[bmd900]

Hey guys I really want to get VM now because they have the 8530. I would really drop my pre+ for one of them especially since verizon is getting quite expensive. How's the service? Although the $300 are a bit of a pain I'm willing to pay it for a cheaper price service. I would greatly appreciate comments from current 8530 and VM users.

[ali.fazal]

I have the VM Blackberry 8530 and overall it's great. It does not work with corporate servers though, so not a great phone for corporate users. However, for personal use, everything works.

That being said, the value of the device is a little oversold IMO.

Look at it this way:

With Verizon, you get the same phone for free and get a similar plan for $99/month. So over the course of a year, you've spend $1200.

At VM, a 1200 minute ultd text/web plan is $50/month and it's an additional $300 for the phone, so you're spending $900 over the course of a year.

Not thaaat much of a savings when you think about it.

[kwkid]

I have the VM Blackberry 8530 and overall it's great. It does not work with corporate servers though, so not a great phone for corporate users. However, for personal use, everything works.

That being said, the value of the device is a little oversold IMO.

Look at it this way:

With Verizon, you get the same phone for free and get a similar plan for $99/month. So over the course of a year, you've spend $1200.

At VM, a 1200 minute ultd text/web plan is $50/month and it's an additional $300 for the phone, so you're spending $900 over the course of a year.

Not thaaat much of a savings when you think about it.

What do you mean it doesn't work with corporate servers? All Blackberrys work with BES, including the 85XX series of Blackberrys.

Also, while your math is technically correct, you make the assumption that the phone will only last a year. In year two, the savings would be tremendous and you do save $300 the first year. If you kept the phone for three years, that would work out to a total of $1100.00.

[4ster]

All Blackberries support BES, but not all carriers (i.e. Virgin Mobile) offer it.

That said, I am a happy Virgin Mobile/BB customer.

[sengokubattosai]

I have the VM Blackberry 8530 and overall it's great. It does not work with corporate servers though, so not a great phone for corporate users. However, for personal use, everything works.

That being said, the value of the device is a little oversold IMO.

Look at it this way:

With Verizon, you get the same phone for free and get a similar plan for $99/month. So over the course of a year, you've spend $1200.

At VM, a 1200 minute ultd text/web plan is $50/month and it's an additional $300 for the phone, so you're spending $900 over the course of a year.

Not thaaat much of a savings when you think about it.

I made a spreadsheet today because I am trying to decide which carrier to switch to when my current plan runs up. I would renew it but it is with my ex girlfriend soooo yeah not gonna happen.

Anyway, my ex and I pay $125 for 500 minutes, 10 MyCircle numbers, nights/weekends after 7, mobile to mobile and unlimited messaging, and I get unlimited data and email on my BB. We worked it out so I pay $75 and she pays the remaining $50 (our old plan when I had a regular phone was $100 even for both of us--I pay the difference of the smart phone plan). Based on the 13 months I have had that Blackberry, I have paid a total of $1,075 including monthly payments and the $100 for the phone off eBay.

With the Virgin Mobile Blackberry plan, if I got the middle plan with 1200 minutes and no nights or weekends (I will still use less than half of that each month) and unlimited everything else, I would be paying about $55 after taxes. $55 a month for that same 13 months comes out to $715, plus the $300 for the Curve brings it to a total of $1,015.

When I first got the Alltel Blackberry, we were 6 months into our contract, leaving 18 months left. After 18 months I will have given Alltel $1,450 based on the same figures mentioned above. 18 months of Virgin Mobile with the same plan and same phone will cost $1,290.

The full 24 month contract, if I chose to renew it, with the same figures, will cost $1,900, where as 24 months of Virgin Mobile will cost $1,620. I would also have to find another person (obviously not my ex) to share the plan with that I could trust. Assuming I could even find someone, the $300 savings would still push me toward VM.

The final figure I compared was the cost of the cheapest AT&T plan with the Samsung Mythic and the unlimited text and internet package, which totals $69.99 before taxes (I used an even $80 for my calculations). The AT&T plan, which isn't even a SMARTPHONE let alone a Blackberry, will cost $2,026 for the full 2 year, which is over $400 MORE than 2 years with a Virgin Mobile Blackberry! If you want a Blackberry or an iPhone with AT&T, then you can forget about paying anything less than $100 a month, which is an outrageous amount for one person to pay.

$400 is enough of a savings to win me over, even if I have to pay a lot more up front for the phone. Especially since I wouldn't even be using a Blackberry with AT&T.

Just thought I'd add my two (or 20,000) cents.

[mr_bb]

After a bunch of activation issues, I am loving the Blackberry on VM USA.
I switched over from AT&T.
The data is fast, seems faster than AT&T's 3G. The device is zippy. The operating system isn't locked down. The service very good in metropolitan areas (it even roamed in rural CT and NY on Verizon!!) What more could you want?
I have the $35 300 minute talk, txt, web plan +BIS. on AT&T i was on a family plan which broke down to:
$9.99 for the line, $5.00 for 200 texts, and $30 for BIS = $45. The savings are tremendous. I finally feel like I have a cell phone plan that is both appropriately priced and appropriate for my needs.

[fpmpstrzz]

Like mr_bb I was having issues with activating it, but other than than, it's a pretty decent phone besides the recent problems I've had with my sms not going through... the unlimited email, web, data and all are worth it for me for $35/mo. just that issue of failed text messages is all i can say is a con for this carrier.

[yuliya-inna]

I could not say enough wonderful things about my experiences with Virgin Mobile. I've been a VM customer for about five years now, and the ONLY problem I had was an accidental activation fee when I switched from a prepaid plan to a contract. Even then, I called and barely got through explaining that I wasn't supposed to have this fee, and the guy on the phone said, "Okay, it's been removed, your bill is now $___."

Absolutely wonderful customer service, great prices (I have BB Social and added text/pic messaging for $10 so I pay $50 for what my friends are paying $70+ for). I have no complaints. Also, my BB was free when I signed my contract, woohoo!

[dreamsINdigital]

(it even roamed in rural CT and NY on Verizon!!)

I don't know about that. I know Sprint roams to Verizon, but Virgin Mobile doesn't have roaming.

I switched over a few days ago, and I'm loving it so far! I'm having issues with texting to people on other networks, but a lot of people with Virgin Mobile are having this problem right now. Hopefully it will clear up soon. Other than that, I think it's great!

[dreamsINdigital]

I could not say enough wonderful things about my experiences with Virgin Mobile. I've been a VM customer for about five years now, and the ONLY problem I had was an accidental activation fee when I switched from a prepaid plan to a contract. Even then, I called and barely got through explaining that I wasn't supposed to have this fee, and the guy on the phone said, "Okay, it's been removed, your bill is now $___."

Absolutely wonderful customer service, great prices (I have BB Social and added text/pic messaging for $10 so I pay $50 for what my friends are paying $70+ for). I have no complaints. Also, my BB was free when I signed my contract, woohoo!

I think the OP is talking about Virgin Mobile USA, which is very different from Virgin Mobile in other countries.

[princesskiller]

To bmd900:

What you should do is keep your pre+. Virgin mobile doesn't have the best coverage. When you do got good coverage then it is a pretty good phone for 300 dollars. The major downfall I would have to say is you can't send mms. So if your a person that can send email with photos, you'll have no problem there. 70 dollars the unlimited everything plan well that is the cheapest I've seen lately. Just keep in mind you have to have good service to make the 70 dollars worth it. But go ahead and jump on the virgin mobile wagon.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[darkangel07760]

no mms on this phone? How strange!

[PatriotsFan12]

No MMS on the 8530? Not true, I send one about an hour ago.

I was with Verizon for 12 years before switching to VM. I was spending $100 a month and was watchng my minutes because I refused to upgrade my minutes. I am now spending $45, and I bought a brand new, sealed 8530 on ebay for $100. I wish it had a flash though, but besides that, I love it! This is my 4th BB. I tried switching to a droid (Optimus Slider) and after two months, I went back to BB. My one question is: Why does Virgin Mobile in Canada have much better phones??

[medicinILL]

No MMS on the 8530? Not true, I send one about an hour ago.

My one question is: Why does Virgin Mobile in Canada have much better phones??

1) Yeah, not true, at least not anymore. There used to be a time when you couldn't send MMS texts, but that issue has been fixed.

2) I would think that it's because BB's are more popular in Canada (RIM is located there) and maybe VM Canada is independent? What I mean is VM USA is part of Sprint and I think that VM USA got Sprint's old Curves or extra Curves. I don't think they directly buy BB's. Those are just my ideas so don't quote me haha.

Also, there have been rumors that VM USA will be getting newer BB models later this year. Let's keep our fingers crossed .

[PatriotsFan12]

Also, there have been rumors that VM USA will be getting newer BB models later this year. Let's keep our fingers crossed

I hope so! I'm surprisingly happy with the 8530 (the Bold, 8330, and Pearl each had several issues when I had them).

[medicinILL]

I think this is where we were talking about it http://forums.crackberry.com/other-north-american-carriers-f74/virgin-mobile-usa-should-really-get-some-new-blackberrys-637514/