[LunkHead]

Originally Posted by secrecyguy

When the 8300 comes out for T-mobile, I am hoping that HotSpots will be included with the Blackberry plan or at least allow us access to HotSpots with 8300.

It will not... You will need to add the T-Mo@Home plan or the Hot Spots plan......

Kris

[secrecyguy]

Originally Posted by LunkHead

It will not... You will need to add the T-Mo@Home plan or the Hot Spots plan......

Kris

How much is HotSpots?

Well, I hope they do include Hotspots to the Blackberry plan because if you think about it, the new price for Total Internet is $19.99 that includes HotSpots.

Rumors have it that the Blackberry plan will have a price cut to $9.99.

But if HotSpots and Blackberry plan cost more than $19.99, than I may re-consider and I may end up getting a Windows phone.

[Figment]

I've haven't gone over my alloted minutes since I got off the blackberry minutes and mail plan over two years ago which was when I first got my service and was a mistake on my part. At this point I don't have much use for WIFI but when I get to traveling, so long as I have an access point around then I'd be using it all the time. I'd love to have gps and would use it all the time but by the time I'd be able to afford traveling and a new device one with both will be out.

[Jagga]

To many ppl that work in a corporate environment don't have coverage within corporate buildings. The company I do tech for has 3 bldg's that can withstand a class 7 hurricane. Many employees travel for days on end stopping by hotels or international airports where they many have WLAN chipset issues on their laptop. Few of those travelling have BB's and can use cellular coverage on GPRS/EDGE (AT&T major contract - the lions' share), put during their travels are out in CDMA land. IN a situation where Laptop WLAN issues cannot be resolved downtime costs $$$ and fustration. Actually these ppl REALLY love working & doing their work for their company and get angry at us when they cannot complete it. WLAN BB in this situation would connect on Motel/Hotel WLAN and directly into company Intranet.

about 100 users use their corporate BB's to log trouble tickets or action them wirelessly on cell network via BES over MDS and within a mobile access of Remedy AR system.

NOW users are seriously more curious of running Mainframe TN3270 on teh BB via the web emulation access. Which cannot be done without expensive software like Idokorro's offerings or other SSH tools that enable TN3270. There are an increasing number of employees that travel trains for their job (BNSF Railway) across many cities and states, where a simple terminal is setup for them to log entries, time worked = payroll time keeping, or even check for jobs they "bid" on for the next outbound train. Most of these terminals are dialup connected, few are DSL over a dedicated VPN box connection. BOTH are not only fustrating to us and the end user but also time consuming to troubleshoot. Most of the setups have teh DSL modem and VPN box locked away where they cannot reboot them to fix a connectivity issue. I'd rather remove & readd to the BES if they could connect on the BB if they had an issue.

Personally at home I'd love to have my WiFi along with my BB. I know my service provider will NOT support it but I can change my @Home Cable phone service to Vonage and get another phone with WiFi (my wife prefers Windows Mobile but it can work or even a Nokia WiFi). I'd like to use WiFi "IF" it doesn't come out of my monthly plans BB MB pkg.

[aiharkness]

Originally Posted by theBorg

Why WiFi?
1. Get broadband connectivity without paying the premium for a 3G service.
2. Reduce cell network congestion.
3. Emerging geeky goodness. Imagine device to device file transfer via WiFi.

Normally I'm flooded with open WiFi. Even in my home town, Mountain View has Google's free WiFi network all over.

Still would choose GPS over WiFi if the choice must be made.

Yes, on reflection, one can't forget the emerging geeky goodness........ And I have to say I have a tendency to overlook the unknown unkowns, and thus I jump to the conclusion I don't need it now and so won't need it ever. I do recognize, however, that once wi-fi reaches some some critical mass, the creative people are going to come to life with services that we don't foresee now. I just have to keep reminding myself. So, on second thought, bring it on.

[rye_a]

My main reason for wanting WiFi is that we have a mountain home in Grand Lake, Colorado. I like to work from there from time to time, but there is no GSM coverage, so I am stuck using Verizon (which is TERRIBLE in WY and NM where I spend quite a bit of time). With a WiFi phone and a wireless router connected to my cable internet I will finally be able to use a GSM phone!

Also, we have a wireless network at our office, and I have one at home. Add all this up and I will probably be able to reduce the minutes in my plan to the point that H@H will pay for itself.

[plchan]

I have always wanted to have a wifi BB. However, I just thought about if those 3rd party programs I installed do not support Wifi connection, how good is it?

But still, if I could stream video from YouTube or from a remote site, I might consider of that. I get signal at home so I won't be using the TM@Home service. Unless iSkoot supports the wifi connection; or JiveTalk supports VoIP on the wifi connection, I might hold on for not getting a BB with wifi yet.

At this moment, I am considering a BB with GPS; or a WM with Wifi and use the BB Connect.

[plchan]

Originally Posted by secrecyguy

How much is HotSpots?

Well, I hope they do include Hotspots to the Blackberry plan because if you think about it, the new price for Total Internet is $19.99 that includes HotSpots.

Rumors have it that the Blackberry plan will have a price cut to $9.99.

But if HotSpots and Blackberry plan cost more than $19.99, than I may re-consider and I may end up getting a Windows phone.

Do you know if user can use a WM phone and BB Connect with Total Internet plan (non-bb data plan)?

I sure hope HS + BB data plan would cost only 19.99. I would be roaming in Starbucks very often (and of course, when I get a WM phone as well).

[dmacd]

Originally Posted by plchan

I have always wanted to have a wifi BB. However, I just thought about if those 3rd party programs I installed do not support Wifi connection, how good is it?

But still, if I could stream video from YouTube or from a remote site, I might consider of that. I get signal at home so I won't be using the TM@Home service. Unless iSkoot supports the wifi connection; or JiveTalk supports VoIP on the wifi connection, I might hold on for not getting a BB with wifi yet.

At this moment, I am considering a BB with GPS; or a WM with Wifi and use the BB Connect.

I have yet to find a 3rd party navigation program that uses wifi for maps- all seem to work with data plans (GPRS, EDGE, etc) only.

There are a couple of video sites that work nicely with wifi making the downloading of videos much quicker.

[gopokes]

If I own a Blackberry curve (8300) can I update and use wi fi when it is released for the 8320 or would I have to purchase an 8320 ? Also are there any plans for other colors for the 8300 besides silver or that nasty gold ?

[shtekler]

Originally Posted by dmacd

I have the 8820 in the UK. I use wifi to surf and download stuff (apps through OTA) all the time. The main advantage is that in the UK GPRS/EDGE data plans are limited. I am currently limited to 30MB a month with my data plan (any additional data is charged at £2 ($4) per MB). This plan is sufficient for email, and some daily browser use. However if I plan to really start downloading/uploading lots of data, I will use the wifi if it is available (and of course I don't a laptop/desktop nearby).

So far the wifi doesn't seem to overtax the battery. It start and stops itself automatically so you don't have to turn it on/off.

I HAVE A QUESTION:=
what is the priority? for e mails data, WIFI?
or GPRS/EDGE ?
can you chouse?

[LunkHead]

Originally Posted by gopokes

If I own a Blackberry curve (8300) can I update and use wi fi when it is released for the 8320 or would I have to purchase an 8320 ? Also are there any plans for other colors for the 8300 besides silver or that nasty gold ?

You can't update the OS to get Wifi... You will need the 8320... It's a hardware thing, not a software one...

Kris

[Jagga]

Originally Posted by dmacd

I have yet to find a 3rd party navigation program that uses wifi for maps- all seem to work with data plans (GPRS, EDGE, etc) only.

There are a couple of video sites that work nicely with wifi making the downloading of videos much quicker.

On WMobile Pro mostly, not sure about Standard, have the ability to run maps off the MicroSD card or other Mem.Card supported by your choice of WM HW. They too can update over Wireless Provider data (EDGE/3G/CDMA).

Its about time that this is available for BB units as well.

[dmacd]

Originally Posted by shtekler

I HAVE A QUESTION:=
what is the priority? for e mails data, WIFI?
or GPRS/EDGE ?
can you chouse?

For push email I think it defaults GPRS and when the GPRS is off then WIFI is used. I can't be completely sure of this as there seems to be no setting in the Messaging application to pick either GPRS or WIFI.

However in the BB Options there is an item called 'Mobile Network' where you can set the 'Connection Preference' with these options:
Mobile Network Only
Mobile Network Preferred
Wi-Fi Only
Wi-Fi Preferred

I haven't tested any of the above options- mine is set to 'Wi-Fi Preferred'.

One thing I have noticed is that in the Browser the bookmarks are saved with their preferred connection. For example I have a CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News bookmark set to use WIFI. This forces cnn to log in with WIFI. The downside seems to be that I can't use this bookmark without WIFI. If I try to open the bookmark on the road it gives me an error saying I have no WIFI connection. I'm new to Blackberry so I don't know if this applies to all 8820s or is specific to my service provider.

[theBorg]

That sounds awkward. It's a new platform to deploy, hopefully they'll get the User Experience kinks worked out. Same re: the SD card integration.

C'mon, Ottawa, keep us on top!

[gatortone]

My wife works a corporate job from home, so she is constantly on the phone. Currently we have the 3000 Min Family Time plan and we both have BlackBerrys. Last month, she actually went over her minutes...with UMA, we'll be able to downsize our plan and feel comfortable that we'll never go over our minutes. I'm real excited about the 8320...hopefully, I can grab one, turn in an old 8700g to the trade up program (BlackBerry Trade Up Program) and get some cash back and switch over our plan.

[shtekler]

Originally Posted by dmacd

For push email I think it defaults GPRS and when the GPRS is off then WIFI is used. I can't be completely sure of this as there seems to be no setting in the Messaging application to pick either GPRS or WIFI.

However in the BB Options there is an item called 'Mobile Network' where you can set the 'Connection Preference' with these options:
Mobile Network Only
Mobile Network Preferred
Wi-Fi Only
Wi-Fi Preferred

I haven't tested any of the above options- mine is set to 'Wi-Fi Preferred'.

One thing I have noticed is that in the Browser the bookmarks are saved with their preferred connection. For example I have a CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News bookmark set to use WIFI. This forces cnn to log in with WIFI. The downside seems to be that I can't use this bookmark without WIFI. If I try to open the bookmark on the road it gives me an error saying I have no WIFI connection. I'm new to Blackberry so I don't know if this applies to all 8820s or is specific to my service provider.

look like the iphone,1st EDGE then WI FI but if you are in WI FI area it's go to WI FI

[btaylor1]

pretty cool. i have a long generated passphrase for my "home" linksys profile (same at my house and my inlaws' in a different city). a couple of phrases below make me think/hope this new handheld will not require me to manually type the long passphrase manually every time! hopefully this will work with our company's network and at&t's also

PC World - BlackBerry 8820 Review

RIM Blackberry 8820
The first BlackBerry with Wi-Fi support debuts.

The exterior of the new BlackBerry 8820 may look familiar. After all, the device has the same sleek black design as the BlackBerry 8800, which was launched earlier this year. The new phone has one important upgrade under the hood, however: Wi-Fi.
This is the first BlackBerry with Wi-Fi support, and the addition is a welcome one, as it means the phone can provide wireless voice and data access over both cellular and Wi-Fi wireless networks.

Like the 8800 and the more consumer-oriented BlackBerry Curve, the 8820 will be available from AT&T. Starting tomorrow, you can get the 8820 for $300 with a two-year service contract. In addition to Wi-Fi, the quad-band GSM phone includes support for the carrier's EDGE network--but not its true 3G HSDPA service.

Easy Setup
The 8820 can connect to 802.11a/b/g networks; connecting to my 802.11g wireless network at home was a breeze. I simply launched the Wi-Fi Setup wizard, selected my network from the list of available choices (you can either scan for available networks or manually enter the name of the network to which you'd like to connect), typed in the WEP key, and was connected in seconds. You can choose to automatically connect to your favorite wireless networks when they're available, and also can store any login info that is needed to connect to public hotspots.

The device will default to a Wi-Fi connection when one is available; a small icon on the top of the screen tells you which network you're using. Surfing the Web and sending and receiving e-mail messages via Wi-Fi was speedy, especially where the EDGE network coverage was spotty--as it often is inside my house.

When the 8820 connected to my Wi-Fi network, I was able to send an e-mail message and surf the Web while on a phone call without a problem. You can't, however, make voice-over-Wi-Fi calls on the device just yet. RIM says that this feature will be offered at the discretion of the carrier; AT&T says that the Wi-Fi capabilities on the 8820 are "data only" at this time.

Other than the Wi-Fi support, the 8820 is almost identical to the 8800 (which will be replaced in AT&T 's lineup by the 8820). The phone includes built-in GPS functionality (no hardware add-ons required) and comes with access to the easy-to-use TeleNav GPS service from AT&T, which is available for an extra $10 per month.

E-Mail Is Easy
Also like the 8800--and all BlackBerry devices--the 8820 is a champ when it comes to e-mail. The phone supports up to ten e-mail accounts, including POP3, IMAP, and Web-based e-mail. Corporate e-mail access is available through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server; I tested the personal e-mail capability with the BlackBerry Internet Service and a POP3 account. I simply entered my e-mail user name and password; within minutes, mail from my personal account was arriving in my hand. The inbox is neatly organized and superbly easy to read.

The 320-by-240 display is gorgeous, and navigating the device via the small--but very usable--QWERTY keyboard and BlackBerry Pearl-like trackball is quite comfortable. At 4.5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and 4.7 ounces, the 8820 can feel slightly boxy when held next to your ear. Call quality was quite good, though, and the included speakerphone worked well. We are currently in the process of testing the phone's talk-time battery life; we'll add that information (and a PC World rating) to this review as soon as it is available.

While the 8820 lacks the camera found on the Curve, it does include a media player for playing back audio and video files and a microSD card slot for storage. In addition, it includes AT&T 's Mobile Music service, which lets you access subscription services such as eMusic and XM Satellite Radio.

The business-oriented 8820 lacks a camera and some of the other consumer-friendly applications (such as access to popular instant messaging clients) found on other BlackBerry devices. The support for Wi-Fi is an excellent tradeoff, however, and the result is a sleek cell phone that delivers speedy data service even when your cellular coverage is spotty.



-- Liane Cassavoy

[.Shaun]

Originally Posted by btaylor1

pretty cool. i have a long generated passphrase for my "home" linksys profile (same at my house and my inlaws' in a different city). a couple of phrases below make me think/hope this new handheld will not require me to manually type the long passphrase manually every time! hopefully this will work with our company's network and at&t's also

PC World - BlackBerry 8820 Review

RIM Blackberry 8820
The first BlackBerry with Wi-Fi support debuts.

The exterior of the new BlackBerry 8820 may look familiar. After all, the device has the same sleek black design as the BlackBerry 8800, which was launched earlier this year. The new phone has one important upgrade under the hood, however: Wi-Fi.
This is the first BlackBerry with Wi-Fi support, and the addition is a welcome one, as it means the phone can provide wireless voice and data access over both cellular and Wi-Fi wireless networks.

Like the 8800 and the more consumer-oriented BlackBerry Curve, the 8820 will be available from AT&T. Starting tomorrow, you can get the 8820 for $300 with a two-year service contract. In addition to Wi-Fi, the quad-band GSM phone includes support for the carrier's EDGE network--but not its true 3G HSDPA service.

Easy Setup
The 8820 can connect to 802.11a/b/g networks; connecting to my 802.11g wireless network at home was a breeze. I simply launched the Wi-Fi Setup wizard, selected my network from the list of available choices (you can either scan for available networks or manually enter the name of the network to which you'd like to connect), typed in the WEP key, and was connected in seconds. You can choose to automatically connect to your favorite wireless networks when they're available, and also can store any login info that is needed to connect to public hotspots.

The device will default to a Wi-Fi connection when one is available; a small icon on the top of the screen tells you which network you're using. Surfing the Web and sending and receiving e-mail messages via Wi-Fi was speedy, especially where the EDGE network coverage was spotty--as it often is inside my house.

When the 8820 connected to my Wi-Fi network, I was able to send an e-mail message and surf the Web while on a phone call without a problem. You can't, however, make voice-over-Wi-Fi calls on the device just yet. RIM says that this feature will be offered at the discretion of the carrier; AT&T says that the Wi-Fi capabilities on the 8820 are "data only" at this time.

Other than the Wi-Fi support, the 8820 is almost identical to the 8800 (which will be replaced in AT&T 's lineup by the 8820). The phone includes built-in GPS functionality (no hardware add-ons required) and comes with access to the easy-to-use TeleNav GPS service from AT&T, which is available for an extra $10 per month.

E-Mail Is Easy
Also like the 8800--and all BlackBerry devices--the 8820 is a champ when it comes to e-mail. The phone supports up to ten e-mail accounts, including POP3, IMAP, and Web-based e-mail. Corporate e-mail access is available through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server; I tested the personal e-mail capability with the BlackBerry Internet Service and a POP3 account. I simply entered my e-mail user name and password; within minutes, mail from my personal account was arriving in my hand. The inbox is neatly organized and superbly easy to read.

The 320-by-240 display is gorgeous, and navigating the device via the small--but very usable--QWERTY keyboard and BlackBerry Pearl-like trackball is quite comfortable. At 4.5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and 4.7 ounces, the 8820 can feel slightly boxy when held next to your ear. Call quality was quite good, though, and the included speakerphone worked well. We are currently in the process of testing the phone's talk-time battery life; we'll add that information (and a PC World rating) to this review as soon as it is available.

While the 8820 lacks the camera found on the Curve, it does include a media player for playing back audio and video files and a microSD card slot for storage. In addition, it includes AT&T 's Mobile Music service, which lets you access subscription services such as eMusic and XM Satellite Radio.

The business-oriented 8820 lacks a camera and some of the other consumer-friendly applications (such as access to popular instant messaging clients) found on other BlackBerry devices. The support for Wi-Fi is an excellent tradeoff, however, and the result is a sleek cell phone that delivers speedy data service even when your cellular coverage is spotty.



-- Liane Cassavoy

nice review. can't wait for the pearl to get hooked up with wifi and maybe 3g

[Sgt_Strider]

The review said that VOIP calls cannot be made over wifi. Does the reviewer mean that AT&T is using software to prevent VOIP packets from going through wifi? Or that there just aren't any softwares available for the BB to make VOIP calls?

Does surfing the internet with wifi significantly faster than surfing over EDGE? I also heard that even if you connect the 8820 to an unsecure wifi network, the BB platform will still encrypt your connection so that your incoming and outgoing e-mails are protected. Is this true?

Some of you mentioned that you want to use this phone where there is no GSM coverage at all. Since VOIP doesn't work at all over wifi, won't you still need the presence of a GSM network to make voice calls?

Is it possible to disable EDGE and GPRS and only use wifi for data services?