Buying BBOS BlackBerry - 2019 Guide
When in April of 2019 my carrier (Bell Canada) shut down their CDMA network I had no choice but to get a new phone. Due to my complete lack of enthusiasm for touch screens I decided to get another BBOS BlackBerry as a primary phone, BB Classic as a backup (in case BIS or 3G network gets shut down as well), and an Android phone to be used only with apps from financial institutions (connected through mobile hotspot to the primary phone).
1) Brand new BBOS BlackBerries are easily available on Amazon and Ebay. You need to look for a phone which is "new, unlocked, in original packaging". From my experience "open box" items are ok as well, anything "open box" I have got so far was indeed brand new, just the box wasn't sealed.
Below is a summary of prices (taxes and shipping included) and basic specifications of three devices. The list is sorted by the phone's release date and includes Bold 9900, Curve 9320 and BB 9720. Bold 9900 seems to be the most popular BBOS phone still used in 2019, Curve 9320 is the last Curve and BB 9720 is the last Bold (although it's officially just called BlackBerry 9720). BB 9720 is also the last BBOS device, it was released after BlackBerry Q10 and Z10. Curve 9320 and BB 9720 share the same battery, which has higher capacity than the battery of Bold 9900.
Bold 9900
- price: CAD 150 (USD 115)
- released: 2011
- version supporting UMTS bands 1,4,8: yes (Freedom Mobile, T-Mobile)
- version supporting UMTS bands 1,2,5: yes (AT&T, Bell Canada, Rogers, Telus)
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- battery: 1230 mAh (JM1)
- CPU: 1.2 GHz
- display: 2.8 in, 640x480 px
- input: keyboard and touch screen
- OS: 7.0, upgradable to 7.1
- mobile hotspot: yes (with OS 7.1)
- camera: 5 MP, fixed focus
Curve 9320
- price: CAD 100 (USD 80)
- released: 2012
- version supporting UMTS bands 1,4,8: yes (Freedom Mobile, T-Mobile)
- version supporting UMTS bands 1,2,5,6: yes (AT&T, Bell Canada, Rogers, Telus)
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- battery: 1450 mAh (JS1)
- CPU: 806 MHz
- display: 2.44 in, 320x240 px
- input: keyboard
- OS: 7.1
- mobile hotspot: yes
- camera: 3.15 MP, fixed focus
BlackBerry 9720
- price: CAD 100 (USD 80)
- released: 2013
- version supporting UMTS bands 1,4,8: not available
- version supporting UMTS bands 1,2,5,6,8: yes (AT&T, Bell Canada, Rogers, Telus)
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- battery: 1450 mAh (JS1)
- CPU: 806 MHz
- display: 2.8 in, 480x360 px
- input: keyboard and touch screen
- OS: 7.1
- mobile hotspot: yes
- camera: 5 MP, fixed focus
More specs can be found on GSMArena:
https://www.gsmarena.com/
2) When shopping around for a new BBOS device please keep in mind that some models have two versions supporting different UMTS frequency bands (as shown above). The bands supported by your carrier can be checked on FrequencyCheck's website:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/
Some resellers on Amazon and Ebay do not provide proper information regarding UMTS bands. It is sometimes printed on the box:
https://imageshack.com/i/plQRBrrKp
Otherwise, the only foolproof method to determine this is to open the box and look it up in phone's settings:
Options - Device - About Device Versions - 3G Bands
Here is an example from Curve 9320:
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img921/1778/JoM2JA.png
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img921/457/riFpRJ.png
3) Some carriers have device compatibility tests available on their websites, where the phone's IMEI is entered to determine if it is compatible with the network. However, those tests often do not work, at least with BBOS devices. I have run into both false positives and false negatives running IMEI tests with Bell Canada and Freedom Mobile.
4) Once you have the phone delivered it might be necessary to wipe the old OS and install the latest one available. This is not always the case. I bought one BB 9720 with OS 7.1.0.1121 (bundle 3008) already installed, so the bundle version was higher than 2994 indicated in CrackBerry subforum.
5) Here are some useful accessories. Just enter the product code in Google.
OEM swivel holsters (the same holster fits BB 9720 and BB 9900):
BB 9320 - HDW-46595-001 or ACC-46596-201
BB 9720 - HDW-38842-001
BB 9900 - HDW-38842-001
OEM spare battery charger for JS1 battery (for BB 9320 and BB 9720):
ACC-46742-201