[nbontis]

I am currently a satisfied 7250 owner with Bell Mobility in Ontario.

I am going on an extended trip to Greece this summer for 2 months. My BB obviously won't work over there.

What options do I have for getting e-mail access in Greece. Anybody know?

Should I just buy a cheap pre-paid phone with e-mail access while I am there? I don't think they have BBs there yet. But maybe a PalmTreo or P910 would suffice. Although I don't want to pay too much.

Any advice would be great.

Cheers, Nick

[jimfraser]

I hate to say it, but if you do any travelling and want to use your phone or blackberry, you should have signed up with a gsm/gprs carrier such as Rogers. Rogers has roaming agreements with four cariers in Greece, of which, Vodaphone Greece, has a GPRS availability for e-mail on a gsm/gprs Blackberry such as the 7290 offered by Rogers and other gsm/gprs cariers. The Blackberry 7290 will automatically work for both data and voice in Greece.
If you are married to Bell (I use it for high speed internet and TV (satellite) both of which are good) for mobile then you are restricted to North America and parts of South America.
As you suggest, buy an unlocked cheep gsm/gprs cell phone that can access the frequency in Greece, which appears to be 900 mz or possibly 1800 mz. Not all gsm phones access all frequencies. Some only access North American frequencies which would be of no use in Greece. By using an unlocked phone you could use any carrier's plan, which I understand are cheeper in Europe rather than be stuck with a Roger's (or Fido) plan and the high roam rates (at least for voice) for use in Greece.

[thriller]

now that there are BB in Europe, would i have to forward my emails from my account to the new SIM card and number to get my emails. I am jsut wondering which is the most effective way. Which is the best solution ?

thanks

[Modernceo]

I have a 8700 with Cingular, which is on the GSM band.

Im not sure of your 7200, but if its not GSM, and is just CDMA based, it probably wont work. Otherwise, if you have GSM, youll be fine, I just came back from a 10 day trip in London, and in Greece with no problems.

[stufried]

Originally Posted by Modernceo

I have a 8700 with Cingular, which is on the GSM band.

Im not sure of your 7200, but if its not GSM, and is just CDMA based, it probably wont work. Otherwise, if you have GSM, youll be fine, I just came back from a 10 day trip in London, and in Greece with no problems.

Bell Mobility is CDMA. You'll need to see if they have a GSM unit that can be rentered for international travel. If that is the case, they will be able temporarily divert your e-mails to the loaner unit.

[thriller]

If i use a Pay as You Go with a provider down there, will i still be able to PIN back to North America, even though PIN to PIN is Data. Data Services are allowed on Pay as You Go. Anyone with info on htis or can confirm it works ?