Blackberry Help? What would be the pros and cons for having one in DR?

caribmike

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Jul 9, 2009
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I understand that one can be always online with it? (having reception of course) contrary to a smart phone with a data plan of say 3 GB or does it refer only having unlimited access to some Blackberry services?

Can one use a BB as a modem i.e. connecting it to a pc/laptop/tablet... would that be "tethering"?

Not sure I understand that all... Can somebody enlighten me please?

Thank you all :)
 

miesposo

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Sep 2, 2012
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First of all, smart phones, and that means Android, Iphone or BB they all do tethering. They do it wired, Bluetooth or via WiFi, you only have to set it up. The plans start from 1GB up to unlimited depends how much you are willing to pay. Some of the plans say they are unlimited but how they work is that if you pay for example for 5GB you will have 3G speed until you use the 5GB, after that it will degrade up to 128Kb/sec.
 

caribmike

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OK, so they have a download or velocity cap. Got it. But what differs the BB from the other smartphones? At Claro you can get plans especially for the BB. What does the BB do what Android or Iphone don't?
 

miesposo

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With BB you get to pay 995 pesos + taxes, for example at Codetel and get the same as a Android or Iphone for the same price except you will get the BB services included as well. The BB services are email, BB messenger, plus others.
 

Omar_NYC

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Correct. BB plan means you get BBM, BIS, and BES if applicable to your situation. The BB plan is no different than a regular Android or iPhone plan except for your carrier registering your phone with the BB network for BB-specific services.

Careful about tethering.. It usually costs extra for BB.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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As mentioned, with BB service you get services such as push email, BB messenger (really neat thing to talk to people without actually calling them, and you see when the message was delivered, read, and when they are typing to respond), etc.

You cannot tether on PREPAID BB plans neither on Orange or on Claro (Claro used to allow prepaid tethering but I have reports it does not allow any longer, but this may not be 100% accurate information).

For POSTPAID BB plans, you can tether both on Claro and Orange. You can also use the phone as My-Fi on Orange (not sure about Claro) if your BB's software allows it (OS 7.1 necessary). Both companies have the APN open (to use with non-BB services, such as using 3rd party browser, 3rd party email app, video streaming, etc.) Google Maps and Google Aps require BB FULL plan in order to work. On Claro, you get 500 MB of downloads via Tethering at full speed, then speed reduction. On Orange you get about 256 kbps speed on tethering only, regardless of data, there is no data cap. Sometimes, if you are close to tower, and at early morning hours (2-3 am) you can get to 1 mbps on Orange on tethering.
 

caribmike

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So the use of (in emergency) tethering is better with another smartphone than the BB?

Basically I am looking at a Data plan to a service always accessible (on the road, campo etc.) so I can stay in touch w/ email etc. It doesn't have to be a BB though. But I was under the impression there is a way to be always in touch with their services doesn't matter if there is 3G reception or not etc. and that there is s'thing special about BB what I am missing out or not aware of.

I have a Samsung Galaxy. Is there a data plan what you could recommend to use with it?

Thanks in advance!
 

J.Baby

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Dec 23, 2012
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The big differance between a BB and another smartphone (android or iphone) is that the BB compresses data, while the other two don't.

This allows you to use less data for the same amount of internet usage. This is why the BB was so popular in Canada and the US when data charges were still expensive.

As the rate at which data is charges in Canada and US dropped significantly, it allows users to use a smart phone that treats data the same as a computer.

I don't know about here, but in Canada at least the system has codes which don't allow you to use BB plans for too long on an android or iphone. This is for the consumers protection as the old BB plans did not have the same volume of data, and overage charges were often huge.

Although the BB is falling out of favor in other countries, it just seems to be picking up steam here in the DR, probably because they are affordable smart phones, that don't need a huge data plan to operate.

I would say they are a good bet for here just on the fact that they are so popular.

And yes, you can tether from a BB, but unless you have a huge data plan, you will soon blow it. Not the mention the speeds are very limited when tethering from a BB.

You would be better off getting a plug and play modem. We have one from orange. It costs about 24 dollars a month. It only needs a power source. Save the BB tethering for when you desperately need it, otherwise use the plug and play or the BB.


Source- employed in cell phone sales for the last 5 years.
 

Castle

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Sep 1, 2012
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Mike, you can't have access to any service unless you have data service. BB is no different from any other smartphones on that. I really see no point in getting a Blackberry these days, being that the company is about to collapse and their phones are really, really outdated compared to any Android. Some people will tell you that with BB you can get BB messenger, but that is just another instant messaging app with the limitation that can only be used among BB users. Your Galaxy, old as it is, will perform much better than any BB, so use it. With Android you can turn your phone into a wifi hotspot, which is like tethering but much better because you can share your data signal with any device or several devices at the same time, not just a PC.
 

Omar_NYC

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Mar 22, 2013
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So the use of (in emergency) tethering is better with another smartphone than the BB?

Basically I am looking at a Data plan to a service always accessible (on the road, campo etc.) so I can stay in touch w/ email etc. It doesn't have to be a BB though. But I was under the impression there is a way to be always in touch with their services doesn't matter if there is 3G reception or not etc. and that there is s'thing special about BB what I am missing out or not aware of.

I have a Samsung Galaxy. Is there a data plan what you could recommend to use with it?

Thanks in advance!
When I spent a week in DR, I used my HTC Sensation 4G phone with a SIM from Orange Dominicana. I used the prepaid 7-day plan with 700MB allotment.

I tethered to the phone via wifi hotspot from my laptop. It was fast and responsive.

There's nothing special about using a BB versus an Android for your purposes.

Which Samsung Galaxy do you have? Your phone comes in different flavors and radios.
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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BB's are fine as a phone, but they are very Old School and RIM may become a dinosaur any day.

However you can find really nice new BB's all over the web very inexpensively. I recently bought Alida a new BB Pearl flip-phone (she likes flip phones) for like $75. A virtual steal.
 

Omar_NYC

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caribmike

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Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830

from Orange, but I am thinking about switching to Claro and to something more advanced / bigger screen.
 

Omar_NYC

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Your S5830 will only work with Orange at 3G speeds. It will only do EDGE with Claro.

EDIT: The S5830L has the Claro band, yours doesn't. I mistyped in my post above this one.

You can step up to the Samsung Galaxy S2 I9100. This will work with Orange and Claro at 3G speeds.

eBay has them new starting at US$290.
 

Castle

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Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830

from Orange, but I am thinking about switching to Claro and to something more advanced / bigger screen.

Your logical next step would by a Galaxy S, even if it's only a SII, or even better an SIII, or a Galaxy Note II
 
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Caribmike,

If you have a data plan BB make more economic use of the allotment due to the compression.

Below are a few links:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2798087?start=0&tstart=0
Blackberry Data Compression ratio - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com
TELUS data calculator

That should make you decide.

If you have a large allowance/unlimited data then the point becomes moot and the more modern features and quicker load times of 'other smartphones' (iOS/Android) are what you should look into to.