[Starman]

Hey all. I just had a few questions I needed answered before I make the leap to buying my first BB. I live in Cali and I have cingular as my provider. Ive been looking at the 8700 series BB and was wondering if there are any major differences between the 8700r/g/ and c. I plan on purchasing mine through ebay since I dont have the extra cash to purchase it retail and the only thing it comes down to is looks on housing (not too fond of the "c" model although I know its cingular, would rather have it black or dark like the "g" and "r"). Are there any differences internally? Im leaning towards the "r" model since its the cheapest and also black, but I understand its a canadian carrier. I was mainly wondering if it would work with cingular straight out of the box.. or would I have to unlock it like the "g"(and if so, does the "c" model have anything that the "r" wouldnt)? Sorry all this confuses anyone and thanks for any help.

[mrpropaganda]

The differences are completely cosmetic around the device's case. There is no differnece in functionality of the device itself nor of the internals.

That being said, there will most likely be differences in the OS version installed on each device. But regardless of which one you get, you should do an OS upgrade anyway. Numerous threads on here about versions and how to upgrade.

Any model but the 8700c will need to be unlocked for you to be able to use it on Cingular.

[Starman]

Awesome thanks for the post above. 2 quick questions and I think its wrapped up. Say I get a "g" or "r", once I unlock it, and insert my existing sim card from my current phone, will the phone work with my network right away aside from any minor tweaks I may need to do, or would I have to pay for other services in order for it to work? Second, does the phone have to have a certain plan with cingular since its BB or would a simple family plan for talking time do for now? Thanks very much for all the help.

[egale]

It will work as a standard cell phone with a regular phone plan. If you want to use it for email and net, you will have to add a bb data plan.

[tomryan]

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

Also, I would check on whether you can unlock it. IIRC, unlocking a robbers 8700 is next to impossible.

[takeshi]

Definitely search here using the keywords "Rogers" and "unlock" before you consider buying an 8700r.

[hokie123]

One thing to check before buying s used bb is is it has been activated for BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server). If so, the unit may have restrictions on the ability do download software. You cannot erase this policy through rebooting or OS reload. This form has some hints you could try, but there are no guararantees!)

[NJBlackBerry]

Yes, you CAN erase an IT Policy.
It has been documented and proven.

[Starman]

Thanks for the help all. Yea ill look into whether the rogers can be unlocked or not. Like I said, I was just leaning towards that version since its black and the cheapest model on ebay but have no problem finding a 8700g instead. When I decide to purchase a media plan for my BB, does it HAVE to be a blackberry data plan or could it be a simple Cingular MediaNet plan? The BB data plans seem really expensive compared to a $15 MediaNet plan with 1000 texts and 5mb MediaNet usage. Maybe I wasnt looking in the right spot. Could someone direct me to a sufficient BB data plan on the cingular website? Thanks again.

[NJBlackBerry]

It has to be a BlackBerry Data Plan. Not a MediaNet plan or anything else. A BlackBerry Data Plan. Without a BlackBerry Data Plan all you will have is voice and SMS text messaging. No Internet or e-mail.

[Starman]

Ouch well thats a bummer. $35 extra a month is pretty steep. Is the BB Personal Plan Unlimited the one I should be looking for? Thanks.

[Starman]

Bump: See above. What plan should I be looking for on the cingular website that would let me use my BB for online/texting purposes? Thanks.