[wirelessfan]

With one of the hottest phones on the market (the Pearl), one would think that this forum would be a lot more lively. I've been toying around with the idea of getting a Pearl but candidly I'm having a problem getting excited enough to shell out a couple hunskys to pick one up based in part on the lack of excitment here about the product.

Anyone have any ideas on how to wake up the RIM/Blackberry forum here?

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› See More: How Do We Liven Up the Blackberry Forum?

[5speedsteve]

i just got one...so ill try to be in here more as i wont be getting rid of it anytime soon

[wirelessfan]

i just got one...so ill try to be in here more as i wont be getting rid of it anytime soon

Very cool. A few questions ...

1.) What was your previous phone?
2.) What attracted you to the Pearl?
3.) What advantages do you see in the Pearl?
4.) Is there anything about the Pearl that totally amazes you?
5.) Is there anything about the Pearl that you do not like?

[5speedsteve]

Motorola v80 - (swivel phone they never sold in the U.S) awesome everything i wanted... but i broke 3 of them

Samsung t809 - totally satisfied until i broke it and was forced into t629 which i think sucked

Now pearl!

I wanted all the options and web browsing in somthing that didn't look like poo.

Its gets better the more I use it theres so much in there.

I haven't found any tragic flaws yet.

[wirelessfan]

Motorola v80 - (swivel phone they never sold in the U.S) awesome everything i wanted... but i broke 3 of them

Samsung t809 - totally satisfied until i broke it and was forced into t629 which i think sucked

Now pearl!

I wanted all the options and web browsing in somthing that didn't look like poo.

Its gets better the more I use it theres so much in there.

I haven't found any tragic flaws yet.

Thanks Steve. Good comments. Did you look at any of the other Blackberries and compare them to the Pearl before you made your final decision?

[rfearns]

With one of the hottest phones on the market (the Pearl), one would think that this forum would be a lot more lively. I've been toying around with the idea of getting a Pearl but candidly I'm having a problem getting excited enough to shell out a couple hunskys to pick one up based in part on the lack of excitment here about the product.

Anyone have any ideas on how to wake up the RIM/Blackberry forum here?

Hmmmm, perhaps actually talking about how to use these crackberries? I'm a relatively new addict and have spent hours searching on how to get the most out of my toy; even bought a book. However my biggest hurdle at the moment is not having data ability. Silly me thought when a phone was sold with a plan, that plan would include all the things that the phone was advertised as being able to do.

[wirelessfan]

Hmmmm, perhaps actually talking about how to use these crackberries? I'm a relatively new addict and have spent hours searching on how to get the most out of my toy; even bought a book. However my biggest hurdle at the moment is not having data ability. Silly me thought when a phone was sold with a plan, that plan would include all the things that the phone was advertised as being able to do.

Hey rfearns, thanks for the post. I'm confused. Your post seems to say that you have Cingulbar's Blackberry plan but you still don't have data access. Is that right? What did Cingulbar do to you?

[rfearns]

Hey rfearns, thanks for the post. I'm confused. Your post seems to say that you have Cingulbar's Blackberry plan but you still don't have data access. Is that right? What did Cingulbar do to you?

Cingulbar didn't do anything that any other cell companies don't do. They wiggled a carrot, in this case a crackberry, at a price I could afford. It was my own fault for not researching everything before I signed on the dotted line. But this was my first blackberry and I didn't know you need a wireless plan AND a data plan to get all the cool features. I also didn't know the data plan costs as much as my broadband internet connection.

[wirelessfan]

Cingulbar didn't do anything that any other cell companies don't do. They wiggled a carrot, in this case a crackberry, at a price I could afford. It was my own fault for not researching everything before I signed on the dotted line. But this was my first blackberry and I didn't know you need a wireless plan AND a data plan to get all the cool features. I also didn't know the data plan costs as much as my broadband internet connection.

That seems incredible. I'm not sure how a Cingulbar sales person could possibly sell you a Blackberry phone without explaining the service plans you need to have to make your phone work. Yet another example of Cingulbar's poor service standards.

[rfearns]

That seems incredible. I'm not sure how a Cingulbar sales person could possibly sell you a Blackberry phone without explaining the service plans you need to have to make your phone work. Yet another example of Cingulbar's poor service standards.

Cingulbar has service standards?????? Wow, and here I thought they just wanted my $$$$$. And no, never was told about the data plan - they did however sell me the media plan after 6 calls to customer service due to sim card errors. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be worth a tinker's damn with my toy.

While this is my first crackberry, I've had a cell phone for years - first one was a big honking analog unit. And this is the first time I have encountered crap like this. I was a previous AT&T customer (before cingular) and my ericsson surfed the net quite nicely; without a seperate data plan.

I've got about 14 months left to serve with Cingular and will add the data plan within the next 60 days just to play with it (contract says 24 months, but I am free to add and delete packages at will). Then I will have my toy unlocked and attempt to find a company that treats their customers as an asset, not a meal ticket.

[wirelessfan]

Cingulbar has service standards?????? Wow, and here I thought they just wanted my $$$$$. And no, never was told about the data plan - they did however sell me the media plan after 6 calls to customer service due to sim card errors. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be worth a tinker's damn with my toy.

While this is my first crackberry, I've had a cell phone for years - first one was a big honking analog unit. And this is the first time I have encountered crap like this. I was a previous AT&T customer (before cingular) and my ericsson surfed the net quite nicely; without a seperate data plan.

I've got about 14 months left to serve with Cingular and will add the data plan within the next 60 days just to play with it (contract says 24 months, but I am free to add and delete packages at will). Then I will have my toy unlocked and attempt to find a company that treats their customers as an asset, not a meal ticket.

Keeping in mind that your new Blackberry is a GSM phone, you have two nationwide GSM carriers in the USA: AT&T/Cingulbar or T-Mobile.

I am a former AT&T customer and I'd rather use a can and string than to return to that nightmare called Cingulbar. Here in Southern California, Cingulbar has quite a reputation - a reputation for poor coverage and high prices.

I've used T-Mobile now for a couple of years and, while not perfect, they are head and shoulders above Cingulbar. I'd recommend that you take a look at TMo when the timing is right for you.

[rfearns]

Keeping in mind that your new Blackberry is a GSM phone, you have two nationwide GSM carriers in the USA: AT&T/Cingulbar or T-Mobile.

I am a former AT&T customer and I'd rather use a can and string than to return to that nightmare called Cingulbar. Here in Southern California, Cingulbar has quite a reputation - a reputation for poor coverage and high prices.

I've used T-Mobile now for a couple of years and, while not perfect, they are head and shoulders above Cingulbar. I'd recommend that you take a look at TMo when the timing is right for you.

I actually didn't have any problems with AT&T. Coverage was good, price was reasonable and reception was good as well. It just got too expensive for what little I was using it at the time. I've got several friends on T-mobil and here in Florida, it is pretty bad. Large amount of dropped calls, lack of towers, etc. But who knows who or what will be happening when my contract ends. Now that I am an informed consumer, who ever I go with will be researched to the max.

It is a sad thing when you got such a cool appliance as a blackberry and only 2 choices for a carrier.

[wirelessfan]

It is a sad thing when you got such a cool appliance as a blackberry and only 2 choices for a carrier.

I'm going to the cell phone store tomorrow afternoon to take a very close look at the Pearl and the 8800. Research time for me.

After all the consolidations and buyouts, your overall choices are pretty limited in general:

GSM: T-Mobile and AT&T/Cingulbar

CDMA: Verizon and Sprint and Alltel (probably soon to be gobbled up by Verizon)

iDen: Nextel

That's it. 5 1/2 choices (Sprint and Nextel being one company with 2 different networks).

IMHO, the FCC should have never allowed AT&T and Cingulbar to merge. The more mega mergers there are, the less choices there are for consumers. The FCC is suppose to protect the citizenry. HAHA, allowing mega mergers is good for big business. The benefits to the citizenry are far less apparent.

[rfearns]

IMHO, the FCC should have never allowed AT&T and Cingulbar to merge. The more mega mergers there are, the less choices there are for consumers. The FCC is suppose to protect the citizenry. HAHA, allowing mega mergers is good for big business. The benefits to the citizenry are far less apparent.

It hasn't been that long ago that there was 1 phone company, "Ma Bell". The powers that be decided it was a monopoly and forced Ma Bell to to fragment into several "Baby Bells". This was supposed to open the doors for competition and give consumers a choice. Not sure how that was supposed to work because like the cable company you still didn't have a choice as it depended on what area you lived in as to who provided your service. Personally, I think Ma Bell remained discretely in the background waiting for the time when all her babies came back home. I don't think the umbilical cord was ever severed and these merges are just a smoke screen.

FCC protects citizens????? That is almost as funny as expecting customer service from Cingular.

[wirelessfan]

I think Ma Bell remained discretely in the background waiting for the time when all her babies came back home. I don't think the umbilical cord was ever severed and these merges are just a smoke screen.

I worked for AT&T for a short time after the breakup. Trust me, that feeble old lady's best days were long behind her.

Ed Whitacre was the CEO of SBC and he bought the broken down remains of the old AT&T and merged them into SBC. By the time Whitacre got his hands on the original AT&T, all that was left of value was the name of the company.

This was more the case of the baby nursing the mother than the mother nursing the baby.