[kenau_reveas]

Hi guys, i just bought Blackberry pearl from Cingular. Right now i have $39.99 plan. i want to get BIS or BES plan. I am not sure which one to choose? I am a student and i will use this blackberry for emails and GPS and Messaging. can anyone please guide me on this? I really can use some help here.

Thanks,

[kasperapd]

Unless you will be using this to access corporate work email, the BIS plan sounds like it will be best for you. I would start for with that, and if you see the need to upgrade to a hosted BES later, you can always change it.

Good luck, and welcome!

[kenau_reveas]

thanks for a quick response. can you tell me if messaging and browsing will be free in BIS or not?

[rarooney]

Browsing and messaging costs have to do with your cingular plan, not whether or not you are a BIS customer.

[Pearl]

I would go with bes. I hear it is much better.

[John Clark]

BES is better, however it will cost you another monthly fee from a BES hosting service. You get wireless sync for all your data, i.e. calendar, address book, memo pad, tasks, etc. including data for almost all the BB apps. It's a great service.

BIS will give you data includingemail, pin messaging, internet, and everything else that BES will except for the wireless sync for all your data. You'll need to backup your data regularly in case you ever need to restore it.

Generally the data plans from the carriers are cheaper if you are not going to use BES so you can save money with BIS and just use the Desktop manager program to backup your phone. If you are not using BES then drop down to a data plan that doesn't include BES services. You won't lose anything.

Your data plan many times does NOT include any SMS/MMS text messaging. If you like to text message be sure you get a plan that includes SMS/MMStext messaging.

I hope this makes sense.

[DrMoze]

Aren't there a few apps that let you IM using data and which would thus be free under the regular BIS plan? (I'm not sure as I don't IM --!!-- but that is the gist I got from skimming some posts. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[John Clark]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

Aren't there a few apps that let you IM using data and which would thus be free under the regular BIS plan? (I'm not sure as I don't IM --!!-- but that is the gist I got from skimming some posts. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes there is lots of available software for that. Check the aftermarket software discussions for Yak on, Ramble, etc.

[VanillaEps]

I use the BB for the same purposes and use Cingular as my provider. I chose the BIS unlimited plan. That includes unlimited data and 1000 text messages for 39.99.

[rkdvsm]

Okay...what does BES and BIS stand for??? Obviously I'm a noob

[VanillaEps]

Originally Posted by rkdvsm

Okay...what does BES and BIS stand for??? Obviously I'm a noob

BES = Blackberry Enterprise Server
BIS = Blackberry Internet Service

[rkdvsm]

Originally Posted by VanillaEps

BES = Blackberry Enterprise Server
BIS = Blackberry Internet Service

Thanks for the quick reply.

If I understand this correctly, BES is for the corporate employees who have companies that support BES while BIS is for the everyday user who wishes to go online and check emails.

BIS is $20/month, yes?

[ajp00]

Originally Posted by John Clark

BES is better, however it will cost you another monthly fee from a BES hosting service. You get wireless sync for all your data, i.e. calendar, address book, memo pad, tasks, etc. including data for almost all the BB apps. It's a great service.

BIS will give you data includingemail, pin messaging, internet, and everything else that BES will except for the wireless sync for all your data. You'll need to backup your data regularly in case you ever need to restore it.

Generally the data plans from the carriers are cheaper if you are not going to use BES so you can save money with BIS and just use the Desktop manager program to backup your phone. If you are not using BES then drop down to a data plan that doesn't include BES services. You won't lose anything.

Your data plan many times does NOT include any SMS/MMS text messaging. If you like to text message be sure you get a plan that includes SMS/MMStext messaging.

I hope this makes sense.

Can you use BES with multiple phones on 2 carriers? For instance if my company has 5 employees with Cingular and 5 with Sprint, will BES with one of the carriers work with other carriers phones? Thanks

[John Clark]

Originally Posted by ajp00

Can you use BES with multiple phones on 2 carriers? For instance if my company has 5 employees with Cingular and 5 with Sprint, will BES with one of the carriers work with other carriers phones? Thanks

Yes, once your company has a BES in place you can put any BB from any carrier on it.