Looking to purchase a Blackberry through TMo. What are the pros and cons?

[settec]

My brother and sister-in-law have a Blackberry, and I have been curious about getting one as well. An inquiry my brother-in-law had about his phone actually brought me here this evening. My current service is T-Mobile; I plan on remaining with them because they have been reputable for the four years I have been serviced. Seeing I am in the Blackberry T-Mobile forums, what do you feel are the pros and cons of the Blackberry phone you have purchased? I call family often, though I am not seeking something overly pricey. Thanks in advance.

[oldtimeBBaddict]

Originally Posted by settec

My brother and sister-in-law have a Blackberry, and I have been curious about getting one as well. An inquiry my brother-in-law had about his phone actually brought me here this evening. My current service is T-Mobile; I plan on remaining with them because they have been reputable for the four years I have been serviced. Seeing I am in the Blackberry T-Mobile forums, what do you feel are the pros and cons of the Blackberry phone you have purchased? I call family often, though I am not seeking something overly pricey. Thanks in advance.

For me, the advantage of the BB is the push email. I also am a TMO customer, and their service and coverage area meet my needs. If you do a lot of web surfing, you'll find that other phones and other platforms are better equipped. I use primarily financial and news apps, so they meet my needs there. In short, it all depends on what you want out of your phone.
Lastly, consider Blackberry Messenger. For my money, it is the best IM out there.

[K Bear]

The pros of upgrading to a Blackberry on T-Mobile is being able to access data and voice over 3G and over UMA. The cons are higher cost due to having to pay for BIS, having a, device that can only access 3G on T-Mobile domestically, and limited choice of hardware & software.

[mandony]

Since you are a very old customer (you say 4 years) ask the "Retentions" rep for the 'BB PREF PLAN' @20/mo for Unlimited email and Internet. If you buy a new phone from them they might say, 'no', but nothing to lose. If you buy from another vendor (like Best Buy) an un-locked phone (or TM locked phone) then you may have a better position to get the plan.

[Artemis68]

If you email/message a LOT and that's your primary use of a phone, then I would get a Blackberry.

However, if you want to web browse a lot, I don't suggest getting a Blackberry. even in OS6, the browser is really lacking compared to other smart phones like Android or Apple.

mandony is partially right about the old plan. "BB PREF PLAN" is no longer offered but the current loyalty offering for a cheaper data plan is "Preferred Blackberry Unlimited Web Only" for $20. They will be able to add this.

If you upgrade through T-Mobile (not Best buy, they require a higher data plan), you can say "I will get the Blackberry if I can get (plan I mentioned above) for the data." You should get it.

[SandAngel]

Like mentioned by others above me.....

If your main thing is websurfing go with android. Tmo blackberry websurfing is slower.

If your main thing is email and text I would say go with blackberry because PUSH email seems so worth the slower websurfing tradeoff to me.

Also i agree to buy directly through tmobile. I would call 611 directly and say you would consider a data plan if you can get the preferred rate. Recently phone customer service has been offering alot of good rates if you agree to a Smartphone.