1. nishantgandhi's Avatar
    Hi,

    I am a newbie to the BB world and please pardon my ignorance.

    I am in India and using Vodafone network in Mumbai. Right now, I have the plain vanilla GPRS/EDGE plan with a pay-per-use cost.

    I have been contemplating between a BB 8320 vs a Nokia E71. However, since my BB will be at my own cost, I dont want to go for an expensive BIS plan. I plan to use my GPRS/EDGE data plan for it.

    My usage is the following:

    1. Occasional mail check through GPRS/EDGE 1-2 times in a day
    2. Intermittent browsing, Facebook and Googling
    3. Using other GPRS based application (which I use currently on my Nokia E51). These are Java/Symbian based applications for movie tickets booking , Air tickets booking, bill payment etc.
    4. Gmail's mobile application, Yahoo Go etc.

    So in a nutshell, when I am out of home, I would be using the BB on a plain vanilla GPRS/EDGE data plan (NOT A BB PLAN).

    As soon as I enter my house (or any other WiFi enabled hotspot), I would be using WiFi for the above mentioned functions.

    I have read reviews on other forums which say that "A BB handset is a life less brick and would not work without a BIS/BES plan".

    This is the most surprising and unbelievable statement. Isnt BB supposed to be a phone first, and then an wireless email device? If answer to this is yes, then it should atleast support basic data protocols right?

    If its supposed to be a phone having the requisite hardware for a BB plan, why should it not work on GPRS platform?

    Or is it that a BIS/BES works on a completely different protocol than GPRS/EDGE?

    Please also enlighten me on the following:

    Are the above mentioned GPRS based applications available easily for a BB as they are for Symbian based Nokia E series? (this is VERY IMPORTANT for me!)


    Hope I have been able to put across my requirements clearly.
    02-20-09 12:45 AM
  2. RavenMaverick's Avatar
    GPRS and EDGE are part of a data plan. You can use only wi-fi with no charges at all. I am not quite sure what you are asking though. A data plan is a BB plan. You can either connect to the internet using wi-fi or a data plan. Wi-fi is free, a basic data plan is not. You can also have a BB and use it just for a phone and nothing else.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    02-20-09 01:00 AM
  3. nishantgandhi's Avatar
    My question is - can I use all functions of a BB handset (except ofcourse push email), on JUST GPRS/EDGE and not by subscribing to BIS plan?

    In India, a BIS plan includes GPRS/EDGE, but not vice versa. And cost differential is high!

    I dont need push email but like the BB handsets for their build and quality, hence the dilemma.
    02-20-09 02:30 AM
  4. pcunite's Avatar
    Maybe I can help you by explaining this way.

    When a BlackBerry (or any phone) is in wifi mode you have a tcp address assigned to the phone and you can do any and all Internet related activity if you have software installed (email client, web browser, etc).

    If you don't have access to wifi, then you are at the mercy of the carrier plan. Currently carriers charge you if you want to do anything internet related on their network. They call these data plans and are sold in addition to voice/texting. Yes edge could allow you internet access but they charge you for this access.

    Any phone without a data plan and no wifi is just a voice and texting device.
    02-20-09 08:28 AM
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