Mobal & Blackberry
 

Hi folks

I have a Mobal SIM and am traveling to Europe in a few weeks.

A workmate has offered to loan me their Blackberry for my trip, so I can keep on top of emails without needing to take a laptop.

Has anyone used a Mobal SIM with a Blackberry before?

I think the blackberry is on AT&T by the way.

Chuck

Any sim will work in any unlocked phone. Now, I am not aware that the mobal sims are data capable. And, even if they are, using it with a blackberry will be another story.

They are data capable but I don't think they offer any bb plan for push e-mail... maybe you can manually check your mail, but it will cost you A LOT...

If the BB is on T-Mobile (U.S.), you can get intl. BB service added on for about 70 cents/day for the time you need it. (Includes email but not data.) ATT intl. BB requires a term commitment (one year?) and is $30/mo extra as a recall.
BB is just now becoming available on a prepaid basis. (I think the first country is UK.) Mobal would not have it - yet.

...mike

just a question for interest: why do you need a special plan for blackberries? Cant they just connect to the blackbarry server over whatever internet connection the mobile operator offers? Or do they wanna earn $$$ from each mobile operator for a license?

Chris

Blackberry connections require access to two APNs, blackberry and blackberry2. All carriers I know of don't allow access to them without a separate subscription.

Ah, they do it on APN level. Thats a smart model to make loads of cash :)
thanks for the info

It would be interesting to test with a o2 SIM in germany. o2 does not differ between APN names, you can just set your phone to the APN "billgatesloveswindows" and will still get internet access with it...

also in Italy you can have BB on prepaid, with a monthly fee of course.
I really don't get much the sense of BB, I even don't like them as interface, I'm totally happy with my Nokia E71! :)

Blackberry prepaid service is available on Digicel (they are now offering 1,2,4 week packages in Bermuda and also in Caribbean countries that have Digicel networks) Digicel Prepaid Blackberry service This would be a good solution for Caribbean blackberry coverage without the committment since Digicel allows some Digicel network prepaid roaming at reasonable rates, but wouldn't help much on other networks in North America or Europe where the rates would be much higher.
Blackberries can be tricked in some instances to access the web and standard email services, I've seen this done with Nextel-Iden blackberries ("Boost Berries)and Verizon CDMA blackberries (PagePlus Blackberries) in the US. Probably a similar procedure with a GSM blackberry, but you would still need some sort of data access and a good question is whether it would be worth the price. Might be worth contacting Mobal to ask if they can officially arrange Blackberry service for your device rather than the clandestine route.

Effendi -
As you probably know, BB use in many places has become an addiction. President Obama, for one. I think I'm about to get one and give up my 6 year old SE, even though it still works fine.
How much is charged for BB in Italy?

...mike