[SpidieMan]

Hi,

I am planning to buy a BB 8900 from Rogers. I was talking to the customer service rep on the phone today. I wanted to get it with the Unlimited email plan (with no data for surfing) and the lady told me that if I don't buy the dataplan (Unlimited Email + 500MB Surfing) I will not be able to install any applications on the phone. Not even via the WiFi! The lady sounded kind of old, so I thought I'd verify this on crackberry.

Will I be able to load content (install apps/games/etc) on BB 8900 via WiFi without data plan? Or will be phone be locked?

I have wifi and work and home, so I rarely need to surf the web on the phone, I need it primarily for email, since I can't check my personal email on office network. I am a Software Developer by profession, so I want to be able to load apps on the phone (write my own as well as install apps from the web).

Is there any way to flash a BB 8900 to factory unlocked firmware? Does a factory unlocked/unbranded firmware exist for a blackberry 8900? I used to have a Nokia E61. It had a Vodafone firmware on it, but the moment I flashed it with unbranded firmware, I was able to use all of its features. Before it had vodafone all over the OS.

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[aristile]

You need a Blackberry Specific Data Plan on your device if you want to use all the features that Blackberry offers - BBM, Push Mail, Most 3rd Party Apps, etc, etc. You can get along with just WiFi but, in doing so, most apps will not function and you will lose all the Blackberry specific features on your device. There's a zillion threads on this so do a bit of searching. I would start by searching for "no data plan".

[malejko]

I've got the email/messaging plan. With Wifi it's great, and I can grab any OTA install I want...

What the lady was talking about was how they (RIM and / or Rogers) block f*cking wifi from their app world. It's lame, and it bugs me, but now that you can at least browse app world and then find the app to download somewhere else anyway.

So yes, you can download and install any application you want, provided you can find it. And yes, the lady's telling you a bit of a lie.

For me, wifi coverage is just fine with their messaging plan. If the dollar-equivalent data plan had text messaging included with it, I probably would have went with it. As it is, I'll stick with the messaging plan I do have until some better data plan comes around... but I'm not holding my hopes up for it either.

[aristile]

You can get mad about it if you like and call it "lame" but the bottom line is that a Blackberry is designed to function with a data plan, period. The Blackberry service is what make the device a "Blackberry". Granted with the new devices now available with WiFi, it is much easier to get and use apps and work around not having a data plan but to do so you need to put in the research time and setup time on your own. The devices can still be great and useful with WiFi only but they are no longer a "Blackberry" because they lack the Blackberry service.

Also you are incorrect in thinking that you can download and use any app you want without a data plan. Most apps will not work without a data plan. While some apps will function via the WiFi connection, that is not the majority of them.