Getting a 9900/9930.

Hi,

I'm completely a rookie when it comes to Blackberry's products :D. I'm about to buy a new Blackberry Bold 9900/9930, but I have some questions though. First of all I'm not US citizen, I'm here for vacation only. The price of Blackberry drew my attention here, it's a lot cheaper than it's in Poland ;).

Now, Verizon and Sprint are offering unlocked phone, but will the device work in Europe? I know that 9930 is a CDMA, but is it going to work with GSM network ?
Is it a 4G phone ? I've noticed that T-Mobile will be selling 4G version, what about Verizon or Sprint ? If my carrier provides a 4G network, will the phone from Sprint work in 4G ? Is there a difference between Verizon's phone and Sprint's one ? If so, which one should I choose ?

And how can install polish language ? :)

I'm sorry that I'm asking so many questions, but I want to be sure that I'm buying a phone that will work in my country. Thanks for any replies.

Originally Posted by jetlife7

Hi,

I'm completely a rookie when it comes to Blackberry's products :D. I'm about to buy a new Blackberry Bold 9900/9930, but I have some questions though. First of all I'm not US citizen, I'm here for vacation only. The price of Blackberry drew my attention here, it's a lot cheaper than it's in Poland ;).

Now, Verizon and Sprint are offering unlocked phone, but will the device work in Europe? I know that 9930 is a CDMA, but is it going to work with GSM network ?
Is it a 4G phone ? I've noticed that T-Mobile will be selling 4G version, what about Verizon or Sprint ? If my carrier provides a 4G network, will the phone from Sprint work in 4G ? Is there a difference between Verizon's phone and Sprint's one ? If so, which one should I choose ?

And how can install polish language ? :)

I'm sorry that I'm asking so many questions, but I want to be sure that I'm buying a phone that will work in my country. Thanks for any replies.

Polish language you can get setting the phone up, or through blackberry's website I assume.

I pretty sure all of them are global enabled?So they should both work...but I think best bet would ask at the store too? Sprint and Verizon both use the same version(9930) I believe, and both don't use LTE(Verizon's 4G setting).

If I remember right my old coworker used his verizon BB in poland(He was Polish, and went back there since he owned property for vacations and such)

1. They will work IF they are unlocked and you set it to Global Network (GSM). You can purchase the unlock code on-line for a few dollars.
2. Language can be selected at Setup and Polish is included.
3. It is a 3G device, not 4G
4. Your local provider (SIM) will need to have BB data plans or you won't have BIS.
5. They aren't cheap here if you buy without a 2yr plan so expect to pay around $545.00. If that's still cheaper than in Poland, then it might be worth it.

yes as mentioned above you will have to buy an unlock code online form one of the many sites that sell them. I believe even the full price of $545 is still much cheaper than in the rest of the world. i think that polish should already be on the phone, if it isnt you can install an OS from a european carrier and then it should have it.

Thank You :).

However, I have few questions left.
I went to Verizon today and they told me that I can not buy just a phone for retail price with no ties with their company, that I will have to pay at least activation fee, what's not an option for me right now.
After that I decided to go to Sprint and I was told that their retail phone (499$) is not unlocked and I have to purchase a unlock code in order to use it in Europe. Is that true ? Only code for few bucks will do the trick and then no ties with american carrier ? (just a logo on the phone ;)) Sorry for silly questions but I want to be sure that I'll buy device that will work actually ;).

Any help will be much appreciated :) I want to be a part of Blackberry family :D.

a) I am aware of that :).
b) & c) As long as it is not in a sealed original package they can't do anything and that's what I'm going to do, put it in my pocket, that's it ;).

Is the unlock code valid only for one SIM card or will it unlock phone for every SIM card ? My contract in Poland expires in late October and I'm changing the carrier, so when I recieve a new, will phone work with it or do I have to buy another code ?

once the phone is unlocked it will work on any gsm carrier with a sim....it does not need to be unlocked every time you change the sim.

And last few questions before the purchase.
I don't have international roaming. If I buy 9930 from Sprint, will I be able to unlock the phone or do something with it without signal from my carrier til I get back to Poland ? Thanks a lot.

U've been given excellent advice. However, I'd recomment that u buy a gsm version (like offered by t-mobile & at&t). Although d cdma versions r world phones and would work on gsm networks, sometimes there are lil negligible issues like when checking ur account balance for a prepaid network using the '*' 'number' and '#' combination (those in europe, africa & some other regions) would understand this. So, unless there's a remarkable price difference in price btw d gsm (t-mobile, at&t) & cdma (sprint, verizon) version, just go 4 d gsm version... Just my 2 cents. And any pointers on where (preferably online) 2 get d gsm versions @ a good price wd be appreciated.

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It's 100$ difference between 9900 and 9930 :/.

So with 9930 I won't have trouble with recieving 3G network ? ;).
Never been a good with electronics, sorry :D