[msahrle]

A little advice please? I'm thinking of purchasing the new Pearl from Verizon. To be honest, I most likely won't be getting a data plan...maybe down the road to get email for work, but not now. I like the look of the phone and the size, but would I have a phone that does too much and is too complicated for what I will need it to do. Basically I would use it for voice and text. I am also looking at the LG enV. I like what it does, I just think its too big and bulky.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

PS...this site is great!

[AnalyticalMind]

i have the first gen enV (was just "The V" at that time), and i like it for txting, IM, etc....I just want a blackberry mainly to have the music player and a real web browser. But if you're not getting a data plan i'd suggest enV...but if you know you'll get the data plan down the road then you might as well go with the Pearl so then you don't have to buy a new phone later

[chino]

A little advice please? I'm thinking of purchasing the new Pearl from Verizon. To be honest, I most likely won't be getting a data plan...maybe down the road to get email for work, but not now. I like the look of the phone and the size, but would I have a phone that does too much and is too complicated for what I will need it to do. Basically I would use it for voice and text. I am also looking at the LG enV. I like what it does, I just think its too big and bulky.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

PS...this site is great!

msahrle, I got the pearl and really like it even though it is completely more phone than I need and I am not going to keep the data plan with it. I got it b/c of the size, the calendar function, size, and the semi-qwerty pad.

There is a lot of crap you won't need but I like the fact I can watch a movie (which I have done), listen to music, look at pics, and text like crazy w/ out any problems.

The phone iscomplicated. There is a lot to get used to that is so different from regular phones. There are things about it that bug me, but I am sure once I get used to it I won't notice them. Feel free to ask me any questions. I was/am in the same boat as you.

[lillygirl7]

According to Verizon you MUST have the data plan on a Blackberry PERIOD! But what's really cool is that the data plan for the Blackberry is only $30 a month versus $45 with everything else. YOu cannot get vcast on the blackberry and if you want the Vcast option it starts at $15 only get email. then the next incriment is $25 so for either $15-$5.00 more you get a lot more option with the blackberry. I have to say that the PUSH email is really nice. You can email like you are texting. If you are thinking about the enV I would skip that one and get the new Voyager because you get better internet browsing it's full HTML. knowone has been able to tell me exactly what that means, but it's suppose to be good. But the pearl is so little and is PACKED with options. You don;t have to use them all. I got my mom to get one and so far she's loving it and she has no clue about computers! But if you do go with the pearl don't get frustrated it takes a couple days to fully get use to it. But you will get use to it and love it!

[billnye]

yeah lilly's right. you have to get a data plan.

[baseball2]

hey I am new to all this terminology. I just got the pearl through verizon and I got the data plan does that mean unlimited web browsing and emails? also what does push email mean. Just trying to learn.
thanks

[optimizt#CB]

According to my Verizon guy (who is pretty knowledgeable, usually), you *can* have the BB without the data plan. However, when you buy the phone in the store they have to put the data plan on your plan, then you call customer service to have it removed.

He babbled something about "with most pda's, the phone looks for the data signal, but with BB's, the data signal looks for the phone, so the connection between the phone and network defaults to data mode rather than phone mode." But it apparently means that the data signal must be shut off at the signal end, which the store agents don't have control over. (If that makes sense to anyone else... I'm still confused, but whatever). When you cancel the data package, it pro-rates the charge for the month, so ~$1 per day that you keep it on.

Plus, right now there is $100 worth of rebate on the phone that you can only get if you also get a data package (even if you cancel the data package after one day).

So this is what I did: I bought the phone last night, and he applied the data package. I have been messing around with the various features, just to know what they do for future notice (I like the idea of maps/gps when I'm in an unknown city). But tonight or tomorrow I'll probably call and cancel the data plan. I'll let you know if it doesn't work.

[billnye]

hey I am new to all this terminology. I just got the pearl through verizon and I got the data plan does that mean unlimited web browsing and emails? also what does push email mean. Just trying to learn.
thanks

1. yes, unlimited up to 5gb/mo
2. push email means that the email server pushes the email to your phone automatically, instead of having to connect at set intervals to check to see if you have any email. or something like that.

[Crackberry Bonds]

Questions. If one exceeds 5Gb/mo then you have to pay a surcharge?

How can I determine the running total for the month? Or, how to I determine the amout of bits that are being transferred?

[vicatmail]

According to my Verizon guy (who is pretty knowledgeable, usually), you *can* have the BB without the data plan. However, when you buy the phone in the store they have to put the data plan on your plan, then you call customer service to have it removed.

He babbled something about "with most pda's, the phone looks for the data signal, but with BB's, the data signal looks for the phone, so the connection between the phone and network defaults to data mode rather than phone mode." But it apparently means that the data signal must be shut off at the signal end, which the store agents don't have control over. (If that makes sense to anyone else... I'm still confused, but whatever). When you cancel the data package, it pro-rates the charge for the month, so ~$1 per day that you keep it on.

Plus, right now there is $100 worth of rebate on the phone that you can only get if you also get a data package (even if you cancel the data package after one day).

So this is what I did: I bought the phone last night, and he applied the data package. I have been messing around with the various features, just to know what they do for future notice (I like the idea of maps/gps when I'm in an unknown city). But tonight or tomorrow I'll probably call and cancel the data plan. I'll let you know if it doesn't work.

Hello. Were you able to get off Verizon's data plan after all. I would really like to get the Pearl but I don't want the extra expense for something I won't be using. Let me know please. Thanks.

[Mikey.P]

Unfortunately there is no way to get rid of the data plan on Verizon Wireless. The feature is not removeable. If a verizon rep was able to take the feature off of the account it would most likely be placed back on your account with in 30 days, as this feature is audited regularly by vzw. the 5GB allowance does not apply to the unlimited data feature for blackberry devices but to tethering the device to be used as a modem. The charge for going over the 5GB plan is 25 cents per MB over the allowance.

Hope this helps.

[pashan]

And don't get too attached to the idea of GPS unless you are planning on paying 9.99 a month for VZNav. Verizon locks the GPS capabilities of their phones and forces you to pay extra for their proprietary software to use the GPS at all!!

If you want a truly functional phone then you'll need to go to another provider!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com