[JessicB]

Okay, I use a BB 9700 in China now, with a pre-paid sim card. Emails and internet works very good.
But other than this I don't have anything else, no app, no bbm etc. (This also means that I don't
really know what to expect from a smartphone and BB specifically). I'm quite happy with my emails
in my BB, and this is what I mostly use.

My question: does someone know what is it that I miss? Are there some very useful things in BB,
and specifically BB Z10, that I won't have in China? And whether an equivalent Android or iPhone
would be better in China, in terms of usability and less restrictions?

[limh5]

There are now many apps in BlackBerry World that are created by developers in China.

[JessicB]

Yeah, but I'm not sure if these Chinese-made apps are intended for the Chinese market.

[Whitecaps]

Chinese smartphone market is already over-saturated with cheap android phones... Their ecosystem is already well established there... Im not so sure that the cost justifies blackberry to sell the Z10 there

[dtsolov]

Don't bother with Z10 in China. For the same cost you can have top android phones and have access to many apps.

Not with Z10.

Also you will loose most of the productivity features comparing to 9900.

You may also face caller id issues on unsupported carriers.

And there are chances blackberry won't even be able to fix such China specific issues as they are struggling to pull themselves together for the key markets.

May be in a year or so, it will come back to other markets as well matured.

Posted using CrackBerry App on BB10

[JessicB]

Thanks "dtsolv"!
Based on your response I've decided that I'll go for the Samsung Galaxy S3 (or the newer S4 when it arrives)!
I hope this is a good decision.

I would still consider the Z10, but unfortunately I can't get a full and precise knowledge on what are the restrictions, and
what kind of "productivity features" I would loose with Z10 compared to Android phones. And so, I'll probably have to settle for android.

[lnichols]

China watches over their people and comms closely. You would need to check with the provider of the SIM to see if they have some things blocked. Very likely that they don't allow BBM to make it easier to see what is going on. When I went to China on my own phone, I was able to use everything, but my BIS was in the US and I wasn't having to deal with getting stopped by the Great Firewall because of this!

[JessicB]

Yeah, sure in China you don't have BBM and you can't get to the App-World. But still, I can't see why these restrictions make the BB a bad choice in comparison to Android phones since I would assume that for every basic functionality in android there is a more or less equivalent functionality in BB that is enabled in China.
For instance: emails in BB and android would work as good.
Does someone have an example of something that can be done in android and at the same time would be blocked in BB in China?

[rcab]

I think on other platforms prior to BB10 you had the BB on BIS and had to purchase this feature. I am not sure all China providers offered it on a pre-paid basis. I think you had to be on contract. I believe with BB 10 you can use an unlocked phone in china in the same manner you would anywhere else. Many of the droid software will be able to be converted over to the phone as discussed in other threads. I know on my 9800 i was not able to push my mail in china using a regular pre-paid sim card. I could get it using wifi.

[JoeyW]

Yeah, sure in China you don't have BBM and you can't get to the App-World. But still, I can't see why these restrictions make the BB a bad choice in comparison to Android phones since I would assume that for every basic functionality in android there is a more or less equivalent functionality in BB that is enabled in China.
For instance: emails in BB and android would work as good.
Does someone have an example of something that can be done in android and at the same time would be blocked in BB in China?

Is this verified... a few years back some friends went to Shanghai. Hong kong and guang zhou. All of them kept in contact with bbm with fellow canadians... In fact probly why they kept their canadian bb and unlocked it. Is this a bb10 thing

[rcab]

when i was there with my 9800 if i used my AT&T sim card then i could use the features. When i used a chinese sim card I could not use use those features.

[JessicB]

Is this verified... a few years back some friends went to Shanghai. Hong kong and guang zhou. All of them kept in contact with bbm with fellow canadians... In fact probly why they kept their canadian bb and unlocked it. Is this a bb10 thing

This is not verified. This is only my experience with using BB bold 9700 in China: I use a pre-paid sim card, and I can push my emails fine. I still need to pay every month 15$ or so for this service (though this is not a real "contract"). However I don't have BBM and app-world nor any mapping services.