Which BB for World use?

I need to get a Blackberry for the bb messenger capability that several of my contacts use exclusively. As far as I can tell, there's no way to communicate with the Blackberry messenger system without having/using an actual BB phone. Is that correct?

Assuming bb messenger service can only be used from a bb phone, can people give some recommendations on the best Blackberry phones for global/world use?

My needs in order of priority are:
1. bb messenger capability
2. voice
3. data (high speed being a luxury)

Lastly, it seems the only Blackberry phones available in the US are tied to US carriers. This means they are locked, I believe. It is easy to unlock, from what I've read; but does this impact me in any negative way when using it on the US network that I start with (the one it was originally locked to?)

Would I be better off buying a non-US phone?

Thanks in advance!

What country are you in and who's your current cellular carrier?

Originally Posted by californiablackberry

What country are you in and who's your current cellular carrier?

US, Verizon. But I'm not sure I care which carrier, as this new BB will be parallel to my normal other phone. I have no great love for any of the carriers :)

Verizon is CDMA and not world recognized. Look for GSM from ATT and others for world use. Unlock codes are not expensive and available from lots of places here. Check the unlockers forum.

The Bold 9650 on VZW is also a World Phone. You can get service contracted through Verizon in most parts of the world. When you go the prepaid SIM route, it makes it a little harder because you need one that will provide data also. The Global data plan is only about 20 per month more for a BB, its the calls that can kill ya, depending on where you travel to.

Also, a data plan is required for BBM, so your condition 1 and 3 are kinda just one

Thanks all for the good info!