used about 45-50 megs my first month. Combination e-mail (maybe 10 a day), web browsing, Google maps, news feeds and instant messaging (Gtalk - which is setup to work with AIM). I expect my usage will probably be fairly consistent from month to month.

trevor1189 · 02-07-2007, 08:21 PM

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7250/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Well, I got my bb, in fact I'm posting on it now. Howevern they added voice service to it when I wanted data only. So I called them and the guy on the phone told me that to have a bb I had to have voice, not believing him I called tech support. They transferred me and said that I could remove the voice line and transfered me to cs. After a screaming match, I talked to a manager who said my only option was to send it back and get a new one after they canceled my current plan. I said that was unacceptable and said I will call back. After calling back I got somone to say I could have a bb with data only but said I will have to call back telesales tomorrow. What a nightmare! Love my bb though.

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