Do I buy the Onyx from Rogers or do I buy it off of ebay? My friend got her Gemini from ebay (unlocked) and it works perfectly well, and of course WAY cheaper than what Rogers is offering it for.
Are there any disadvantages of going with an unlocked Blackberry?
What's the difference between an unlocked Blackberry and an unbranded Blackberry?
Thanks!
P.s. My phone's friend did not have any carrier logo on it, and that's what I would like to buy.
Last edited by jinxednuance; 10-11-09 at 09:50 AM.
Hmm, you make a point. The first Bold I got wasn't all that well functional so I had to send it back for a better one.
But the ones on ebay are way cheaper, but then again, that's the tradeoff.
My personal rule of thumb for for buying electronics new vs used is this...
If I can't replace the item for $50 or less, and it cost more than $200 to replace it, I get the warranted version of the device.
But I also make sure I buy from a source I can return/exchange/get a refund from, should there be any problems in the first 30 to 90 days of using it.
Yes it's harder to do if you can't wait and don't wish to do any research or checking. But you know what you can and can't afford if it's DOA and the sale is no refunds, no exchanges, no recourse.
Unlocked: the phone is not tied to any specific network, you can pop in a sim from any compatible network and the phone will work.
Unbranded: the phone has no affiliation with any carrier: no carrier logo on the case, no carrier boot screen, no carrier-specific pushed advertising.
Unbranded phones are not always fully compatible with all networks either. Not sure about BlackBerrys, but I bought an unbranded HTC phone a long time ago and found out that I couldn't send MMS messages because the phone isn't configured properly for the carrier's network. With that in mind I would never purchase an unbranded phone again, I'll always stick with purchasing directly from the carrier simply because of compatibility and warranty.
Unlocked is pointless unless you travel to other countries, and in that case you can get an unlock code from your carrier for free if needed, so there's no advantage in purchasing an already unlocked phone.
