Blackberry Curve 9360 for DS

Charliecorns

Hi MSEers

My son has asked for a 9360 for his birthday this week and reckons they're available with free handset for £14 pcm, although I can't find it...

I don't want to spend more than £15 pcm on a 24 month contract for his phone (he is 12) - will I need to pay extra for the BB mail & messaging services?

His current phone (Huawei) is with Tesco Mobile, as is mine, and I've been v happy with them but can't upgrade his handset as they don't stock the 9360 and he's only halfway through his 24 month contract with them. So I'm looking at any provider - are there any that you guys would advise steering well clear of?

Sorry for all the questions.

Charliecorns

bsms1147

He's got twelve months of his contract left, buying him another 24 month contract at this stage is ridiculous.

Buy an unlocked 9360 outright and use his current contract on it;

eg. http://www.play.com/Mobiles/Mobile/-/1020/1265/-/23144753/BlackBerry-Curve-9360-Sim-Free-Unlocked-Mobile-Phone/Product.html

Charliecorns

Hi bsms. Thanks for the link - I hadn't considered buying an unlocked phone <duh>.

My husband could use the Huawei for the remaining 12 months of my son's contract, so it wouldn't be 'wasted' as such. But if I were to buy the 9360 outright, would he need the Blackberry services added to his contract in order for BBM and internet access etc to work for that particular handset?

ZhugeEX

Charliecorns wrote: »

Hi bsms. Thanks for the link - I hadn't considered buying an unlocked phone <duh>.

My husband could use the Huawei for the remaining 12 months of my son's contract, so it wouldn't be 'wasted' as such. But if I were to buy the 9360 outright, would he need the Blackberry services added to his contract in order for BBM and internet access etc to work for that particular handset?

Yes. It costs £5pm extra.

I have no idea why kids all want blackberry phones these days. They're terrible and charge you £5 just to get on the internet. It's just all about fitting in because everyone else has one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BlackBerry-Curve-9360-Free-Smartphone/dp/B005SNNE1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368402126&sr=8-1&keywords=9360

bsms1147

Charliecorns wrote: »

Hi bsms. Thanks for the link - I hadn't considered buying an unlocked phone <duh>.

My husband could use the Huawei for the remaining 12 months of my son's contract, so it wouldn't be 'wasted' as such. But if I were to buy the 9360 outright, would he need the Blackberry services added to his contract in order for BBM and internet access etc to work for that particular handset?

You would.

Tesco FAQ: Will my existing SIM work with my BlackBerry?
Yes it will. However, you'll have to make sure you are on the correct tariff or have the rights bundles.
- Pay monthly: you need to be on a BlackBerry tariff. You can switch your tariff by calling the Customer Services Team on 4455 from your Tesco Mobile phone.

As far as I know the bundle would be £5 a month, but it may be a personalised price for each customer and for some may be cheaper.

Charliecorns

You guys are great. THanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it.

ZhugeEX, I've no idea why kids all want Blackberrys either. I can't navigate them at all and think they're pretty rubbish - I think it's solely the lure of BBM.

But then, what would I know, I'm just an old gimmer...

NiftyDigits

BlackBerry Curve 9360 £119.99

It's locked to T-Mobile, but they cost £1 to unlock.

I use mine on T-Mobile anyway. It's costs me £20 every six months for unlimited Internet and access to Blackberry services.

Some people simply don't understand how it works, so just criticise.

It's not like any of them get free Internet(unless on Ovivo or Samba). Blackberry users aren't constantly posting here about huge bills and massive data usage(iPhone users step forward).

The boy will also be able to use Blackberry services abroad up to 10MB per day at no extra charge, whilst others will be switching data roaming off in a panic...

Harald

ZhugeEX wrote: »

I have no idea why kids all want blackberry phones these days. They're terrible and charge you £5 just to get on the internet. It's just all about fitting in because everyone else has one.

It's because of BBM, which is a killer feature, especially for kids.
You can send thousands of messages to one or multiple recipients without additional charge (it's included in BB £5).
Plus e-mail and internet.

And if you unplug it from the charger 8am you don't have to look for charger again shortly after lunch.

Yes, it's so 2008, but, who cares? It's cheap (except top models) and reliable.

BTW: 9320 is worth considering instead of 9360. It's newer (regardless higher number), has same or better specs (except camera) and cheaper.

ZhugeEX

NiftyDigits wrote: »

BlackBerry Curve 9360 £119.99

It's locked to T-Mobile, but they cost £1 to unlock.

I use mine on T-Mobile anyway. It's costs me £20 every six months for unlimited Internet and access to Blackberry services.

Some people simply don't understand how it works, so just criticise.

It's not like any of them get free Internet(unless on Ovivo or Samba). Blackberry users aren't constantly posting here about huge bills and massive data usage(iPhone users step forward).

The boy will also be able to use Blackberry services abroad up to 10MB per day at no extra charge, whilst others will be switching data roaming off in a panic...

Harald wrote: »

It's because of BBM, which is a killer feature, especially for kids.
You can send thousands of messages to one or multiple recipients without additional charge (it's included in BB £5).
Plus e-mail and internet.

And if you unplug it from the charger 8am you don't have to look for charger again shortly after lunch.

Yes, it's so 2008, but, who cares? It's cheap (except top models) and reliable.

BTW: 9320 is worth considering instead of 9360. It's newer (regardless higher number), has same or better specs (except camera) and cheaper.

I understand where you're coming from. It's not just blackberrys though, i don't understand why kids have to have the latest iPhone or whatever as well.

I do 100% understand how blackberries work. With blackberries i just find it weird because the device is not catered at them. And yes, it is expensive on a standard tariff. The T-mobile £20 thing also comes for iPhones as well i believe. Also you can use it in other phones once you've activated it in an iPhone so it's not exactly blackberry exclusive.

With regards to the text thing you get pretty much unlimited texts on contract/payg and if not there is always whatsapp which costs much much much less. In fact it costs nothing.

I like how the new blackberry devices have done away with the £5 bbm charge. But the old one's still have it and it's pointless imo. And that's all it is, my opinion. So like i said, i do understand the advantages and disadvantages. But no idea why a 12 year old would want one other than to fit in/peer pressure or something like that.

balletshoes

its totally peer pressure .
However, my DD has one (she's 12), the 9320, she got it at Christmas, and its on payg (t-mobile with the 6-month BB booster for £20). Because almost everyone else she knows at school, and her cousins etc, have blackberrys too, she can contact them, send voice messages, use whatsapp and the internet etc, all for that £3.33 per month. £5 top up on top of that for the occasional short phone call home (she calls me and I call her back, as I have free minutes on my phone) and she's set.

It works really well for her.

I don't like the phone at all.

OP check cashback sites when you're looking at buying the phone on payg, there can be some good deals around.

NiftyDigits

ZhugeEX wrote: »

I understand where you're coming from. It's not just blackberrys though, i don't understand why kids have to have the latest iPhone or whatever as well.

I do 100% understand how blackberries work. With blackberries i just find it weird because the device is not catered at them. And yes, it is expensive on a standard tariff. The T-mobile £20 thing also comes for iPhones as well i believe. Also you can use it in other phones once you've activated it in an iPhone so it's not exactly blackberry exclusive.

With regards to the text thing you get pretty much unlimited texts on contract/payg and if not there is always whatsapp which costs much much much less. In fact it costs nothing.

I like how the new blackberry devices have done away with the £5 bbm charge. But the old one's still have it and it's pointless imo. And that's all it is, my opinion. So like i said, i do understand the advantages and disadvantages. But no idea why a 12 year old would want one other than to fit in/peer pressure or something like that.

I don't know why you keep going on about a £5 per month charge when it has been clearly demonstrated that there is no need to spend that much.
I use my BlackBerry in exactly the way that balletshoes has described. Money saving at it's best.
Pointless for you because 'you have no idea'.
What phone and package would you recommend then?