AboutDebiN Expertise I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM (AT&T (formerly Cingular) and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel (iDEN)). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.
Experience Over 15 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500)
Education/Credentials Master's in Telecommunications
Question I have a brand new, unlocked Blackberry Pearl 8120. I would like to use the AT&T GoPhone Pick Your Plan voice service, along with unlimited messages (text/IM/picture) + 100MB of data (current bill shows 20MB of data when I'm not being careful). Will I be able to use:
a) BlackBerry Messenger to chat with my family and friends via BBM on their BB's in different countries? OR is data here not relevant to BlackBerry service?
b) Google Talk application already installed to chat with friends in the US and around the world? OR will I be charged for "international" messaging?
c) a newly registered @blackberry.com email address, once established on AT&T?
If not possible with AT&T, will it possible with T-Mobile's FlexPay monthly plans, or any other American pre-paid service?
Thanks in advance!
Answer Unfortunately, it will not be possible to use your BlackBerry with IM, BlackBerry Messenger, MMS messaging, GoogleTalk or any type of data. In order to use a BlackBerry (whether locked or unlocked) for any type of data of any kind, you have to have a BlackBerry data plan with your carrier to begin with. BlackBerrys work for data by being associated with a BlackBerry server and when you have a BlackBerry data plan, the device's PIN number is associated with the server. Other PDA's don't work this way, but all BlackBerrys with all carriers do. You will be able to use the device for voice and text messaging, and will have access to your contacts, calendar, etc., but anything data will not be available to you.
T-Mobile is the only American carrier who allows you to have prepaid plan with a BlackBerry. Their Flex Pay does work with a BlackBerry. However, you will pay an additional $34.99 a month (on top of your voice plan) to have a BlackBerry on FlexPay. And, the device will have to have T-Mobile software on it, the PIN can't already be registered to someone else, otherwise your @blackberry.com email address won't work. And since the email address is an AT&T one, it won't work with T-Mobile.
My honest recommendation if you really want to use a BlackBerry with AT&T is to buy the device from them and get a post-paid plan from them. The lowest cost is $39.99 for the voice and $30.00 for data (not including text messaging). You can get a Pearl for almost free these days.
But if you have to stay with prepaid, then T-Mobile is your only potential opportunity, and as I mentioned, you still may have a problem with getting the proper software on the device and not all features may work properly (for example, the 8120 that AT&T sells has different features than the one that T-Mobile sells and you need the carrier for the feature, i.e. WiFi or GPS).
And lastly, you won't be able to transfer your new BlackBerry address from one carrier to the other. They are specific to the carrier.
