[wmflyfisher]

Just got my Curve 8310 today and I really like it! I called AT&T to see about the BB plans they offer and she told me that the cheapest one was $39.99. Is this correct?? I thought they had one for $29. I'm looking for the cheapest one possible. This is only a personal phone and I have one yahoo mail account. Will I have to use the BB plan?? Any help would be great.

[JSanders]

You will need the BB Data Plan. It will cost $29.99 with a voice plan, unless AT&T has raised the rates in the past few hours.

[wmflyfisher]

Hey J, Thanks for the info. I've been doing some reading and it seems that I can get by with a regular data plan if I don't care about the push email which I don't. Maybe I'll try it and see.

[Maximus_Prime]

I don't think you could get a regular data plan because you have a BB.
BB require specific BB data plan ( with the $29.99 the cheapest one)

[Dubdub]

The BIS Personal Unlimited data plan is $34.00 or $29.99 if you have a qualifying voice plan (450 minutes I think). This includes Internet and email, but no test messages. There is an unlimited BIS plan plus 1500 TMs for something like $39.00 or so.

If you plan to use the GPS features or download using OTA, you have to have the BB dataplan. MediaNet plans won't work at all. Waste of money.

[Sith_Apprentice]

actually mediaNet plans WILL work for downloading OTA programs and navigating the web. However you will not get email to the blackberry(MMS will still come through)

[wmflyfisher]

Originally Posted by Sith_Apprentice

actually mediaNet plans WILL work for downloading OTA programs and navigating the web. However you will not get email to the blackberry(MMS will still come through)

Thats what I thought. There is more information on this subject here.

How to use BlackBerry on Generic Data Plan - BlackBerryFAQ

[tsac]

These are the current offers lowest shown. I cannot find any discounts but there may be if you bundle it with a 450 voice plan


BlackBerry® Personal Plan $34.99 Unlimited

PDA Connect for BlackBerry® Connect Unlimited $49.99 Unlimited

[wmflyfisher]

I just talked with an AT&T representative and he told me that there was no way that I could use a data plan instead of the BB plan with my 8310 curve. Many have spoke about doing this here on the board. Should I just go into my account and add a data plan for this to work? He told me if I didn't get a BB data plan then their auto-cleanup would remove my package sooner or later. Is this true or is it just a way to get me to purchase the BB plan??

[rsnadel]

What are you hoping to use it for? If you want email pushed to your phone, you need a Blackberry plan. If you're going to use a non-standard method of accessing the Internet (i.e. Opera), you may be able to get away with a non-Blackberry data plan...someone will correct me if I'm wrong about that.

[wmflyfisher]

I will be using it for email but not push. I will check it manually and yes, I will use opera for my internet.

[Sith_Apprentice]

opera works, and the standard ATT media net browser will work as well. just either tell them you want to be able to use your SIM in a non blackberry phone for internet as well, or just add the medianet plan manually through your account

[cmguerra77]

Sounds like they're trying to get you into the BB plan. What's the difference in cost?

[wmflyfisher]

Well the BB plans start at $29 and thats with no text messages. $39 with text messages. I just added a media bundle in my account for $19 and that includes 1500 texts and unlimited internet a month!

[Sith_Apprentice]

despite its consumer oriented advances the main purpose of the blackberry is still email functionality. with a standard data plan (non blackberry) you lose this ability. that is the entire purpose of the blackberry data plan.

[wmflyfisher]

Well I really don't care about the push email so good! I can just check my email manually through opera and save about $20 a month!

[Dubdub]

Originally Posted by wmflyfisher

Well I really don't care about the push email so good! I can just check my email manually through opera and save about $20 a month!

That is all well and good, but don't complain about not being able to do this or that or the Internet connection won't allow me to do this or that. Or the BB sucks, etc.

Without the BB dataplan you can't use OTA downloads, MMS won't work correctly, GPS map applications won't work (need OTA downloads anyway), or you can't find the workarounds to make Opera work correctly or even connect.

To take full advantage of the BB, you really need the dataplan. Good luck.

[cmguerra77]

I paid the extra cash for the Data plan and I love it. I barely check my email online anymore because of the BB.

But if you are ok with connecting to the Internet through the phone, which can be a bit of a hassle sometimes, then go with the media plan and save the cash.

[wmflyfisher]

Originally Posted by Dubdub

That is all well and good, but don't complain about not being able to do this or that or the Internet connection won't allow me to do this or that. Or the BB sucks, etc.

Without the BB dataplan you can't use OTA downloads, MMS won't work correctly, GPS map applications won't work (need OTA downloads anyway), or you can't find the workarounds to make Opera work correctly or even connect.

To take full advantage of the BB, you really need the dataplan. Good luck.

No need to worry about that. I'm not complaining at all. I love the phone and its been great so far without the BB plan. The internet has given me zero problems and I can use opera or the phone browser. Even the OTA downloads I tried worked. Thanks for the advice.

[JSanders]

There was really no need to start a whole new thread on this same subject when you already had one going. I'm merging the two threads so a future reader may follow the entire issue from start to finish.