[junior1790]

Have any of you fellow Blackberry Psycho's (I include myself in that), tried ordering a curve directly from O2 without a contract, have it unlocked and bang, the wait is over??? Just a thought...

[wayneholbrook]

I wish that was the case. From what I heard O2 will not sell without a contract and if you are lucky enough to get it from them without a contract, then the next battle if your in the US is they wont ship to the US, and BANG, we are right back where we started.

[junior1790]

Well i would say it's wortha shot, no??? We should at least find out if thats fact or fiction...

[jpb39]

Although o2 won't directly sell SIM-free phones, it's usually possible to get a SIM-free phone from an online distributor in the UK, though the phones are still vendor-locked. A quick search for 'SIM-free Blackberry 8300' turned up at least one UK site (fone-shop) that claimed to have o2-locked 8300s in stock for 300 pounds. You would still need to unlock it, of course.

JPB

[gmmt]

Apparantly, only O2 business account users can buy it sim-free (unlocked).

Is anyone out there with a business account wanting to offer to buy one for me? :-D Cheers.

[shlingding]

Just went into an o2 store here in London. They have 20 and didn't even realize they had them! Got them Friday.

The device is FREE with an 18 month contract and gbp35 per month. I have one on hold pending confirmation from 'gsm phone source' that I'll be able to unlock it and use it on tmobile in the US....Anyone confirm that the OS wont be strange using an o2 on the tmobile network?

Confirmed that they wont sell them without contract...

They are fabulous to touch... though going from an 8700 to a pearl, i'm now used to the pearl keyboard, and the curve felt so wide! made a lot of mistakes typing... but just a bit of time needed to get used to it I assume.

Provided I hear back from gsmphonesource today, I'll own one by the end of the day! (with contract...)

[tmag2005]

As some of you will know i got mine last week from O2. Now you,

You Cannot:

1) Get one from a Store SIM Free.

2) Get one from a Store without a contract, or as an Upgrade.

3) From O2 Directly without a contract.


You Can:

1) Order a new contract and phone.

2) Get one through a Business Tariff or Upgrade.

3) Find someone who has one and willing to sell.


The price just so you know is £210 + VAT (17.5% Tax) - I doubt this will vary but it might.

Also the handset i received was unlocked.

[shlingding]

You got yours from an o2 store in London and it was unlocked??!! Thats awesome! The store people are generally wrong, so I guess this is proof again...
Whats the price you're referring to?

[tmag2005]

Originally Posted by shlingding

You got yours from an o2 store in London and it was unlocked??!! Thats awesome! The store people are generally wrong, so I guess this is proof again...
Whats the price you're referring to?

No i got mine frrom O2, actually direct from O2 and yes it was unlocked. But i have triple checked with my local store and they CANNOT sell them SIM Free. And the price i quoted is if you are a business user or tariff and want to get the phone before a due upgrade

[wayneholbrook]

I just called O2 and they will not ship outside of the UK. What a shame. If anyone knows another company that has them in the UK, please advise.

[trevolly]

Originally Posted by tmag2005

No i got mine frrom O2, actually direct from O2 and yes it was unlocked. But i have triple checked with my local store and they CANNOT sell them SIM Free. And the price i quoted is if you are a business user or tariff and want to get the phone before a due upgrade

Thats right Tmag mate, there is no possible way that an O2 high street store can sell you a Blackberry without it being attached to either an upgraded contract or a new contract. There is NO WAY to put it through the till systems!! Blackberry and O2 Xda (WM5 operating platform) are the only handsets this applies to, always has...

[tmag2005]

Originally Posted by trevolly

Thats right Tmag mate, there is no possible way that an O2 high street store can sell you a Blackberry without it being attached to either an upgraded contract or a new contract. There is NO WAY to put it through the till systems!! Blackberry and O2 Xda (WM5 operating platform) are the only handsets this applies to, always has...

I thought all PDAs were the same.

P.s Sounds like you work for them :D

[wayneholbrook]

Well I also just called the Fone-shop and was also advised they did indeed have the curve but they will ot ship outside of the UK. He advised me that it will be very hard to find any company willing to do that. If anyone wants to call them they can be reached at 011-44-8452009000. I have a hard time believing that no one is willing to sell one from the Uk. I even checked the Uk version of ebay and nothing. So again if anyone has a better idea let me know.

Oh maybe the best idea is to just wait..........no way.....

[junior1790]

Originally Posted by wayneholbrook

Oh maybe the best idea is to just wait..........no way.....

Agreed< has to be someone willig to budge, wht are we making it such a big deal, I almost feel like a litle bit of a loser...

[wayneholbrook]

Originally Posted by junior1790

Agreed< has to be someone willig to budge, wht are we making it such a big deal, I almost feel like a litle bit of a loser...

No we just love our toys.......and of course we dont want to wait.. wow I cant even begin to tell you how much money I have lost ovre the years buying cell phones / BB's from overseas instead of just waiting until they were released here is the US. But after all is said and done, I will do it again, theres nothing like being the 1st in your area to have the latest BB. What I need to do is become a beta tester, wow that would be exciting....

[wayneholbrook]

Originally Posted by junior1790

Agreed< has to be someone willig to budge, wht are we making it such a big deal, I almost feel like a litle bit of a loser...

No we just love our toys.......and of course we dont want to wait.. wow I cant even begin to tell you how much money I have lost ovre the years buying cell phones / BB's from overseas instead of just waiting until they were released here is the US. But after all is said and done, I will do it again, theres nothing like being the 1st in your area to have the latest BB. What I need to do is become a beta tester, wow that would be exciting....

[coolkarim]

Hi

Can I buy the 02 sim free curve (from fone-shop in uk) and then use on vodafone network with my current contract.

I get confused as to wether they are PIN locked to networks or not

and is it straightforward to unlock phone gsm part to other networks?

[Lex Luthor]

If you're fortunate enough to get a sim free BlackBerry Curve then you should be able to use it on the Vodafone network, it's not the pin that's locked to the network it's the device.

[kasperapd]

Originally Posted by wayneholbrook

No we just love our toys.......and of course we dont want to wait.. wow I cant even begin to tell you how much money I have lost ovre the years buying cell phones / BB's from overseas instead of just waiting until they were released here is the US. But after all is said and done, I will do it again, theres nothing like being the 1st in your area to have the latest BB. What I need to do is become a beta tester, wow that would be exciting....

I agree. That's why my vacation to London in the next 2 weeks will be perfect timing and allow me to come home with a Curve.

[wayneholbrook]

Originally Posted by kasperapd

I agree. That's why my vacation to London in the next 2 weeks will be perfect timing and allow me to come home with a Curve.

I am green with envy