[mrcultureshock]

Hi all,

I'm a professional in the educational technology field and am looking for a phone/plan/carrier upgrade. Right now I have T-Mobile but the coverage is not that great here in Georgia. I'm thinking about getting an advanced phone that's reliable and that can be used as a PDA (calendar, email, text, some web browsing etc).

Here are my candidates:

1) Blackberry Curve 8320 with T-Mo.

Plan: BB Minutes & Mail with 1000min. ($59.99)

Pros: 8320 has wifi, lots of minutes, "unlimited" data,
relatively cheap plan.

Cons: Ok coverage in GA, Edge only.


2) iPhone 3G with AT&T

Plan: New iPhone plan with 400min ($30 for data, $5.00 for text, $39.99
for voice)

Pros: very good coverage where I live, iPhone 3G has wifi, web browsing, 3G

Cons: 3G not yet available where I live, phone/plan are expensive, low minutes.


3) At&T Tilt with AT&T

Plan: voice + pda data ($39.99 + $35.00)

Pros: very good coverage where I live, Tilt has wifi, windows mobile, 3G

Cons: 3G not yet available where I live, phone/plan are expensive, low minutes, windows mobile.


4) BB 8330 with Verizon

Plan: voice/data for $79.99 with 450min

Pros: excellent coverage where I live, BB, EV-DO (??)

Cons: plan is expensive, no wifi, low minutes.


Sorry for writing such a long post and I commend you for having read this far. But you can see my dilemma. I've seen some videos about the 8320 and I'm really impressed with the phone. But my reservations about going ahead with it is the T-mo coverage and Edge (in case 3G arrives in the future). But I need to decide very soon.

What do you guys think? Should I go for the 8320/T-Mo, go with my other choices or wait for BB Bold?

Again, I apologize for this dissertation-like post and thanks in advance for any advice that you guys could give me.

Best regards,

Nicolas

[CTenn]

Just so you know, you could unlock that 8320 and use it on the AT&T network perfectly. If you really want the wi-fi and a blackberry, that would probably be your best option. The next best phone I can see is the new iPhone, though seeing as you don't have 3G coverage it would do about as much as your BlackBerry would, simply with MobileMe instead of the BIS of blackberry.

Your answers may be a little biased towards blackberries (nature of the site), but those two are your best options IMO.

[pashan]

Well, you're going to get VERY biased opinions here... NO ONE will advocate for you to go with the iPhone or Tilt. However it seems to me that what is blatantly missing from your list above is the Curve from AT&T...

My thought is that TMo service is not for you if their service is shoddy. Why pay for poor service (even if it *is* cheaper, it's poor).

I will not even address the iCrap or Tilt, neither is comparable in my mind.

To me your best options are the Verizon or AT&T Curve. (Does the AT&T curve have WiFi?) However, with Verizon, the data plan is unlimited so WiFi is a rather moot point... Who cares if the phone has WiFi if you have unlimited Blackberry data? I don't have WiFi and I don't miss is at all...

Good Luck!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[bduschel]

Just so you know, you could unlock that 8320 and use it on the AT&T network perfectly. If you really want the wi-fi and a blackberry, that would probably be your best option. The next best phone I can see is the new iPhone, though seeing as you don't have 3G coverage it would do about as much as your BlackBerry would, simply with MobileMe instead of the BIS of blackberry.

Your answers may be a little biased towards blackberries (nature of the site), but those two are your best options IMO.

Unlocking the 8320 is your best bet. Being from Georgia myself? I can understand coverage issues. Unless you are in downtown ATL? But this would save you from buying new equipment. Hardest thing for me leaving TMO was giving up my wifi Curve. But I got use to it rather quickly.

TMO has the best voice and data plans as far as pricing. 1000 my faves for $59.99 and an extra $20 for unlimited BB.

[zinadork]

I would go with verizon. If you say they get the best service, case closed. Unless you know when 3g service is coming it would be smart to hold off on buying an expensive 3g device. I would definitely stay with BB over Iphone, you said that you need it for work and the iphone keyboard doesn't compare with BB. The keyboard is the most important deciding factor in smartphones that are otherwise similarly equipped devices. To unlock the phone you will need to pay full retail and that would cost a lot. If you are going to go with ATT at all, wait for the bold.

[zinadork]

Well, you're going to get VERY biased opinions here... NO ONE will advocate for you to go with the iPhone or Tilt. However it seems to me that what is blatantly missing from your list above is the Curve from AT&T...

My thought is that TMo service is not for you if their service is shoddy. Why pay for poor service (even if it *is* cheaper, it's poor).

I will not even address the iCrap or Tilt, neither is comparable in my mind.

To me your best options are the Verizon or AT&T Curve. (Does the AT&T curve have WiFi?) However, with Verizon, the data plan is unlimited so WiFi is a rather moot point... Who cares if the phone has WiFi if you have unlimited Blackberry data? I don't have WiFi and I don't miss is at all...

Good Luck!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I am a verizon customer that is reasonably happy with my data speed. But, wifi is a very atractive option for many. Particulary people that live in or work in poor coverage areas. That doesn't just mean rural areas; it also means people that work in buildings that obstruct signal. Also, free calling over wifi is a very attractive option for people that don't want to use their minutes. CDMA customers do get the short end on this issue.

[Reed McLay]

The Curve with T-Mobile's Hotspot is a great deal, if you have Wifi access where you will be spending most of your communications time.

That includes home and office, save the EDGE service for the commute.

[tcpetersesq]

Switch to AT&T and get the Bold when it is due out later this month (or next?)

[bmcclure937]

IF you go TMo and get the WiFi Curve you can get a myFaves plan, unlimited data and then add on Hotspot@Home and you can make calles over WiFi using UMA (and it does not use your minutes)

I use the UMA and it works flawlessly for me. As soon as you leave the WiFi it will transition to EDGE. Seamless, no dropped call... the audio quality on both is amazing

[jenaywins]

I am also a Verizon customer. I have awesome coverage, and a great phone. The Verizon Curve has 90MB of flash memoury as opposed to all other carriers' Curves which only have 64MB. This was the main selling point for me, as I never have to worry about the memoury leak issues Blackberries seem to have...

Yes, Verizon is more expensive.. But as always, IMHO, you get what you pay for. Verizon has awesome coverage, decent tech support, and excellent customer service. For me, it is worth paying the little extra every month.

Just my two cents.

[Jrlelli1]

unlocking it is a good idea.

but i have a question about unlocking the device. i am with sprint, so if i unlock it using att will i be able to still use sprint or it will be att enabled, or it will use both services?

[nyc_rock]

You cant unlock a Sprint phone and use it on ATT. Sprint is CDMA and ATT is GSM, they are not compatable.

[Daedalus]

Hi all,

I'm a professional in the educational technology field and am looking for a phone/plan/carrier upgrade. Right now I have T-Mobile but the coverage is not that great here in Georgia. I'm thinking about getting an advanced phone that's reliable and that can be used as a PDA (calendar, email, text, some web browsing etc).

Here are my candidates:

1) Blackberry Curve 8320 with T-Mo.

Plan: BB Minutes & Mail with 1000min. ($59.99)

Pros: 8320 has wifi, lots of minutes, "unlimited" data,
relatively cheap plan.

Cons: Ok coverage in GA, Edge only.


2) iPhone 3G with AT&T

Plan: New iPhone plan with 400min ($30 for data, $5.00 for text, $39.99
for voice)

Pros: very good coverage where I live, iPhone 3G has wifi, web browsing, 3G

Cons: 3G not yet available where I live, phone/plan are expensive, low minutes.


3) At&T Tilt with AT&T

Plan: voice + pda data ($39.99 + $35.00)

Pros: very good coverage where I live, Tilt has wifi, windows mobile, 3G

Cons: 3G not yet available where I live, phone/plan are expensive, low minutes, windows mobile.


4) BB 8330 with Verizon

Plan: voice/data for $79.99 with 450min

Pros: excellent coverage where I live, BB, EV-DO (??)

Cons: plan is expensive, no wifi, low minutes.


Sorry for writing such a long post and I commend you for having read this far. But you can see my dilemma. I've seen some videos about the 8320 and I'm really impressed with the phone. But my reservations about going ahead with it is the T-mo coverage and Edge (in case 3G arrives in the future). But I need to decide very soon.

What do you guys think? Should I go for the 8320/T-Mo, go with my other choices or wait for BB Bold?

Again, I apologize for this dissertation-like post and thanks in advance for any advice that you guys could give me.

Best regards,

Nicolas

You also have the option to use the 8320 from tmo on a wireless access point to make calls from the house or office when on these you do not use mins and the sound quality is great. The Draw back is if you have belkin routers forget about UMA till TMO releases an update.

You have to remember that a lot of what you ask is judgement calls TMO works great for me but then I am not in GA.

[mrcultureshock]

Thanks for all your replies.

And sorry about the AT&T Curve, as I simply forgot to include it.

Let me elaborate more on how I'll be using the phone. I live in a very small city and I work for a university. I have no connection problems with my current Tmo phone in town and in cities. But it is when I go to the more rural areas (ie driving in the country between cities) where I get into connection issues. I don't do it very often but it's nice to have the coverage when I need it.

I have wifi access in the office (campus wifi), at home, and in most places I go to. This is why wifi is an attractive option for me. Unfortunately only the Tmo Curve has the wifi option.

So you guys can see my dilemma. And unfortunately I won't have a lot of time to decide cause my current contract expires in a week.

BTW, how do I unlock the Tmo Curve and do I get to sign up for a contract with AT&T or do I only get to use the prepaid plans with the unlocked Curve?

Thanks again for all your comments.

Best regards,

Nicolas

[zinadork]

Don't feel rushed. Once your contract is up you can go to month to month until the bold comes out. At that point you can make your decision. Don't chase a phone; go with whomever has the best service. The phone is just a fancy paperweight without good service.

[avt123]

I like my Sprint service.

[mcontuzzi]

Go with the curve on att carrier can't beat it

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com