vB Easy Archive - Easy question (hopefully)...

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Easy question (hopefully)...
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Posted by: yary

Ok, I currently have a Treo 600. I am very disappointed with the phone quality. Through my work work I am able to get a 75% discount on any new handset, and I was looking at the Blackberry 7290. It would be $25 after the rebates and discount.

Anyway, I have two questions. First, how is the sound/call quality of the 7290? It has to be an upgrade from the Treo, but this thing has to be a phone first, and a PDA second.

My second question relates to email. Currently I pay $19.99 for the unlimited data from Cingular. It works fine, and I have the Treo check for emails every 15 minutes or so. When I look for the plans for the Blackberry they have the Xpress mail options, which run either $29.99 or $79.99. If push mail is not that important right now, can I simply switch my SIM card, and get the unlimited data, and simply setup a mail program on the BB to check every couple of minutes.

Thanks for you help, and if anyone is looking for a used Treo 600, let me know

Posted by: OnTheRun

I've found that the 7290 has better voice quality than the 600 I had for 2 weeks. It also seems slightly better than the 7230 I replaced but not overly so. It is still a bit unwieldy to use as a phone due to its shape but I do not find that a problem.

You will need a BB account to retrieve email using either BES (enterprise server) or BWC (web client) Cingular has two BB plans, a 3MB plan (unusable for all but extremely limited email users) and an unlimited plan for $45 or so with a voice plan - although they do have a $29 unlimited email-Internet discount program running for business accounts.

You should be aware that Cingular CS is generally not familiar with the BB so getting anything done is an exercise in frustration and they offer only a 10 MB mailbox without additional charge - 25 and 50 MB boxes are available for an incremental monthly fee. The Cingular browsing experience is also a bit archaic - current 7290 software does not allow making the bookmark page accessible on startup and the browser is typically at least 50% slower than TMO service. The good news is that things will likely get better and their coverage should be impressive when they are done with the ATT merger.

One last thing. The Treo 650 will be out in a few months and looks very much improved. You might consider waiting if you are thinking phone first and email second.

Posted by: hofo_mofo

the treo 650 gsm will not be availble till the new year, so thus buying a bb now (like what i am doing) to replace your 600...is not a bad idea