Hey all, I currently have a Blackberry 7250 phone with Alltel... and I'm getting close to new contract time.
I have a few options:
1) Get a new Blackberry from Alltel -- they offer the Pearl 8130, Curve 8330, and the 8830 World Edition
2) Get a new Blackberry from another provider
3) Get a secondhand Blackberry from ebay/other
4) Get another smartphone
The only real restriction is that GSM service, with the exception of AT&T in my area is a little spotty. (If it wasn't I'd probably be getting a G1 from T-Mobile)
I'm pretty happy with Alltel service, and I would rather not switch. However, I know the 8xxx series is soon to be outdated and I don't want to pay $200+ for an "outdated" Blackberry. Also, my contract isn't up until the end of December so I could get a new phone /now/ if I got it secondhand or got it from Alltel.
I went from the 7100 to the 8820 a few months ago. I agree about paying that much for a soon to be obsolete phone. I think that is the case with the 8830. See if they will give you a better price. They should give you rebates for that phone.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
You may want to do a search online for altel blackberrys or something like that. There are authorized resellers that may get you a better price on a phone and renew your contract for you. Just something to think about.
i have the 8330 curve from verizon,and from what I understand alltell will soon be verizon, so if yo plan on staying with alltell, make sure it's a phone compatible with verizon, but anyway, I would suggest the curve no matter what the model number, unless you want to hold out for the storm, but my opinion is go fro the curve, let them work out the bugs on the storm first.
You may want to do a search online for altel blackberrys or something like that. There are authorized resellers that may get you a better price on a phone and renew your contract for you. Just something to think about.
Awesome advice. I already found a place that had it for $50 after rebates!
