[nate22_22]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forums here and am considering purchasing a blackberry bold from att. Here is my problem, I am on a family plan with 3 other lines and we were not supposed to be able to upgrade until the beginning of February. However, a couple of our phones need replaced and att said that we could go ahead and buy the phones from att by calling them directly without having to wait another month, we've been with them for 8 years. It sounded like we wouldn't be able to buy the phones from a retailer, such as best buy, which might be cheaper.

I go to a college where we have wifi everywhere, and really do not need a blackberry data plan, which the person at att said is required to get the $100 mail in rebate, reducing the cost of the phone to $300. Should I just wait the extra month and see if I can get the phone then for $300 somewhere or go ahead and give att the extra $100 because I don't want to have to pay $30 dollars every month for a data plan. I wasn't sure if I would be able to get the phone with a rebate after the upgrade date in February without having to sign up for the data plan. I have unlimited texting, but apparently that doesn't qualify. I also wasn't sure if I could sign up for the data plan, get the rebate and then just cancel the data plan immediately.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I don't know a whole lot about this process, and my research on the bold led me to believe it's a great phone. Thanks in advance!

[rsnadel]

They offer the rebate because it's an inducement to sign up for the plan, not as an incentive to buy the device. AT&T makes its money through the monthly relationship. I'm not aware of any network providers who are more interested in incentivizing the sale of the device than getting the ongoing data or voice relationship.

[Dubdub]

If you read the fine print, you have to get a BB data plan and keep it for some period of time. No data plan, no rebate.

[raynicolini]

i believe that wifi will not work with out a data plan

Originally Posted by raynicolini

i believe that wifi will not work with out a data plan

Use of WiFi for web browsing does not require any data plan.

[mckinneycm]

^^ To add to what S&S said, if you want to use WiFi for email accounts on your BB or for IM, then yes it will require a Data plan to talk to the RIM network. Regular browsing will work without a plan.