[nishantgandhi]

Hi,

I am a newbie to the BB world and please pardon my ignorance.

I am in India and using Vodafone network in Mumbai. Right now, I have the plain vanilla GPRS/EDGE plan with a pay-per-use cost.

I have been contemplating between a BB 8320 vs a Nokia E71. However, since my BB will be at my own cost, I dont want to go for an expensive BIS plan. I plan to use my GPRS/EDGE data plan for it.

My usage is the following:

1. Occasional mail check through GPRS/EDGE 1-2 times in a day
2. Intermittent browsing, Facebook and Googling
3. Using other GPRS based application (which I use currently on my Nokia E51). These are Java/Symbian based applications for movie tickets booking , Air tickets booking, bill payment etc.
4. Gmail's mobile application, Yahoo Go etc.

So in a nutshell, when I am out of home, I would be using the BB on a plain vanilla GPRS/EDGE data plan (NOT A BB PLAN).

As soon as I enter my house (or any other WiFi enabled hotspot), I would be using WiFi for the above mentioned functions.

I have read reviews on other forums which say that "A BB handset is a life less brick and would not work without a BIS/BES plan".

This is the most surprising and unbelievable statement. Isnt BB supposed to be a phone first, and then an wireless email device? If answer to this is yes, then it should atleast support basic data protocols right?

If its supposed to be a phone having the requisite hardware for a BB plan, why should it not work on GPRS platform?

Or is it that a BIS/BES works on a completely different protocol than GPRS/EDGE?

Please also enlighten me on the following:

Are the above mentioned GPRS based applications available easily for a BB as they are for Symbian based Nokia E series? (this is VERY IMPORTANT for me!)


Hope I have been able to put across my requirements clearly.
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My question is - can I use all functions of a BB handset (except ofcourse push email), on JUST GPRS/EDGE and not by subscribing to BIS plan?

In India, a BIS plan includes GPRS/EDGE, but not vice versa. And cost differential is high!

I dont need push email but like the BB handsets for their build and quality, hence the dilemma.