To BB or not to BB?

[Lord Binbag]

Hullo Folks!

I am looking for some friendly advice on getting my first BB (or not), which will be for personal use.

Let me give you a little run through of my current situation and my 'search criteria': (Bear with me!)

I am a Brit ex-pat currently working out in Saudi Arabia for a few years.
Before coming out here I passed my Nokia smartphone over to my Father in the UK, as a favour to him - he can use it as much as he likes and I take care of the bill. Nice.

So, I know how much of a gem smartphones are.

Now, here's my criteria:

Worldwide roaming ability on my travels
Internet access - including easy access to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook et al
Decent keyboard
Useful apps
Good email access
Good camera - though not essential
Wi-Fi etc would be nice
3G nice but not essential
and so on, and so on.

We have two networks out here, STC and Mobily, and both are BB agents and they both provide the devices unlocked - very handy.

I like the look of the BB Tour, but think the 8900 would be a better 'fit'.

So, after all that - are you still with me? - I ask the wise and talented folk of the Crackberry forums "what would you advise?"

LB

[Dr.Sadistic]

I'd run with the Tour personally. The only criteria it failes to meet was the need for wifi, which as you stated, was not a necessity.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Lord Binbag]

Hmm, I do like the Tour, but it appears it may not be available out here...

8900 is, so I guess that may well settle that.

LB

[jjjbahrain]

I'm sure you can get the Tour in KSA if you look for it in mobile shops. In Bahrain the company I work for is an official BB reseller but whenever a new device is launched by BB we import them from the US or Canada branded and locked. We do the unlocking our selves but, branding stays.
If WiFi isn't a big deal then I'd suggest the Tour as well.

[finagle78]

I have just upgraded to an8900 on Orange in the UK and love it,

It has taken the best part of a weeks to get all the settings set up (not a reflection on the phone, more like me being a bit a of Geek) but to be honest I don’t know how I did without it before.

Found some great free apps (Family is from Yorkshire so I watch the pennies ) like Nav4all which is a very basic but free turn by turn Sat Nav and Uber Twitter which now has me hooked on Twitter

Can not give you any advice on other Blackberry’s but I really like my 8900 and don’t think you would be disappointed

[aristile]

Determine which you want more, WiFi or 3G. If you want 3G more, go with the Tour. Otherwise, go with the 8900. The devices are very similar after that. Another thing to keep in mind is to find out if either of those carriers support UMA calling. If they do then you can make your calls over a WiFi connection with the 8900.

[coolfobboy]

get the 8900, it's the best

[godzilla07]

Originally Posted by aristile

Determine which you want more, WiFi or 3G. If you want 3G more, go with the Tour. Otherwise, go with the 8900. The devices are very similar after that. Another thing to keep in mind is to find out if either of those carriers support UMA calling. If they do then you can make your calls over a WiFi connection with the 8900.

No carrier in Saudi Arabia supports UMA.

OP, you can definitely get the Tour working with 3G. I would recommend the Bold if you want Wi-Fi but you said you didn't need it. The Tour meets all your needs if you can find one. The 8900 isn't a bad device and STC and Mobily both have EDGE so it's fine.