[lestat1780]

Hi guys,

(I'm german, so please don't bash me for my bad english ;-) )
A friend of mine gave me his old Curve 8310, which I like very much so far, although it gave me some trouble, that I would'nt had expected from a smartphone.
The whole BIS/BES thing was something I never heard of and until I informed myself, I couldn't even think of any reason why RIM would charge extra money for services that any Iphone or Android or whatever-owner could enjoy as a regular part of their Internet charge - and after I did, I still don't fully understand...
Sure, there is a difference between RIMs "special services" and regular data plans, but the be honest: I'm not interested in them, they're no use for me... I just want to do the same stuff that my girlfriend could do with her freakin' Iphone (which I don't like) so that she'll stop giving me that my-phones-better-than-yours-glance... ;-)

A little background: Currently my blackberry is running on prepaid via vodafone. I have a open-end option for calls and an internet flat. That totally suits my needs, so I don't want to change it.
I had some difficulties setting up the internet connection and the browser, but finally I got it running. Same thing goes for googlemail (over IMAP), -maps and facebook-apps, after I got loads of messages that I need a data plan for this and that. I even got a message of vodafone that the usage of blackberry is not possible in with my prepaid-plan (???) an so on.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't want to do anything illegal (for exmaple vodafone does not allow instant messaging with prepaid, so no ICQ for me) and for my understanding I didn't. I didn'T even load any of the service books which is recommended in the crackberry forum. I don't even know what that does exactly...
As I said, all of this is running, but I still get random error messages and sometimes my internet connection is lost for half an hour or more. In fact it wouldn't surprise me, if vodafone closes my account, just because I do things that I could do with any other smartphone without a problem.
So i'm looking for some answers and that got me here... And now i'm even more confused. Because another thing that I want to do with my blackberry is to download and use some cool apps, and since I have to avoid RIMs APP World, I thought my problems were solved with crackberrys superstore, so I finally can enjoy my "new" smartphone as everyone does who does not have a blackberry... And guess what... I can't use the superstore, because I don't have a Blackberry Data Plan??? Can someone please explain to me, what I have missed, and please be polite.. I don't know much about that topic...

I really like that phone. It has something old fashioned with somewhat modern technology, and I would never swap it with the sony xperia x10 which lies right next to me on the table, in case my blackberry will not work properly in the future.
Any suggestions?

Thx

[Laura Knotek]

It would be possible to use the CrackBerry store and install apps without a BlackBerry data plan if you had a Wi-Fi capable device. Unfortunately, the 8310 does not have Wi-Fi. Therefore, the only way to use the browser is by having a BlackBerry data plan.

[lestat1780]

I just don't understand why one have to have a special data plan just for accessing the internet and downloading apps, especially if the store isn't an official one. But I have to admit, that I misunderstood the title of the website, you know... the "crack"-part... ;-)
Well, I have to use the internet browser then, but that sucks...

Another quick question: Drive save.ly app says that it detects internet connection but everytime a mail comes in it says "connection error"... Let me guess... No drive safel.ly without data plan? ;-)

[Laura Knotek]

I just don't understand why one have to have a special data plan just for accessing the internet and downloading apps, especially if the store isn't an official one. But I have to admit, that I misunderstood the title of the website, you know... the "crack"-part... ;-)
Well, I have to use the internet browser then, but that sucks...

Another quick question: Drive save.ly app says that it detects internet connection but everytime a mail comes in it says "connection error"... Let me guess... No drive safel.ly without data plan? ;-)

From their Web site: "We strongly recommend you use DriveSafe.ly with a data plan because you need an internet connection to connect with our servers for each message that is read out loud. We don�t want you to unknowingly rack up a huge phone bill. Having your messages read is optional."

[lestat1780]

I HAVE an internet connection, and that internet connection allows me up to 200 MB unthrotteld data traffic...
Maybe I don't get the difference between an internet flatrate, and a data plan...
What about "strongly recommend"? Does it or does it not work without BIS/BES? Thanks for the info though.