[PhilLiNoiS]

At first I was just gonna settle with getting a Pearl but then I started looking into the Bold and I fell in love with it overnight. Since this is gonna be my first time owning a Blackberry I had a few questions. 1) Since I am going to be starting college soon I figured im gonna need a phone that can keep a pretty good schedule which i know Blackberry's are known for but what type of things can i expect from the calender apps? 2)Is BB really reliable because all my recent phone have dropped calls left and right. 3) Since I own a t-mobile phone should i wait for the t-mobile version to come out or will a unlocked AT&T phone be just as good? Im thinking I should wait

[Raptor007]

I would suggest checking out current BB models to get a feel for the apps that are built in. What you can expect is better an updated apps. Kevin has a great BB Bold review to you can look at as well.

There will be sites offering an unlocked BB Bold, one I know of is Unlocked GSM Phones, GSM World Phones, Smart Phones, Cell Phone Accessories at MobileCityOnline.com and there are others. The T-Mo may or may not have 3G out of the gate it may or may not be out this year. So weigh your options and choose carefully

[bmcclure937]

At first I was just gonna settle with getting a Pearl but then I started looking into the Bold and I fell in love with it overnight. Since this is gonna be my first time owning a Blackberry I had a few questions. 1) Since I am going to be starting college soon I figured im gonna need a phone that can keep a pretty good schedule which i know Blackberry's are known for but what type of things can i expect from the calender apps? 2)Is BB really reliable because all my recent phone have dropped calls left and right. 3) Since I own a t-mobile phone should i wait for the t-mobile version to come out or will a unlocked AT&T phone be just as good? Im thinking I should wait

I would recommend waiting if you can be that patient.

If you plan on staying with TMobile, then definitely WAIT for the TMo version. The ATT version will not be compatible with 3G and the TMo version may not even support 3G when released. The TMobile 3G network is still growing and getting started.

So, if staying with TMo do not get an unlocked ATT Bold because it uses a different 3G frequency and won't work on TMo 3G. Wait for the official TMo Bold... patience is a virtue. haha

[bmcclure937]

And Welcome to CrackBerry!!

Forgot to say that the first time around

[mikeyg164]

Welcome to CB

[kipmartin]

welcome to CB

are you sure you need a BlackBerry? to get a BB means you need to spend $40-50 per month on a data plan over and above your regular calling/SMS plan. all the things you listed--calendar app, for example--are found on any phone and secondly, the reason BB is so cool for calendars is that you can accept or deny a meeting when you are away from your desk. will your college allow you to sync with an Exchange or BB server? if not, you are wasting your money.

>Is BB really reliable because all my recent phone have dropped calls

i would look at your carrier regarding dropped calls. a run of the mill RAZR on Verizon or ATT will be less apt to drops calls in most areas less than a phone on T-Mobile. T-Mobile is for kids, families, and construction workers. its the radio that keeps them in business as its a smart investment for a bunch of guys building houses.

why dont you simply get a phone with a larger screen and a QWERTY keyboard that doesnt require a data plan? and go with Verizon or ATT. look at Verizon's ENV2. or if you must have a data plan, look at a Motorola Q (it will sync with your PC or MacBook easily), or just get a cheaper BB like the Curve which is free on Verizon with activation and i think they even give you $150 on ATT.

then again, maybe you want to impress people with your cell phone skills. nothing wrong with that, but a BB isnt exactly the sexiest phone out there--its the business suit of the cell phone world. get a black Moto Q--thats cooler looking.

[Blacklatino]

Welcome to CrackBerry.

[PhilLiNoiS]

welcome to CB

are you sure you need a BlackBerry? to get a BB means you need to spend $40-50 per month on a data plan over and above your regular calling/SMS plan. all the things you listed--calendar app, for example--are found on any phone and secondly, the reason BB is so cool for calendars is that you can accept or deny a meeting when you are away from your desk. will your college allow you to sync with an Exchange or BB server? if not, you are wasting your money.

>Is BB really reliable because all my recent phone have dropped calls

i would look at your carrier regarding dropped calls. a run of the mill RAZR on Verizon or ATT will be less apt to drops calls in most areas less than a phone on T-Mobile. T-Mobile is for kids, families, and construction workers. its the radio that keeps them in business as its a smart investment for a bunch of guys building houses.

why dont you simply get a phone with a larger screen and a QWERTY keyboard that doesnt require a data plan? and go with Verizon or ATT. look at Verizon's ENV2. or if you must have a data plan, look at a Motorola Q (it will sync with your PC or MacBook easily), or just get a cheaper BB like the Curve which is free on Verizon with activation and i think they even give you $150 on ATT.

then again, maybe you want to impress people with your cell phone skills. nothing wrong with that, but a BB isnt exactly the sexiest phone out there--its the business suit of the cell phone world. get a black Moto Q--thats cooler looking.

I am looking for a phone thats more like a PDA than a regular phone and I previously owned a razor and just isnt the type of phone im looking for. Im lookin for a phone with an all around functionality for everyday life(scheduling, entertainment, reliability, communication) As for the data plan what is that all about and is it necessary to purchasing the phone. I have already looked into the Q and we all know its nothing compared to the BOLD Sorry for all the questions im new to the whole smartphone buz thanks to every who responded

[bartystewart]

I would say if you want a berry, go for it. I was in your position about a year ago, just starting college etc. And my curve is definitley one of the best phones I have had not to mention all the other features. A data plan isn't required, but brings a lot of functionality. As for sticking with t-mobile, it depends on your area. Where I live I get the best reception on t-mobile and it has been way better than verizon. If you wait for the bold you may be waiting a long time, but it definitley seems like a sweet upgrade.

[racefan]

Welcome to CB!!!

I would check the coverage area where you will be spending most of your time. Some of the colleges are in remote areas and may not be served well by some carriers. Personally, I have Verizon and have had great success with coverage. That being said, they are not supposed to get the Bold until September, at the earliest if you can believe the blogs.

[PhilLiNoiS]

Welcome to CB!!!

I would check the coverage area where you will be spending most of your time. Some of the colleges are in remote areas and may not be served well by some carriers. Personally, I have Verizon and have had great success with coverage. That being said, they are not supposed to get the Bold until September, at the earliest if you can believe the blogs.

Yea i know about the possible September release date but if it is released then it plays in may favor because my birthday at the end of september. And I am definately planning on test my coverage while im visiting my college. Again thanks for the responses... But i have one more question if the web browser uses wifi is this one of the things i can only use with a data plan? And what bout the Youtube thing?

[bmcclure937]

welcome to CB

are you sure you need a BlackBerry? to get a BB means you need to spend $40-50 per month on a data plan over and above your regular calling/SMS plan. all the things you listed--calendar app, for example--are found on any phone and secondly, the reason BB is so cool for calendars is that you can accept or deny a meeting when you are away from your desk. will your college allow you to sync with an Exchange or BB server? if not, you are wasting your money.

>Is BB really reliable because all my recent phone have dropped calls

i would look at your carrier regarding dropped calls. a run of the mill RAZR on Verizon or ATT will be less apt to drops calls in most areas less than a phone on T-Mobile. T-Mobile is for kids, families, and construction workers. its the radio that keeps them in business as its a smart investment for a bunch of guys building houses.

why dont you simply get a phone with a larger screen and a QWERTY keyboard that doesnt require a data plan? and go with Verizon or ATT. look at Verizon's ENV2. or if you must have a data plan, look at a Motorola Q (it will sync with your PC or MacBook easily), or just get a cheaper BB like the Curve which is free on Verizon with activation and i think they even give you $150 on ATT.

then again, maybe you want to impress people with your cell phone skills. nothing wrong with that, but a BB isnt exactly the sexiest phone out there--its the business suit of the cell phone world. get a black Moto Q--thats cooler looking.

Welcome to CrackBerry!! But, I kindly disagree with your statements.

First of all, your statements about TMo were totally pulled out of your a$$. Especially regarding the user-base being "for kids, families, and construction workers". That is absurd... rofl and makes no sense.

Secondly, let the man decide if he wants a BB or not... that was not the question he was posing... and he can make the decision he wants about his phone. I say go for the BlackBerry

Finally, if he doesn't "need" a BlackBerry why limit him only to Verizon and ATT with your device choice?? He can still stick with TMo if he wants... there are other devices out there. The main thing that matters in college is price and coverage. No college kid is made of $$ and every college kid wants to stay in touch with people.

That being said, the BB Curve 8320 and the Pearl 8120 are both amazing choices for a number of reasons. A big one being WiFi in this case... because you do not NEED a data plan if you do not want one. Most college kids call and txt (so get a txt plan). And you can make unlimited calls over UMA using WiFi if you get the Hotspot@Home service. Since most campuses now have WiFi almost everywhere... it is really handy and practical to be able to make calls over WiFi. And with internet in your dorm / apartment you can easily set up WiFi calling and never have to use your cell minutes. Great quality and coverage!!

[PhilLiNoiS]

Welcome to CB!!!

I would check the coverage area where you will be spending most of your time. Some of the colleges are in remote areas and may not be served well by some carriers. Personally, I have Verizon and have had great success with coverage. That being said, they are not supposed to get the Bold until September, at the earliest if you can believe the blogs.

Welcome to CrackBerry!! But, I kindly disagree with your statements.

First of all, your statements about TMo were totally pulled out of your a$$. Especially regarding the user-base being "for kids, families, and construction workers". That is absurd... rofl and makes no sense.

Secondly, let the man decide if he wants a BB or not... that was not the question he was posing... and he can make the decision he wants about his phone. I say go for the BlackBerry

Finally, if he doesn't "need" a BlackBerry why limit him only to Verizon and ATT with your device choice?? He can still stick with TMo if he wants... there are other devices out there. The main thing that matters in college is price and coverage. No college kid is made of $$ and every college kid wants to stay in touch with people.

That being said, the BB Curve 8320 and the Pearl 8120 are both amazing choices for a number of reasons. A big one being WiFi in this case... because you do not NEED a data plan if you do not want one. Most college kids call and txt (so get a txt plan). And you can make unlimited calls over UMA using WiFi if you get the Hotspot@Home service. Since most campuses now have WiFi almost everywhere... it is really handy and practical to be able to make calls over WiFi. And with internet in your dorm / apartment you can easily set up WiFi calling and never have to use your cell minutes. Great quality and coverage!!

Thanks for having my back I didn't want to call him out like that because im new to the Crackberry forums and I didn't wanna start trouble but I was definately thinking about the curve and pearl im just trying to limit my choices

[crackberry penguin]

Welcome to the Party btw

[jidx]

Welcome, I would suggest going with the Curve. T-mobile has not announced if or when they will be getting the Bold.

[Nikk]

I'm new to the great world of Black Berry. I've only had my Pearl for about 3 weeks now. Now since I happened to look up this site, I could not be more satisfied with my gift. I was wishing too I would have been patient enough to wait for the BOLD to come out. But it doesn't even matter now. I love what I have and I can always get the BOLD later.

Thanks for all the great info on here! This site keeps me up all night lol.

[supermum]

As a recent grad (have my M.A. as of yesterday!!!) I would like to say that I HATED my LG V/enV because of the awful calender feature. It was a mess.. not user friendly... ugh! I am an atypical student (since I am a mom as well as a starving student) so I had to schedule practices/kid events/parties/school assignments/etc. and the phone did not cut it. I bought a beast of a Day Timer so I could track my internship hours, personal life, assignments, etc. However, since it was such a beast (I needed the "two pages per day" option to fit my whole day on) I would forget to carry it with me since it did not easily slip into my pocket or purse (like a phone would).
This is what started me looking at the BB. They were highly touted as having the best calender option which I NEED. I do not "need" push email at all (It is going to be fun though). I love having the internet on my phone and used Mobile Web 2.0 through Verizon everyday although it was painfully slow (as there is no EVDO here... 3G for ATT is though) and with Mobile Web 2.0 I was restricted as to what I could see/do.
As a student I can see a lot of benefits to the BB beside the calender option. In the last few years going through my BA and MA programs I have had at least twice a quarter (if not more than five times a quarter) a professor send me a last minute email about a canceled class, a changed assignment date, an added tip about an exam, etc. (I always missed those as I had to drive 20 minutes to school and would leave early since it took 30 minutes to find a parking place).. would have been nice to get that email while I was at the grocery store before class/grabbing a coffee before the drive/ or in my driveway about to leave for class. Push email would have been a blessing in those circumstances.
Also, being able to view/change Word docs and such may come in handy on the go. I am sure I can think of more ways the BB would be wonderful for a student but it is late and I am tired.
Goodnight!