Blackberry Phones and Services in India

[ghpk]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Slightly OT but I need this information.

As I have a Crackberry (i.e., cracked Blackberry CDMA with no access to BB services) I need to get a data plan from Reliance. I am on L0 , i.e. pay as you go with Rs.25/- per entry and Re.0.05 per 10kb and 0.5per MB data. It is the frist and second which kill, and got a bill for 3.8k last month (downloading software, testing out GPS, etc.).

I am postpaid and I have to subscribe to a data plan. By the looks of of the MB based plans all attract the 0.05 per 10kb net connect charges in addition to the plan charges (lowest is Re. 0.50per MB).

On the other hand the time based plans are silent on the net connect. So the options I have are 'Pay as You Go' at Rs.174 pm and Re.0.60/0.30 per minute. Alternate is Swift 30 which is 15h/30h with additional usage at 0.50per min.

It has also been suggested that I got buy an L1 from a DAPO user and then go for a data plan (like Rs.99 for 350MB per month).

Any person with experience with either of the first two.

If you would have gone for 1099 plan, you could have saved that 3.8k bill.
Reliance all other plans are CRAP, pay as you go is just a RIP OFF.

Also if you connect it to laptop & run internet its flat 40p minute.
don't know what plan they have you on. its called using tethered modem.
and you don't need to pay any upfront fee for it, seems you are given wrong plan which is not applicable on BB devices.

For my 8330 I've following on my connection.
BB Elite plan + Simple PPS plan + Rs.25/month sms pack.
As I don't use BB except for excessive mails I don't need its crappy speed browser.
I handle more than 500 mails a day.

I use my voda USB stick when i need to connect laptop and not at home.
I am however 24x7 online using BSNL Broadband when at home.

Using Blackberry with laptop is expensive.
You''ll need to pay for laptop use(40p/minute) even if you are on 1099 plan.

If you want you can call Blackberry customer care *363
and ask them to give you a BB plan.
don't say you are on cracked B berry, say I've got a gift from someone.

And stay away from Pay as you go type plans, they would give nightmares when you get the bills.

Originally Posted by JVH

B'lore BBians - where do you go for fixing occasional hitches and irritants?

My Curve 8900's roller ball has a mind of its own. It operates perfectly fine one day and refuses to the next. Scrolling becomes a nightmare

TIA!

If you are regular user, you'll end up with a dirty trackball, I have cleaed my original one not less than 20 times before it gave up.
then ordered a few from china, it was cheaper than going for a hunt on local market.

Originally Posted by xtreme power

i have a problem,
my blackberry starts and a message saying app error 523 comes on
and if i reset it comes back
and i cant use my phonw
what do i do
dont have a backup of my phone book contacts

Seems your last installed application is causing this, if you remember, un-install it, using desktop manager or phone installed application list.
check if your devices is recognized by DM. if yes back it up asap.

[LonelyPlanet]

Does anyone have inside information on what is the fate of BB in India after 31st Aug ?

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by ghpk

If you would have gone for 1099 plan, you could have saved that 3.8k bill.
Reliance all other plans are CRAP, pay as you go is just a RIP OFF.

Also if you connect it to laptop & run internet its flat 40p minute.
don't know what plan they have you on. its called using tethered modem.
and you don't need to pay any upfront fee for it, seems you are given wrong plan which is not applicable on BB devices.

For my 8330 I've following on my connection.
BB Elite plan + Simple PPS plan + Rs.25/month sms pack.
As I don't use BB except for excessive mails I don't need its crappy speed browser.
I handle more than 500 mails a day.

@ghpk; Thanks for the detailed post. First none of the BB services (BES, BIS, IM, etc) are available on cracked units. So any BB plan is out. Why I need a plan is precisely because of the Rs.3,8k bill on L0! Here it was Rs.25 per connection + 50p/MB + 50p/10kb for Network Usage, Once bitten twice shy. I have switched off the net connection. And do not want a repeat.

I have access to a 1GbPS link at work, so do all my heavy work there. Also, I have Photon+ for web browsing. So I need the plan for occasional usage only, (mainly GPS and downloading BB applications which I may need). To access Facebook I have to go through Opera Mini. On BB it requires BIS, so cannot be even be downloaded and installed! Swift 30 does not list any network usage charges. Maybe I should call up *222.

Having got a cracked set I intend to use it for 2-3 years before going for a proper 'legal' BB. I am quite happy with what I have. The user interface and sms, calling etc. are brilliant.

The issue was 9k against 18.5k for the legal Reliance BB.

The other option may be once MNP is in and stable, get a cracked legal (or even cracked) GSM BB and then change operators.

With MEID coming they may not be able to sustain the system monopoly for long. Also, once 3G is in I expect major rationalisation of connecion charges. Even Anil Ambani will have to see the light.

[johnda]

Originally Posted by LonelyPlanet

Does anyone have inside information on what is the fate of BB in India after 31st Aug ?

They're agreed to the govt's requirements -

BlackBerry gives in, to provide access to encrypted data - India Business - Business - The Times of India


thus you and I can keep our phones...

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by johnda

They're agreed to the govt's requirements -

BlackBerry gives in, to provide access to encrypted data - India Business - Business - The Times of India


thus you and I can keep our phones...

From the sources that I have read, apparently they have allowed to tap in BBM but corporate mails using BES is still an issue.

[raghu230506]

RIM denies this

Source: Economic times.

RIM denies knowledge of agreement with India - Hardware - Infotech - The Economic Times

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by JVH

My Curve 8900's roller ball has a mind of its own. It operates perfectly fine one day and refuses to the next. Scrolling becomes a nightmare

Time to clean it up. Google it, you will find plenty of instructions, even videos. I used after-shave lotion (without moisturizer) and it works perfect. Any mild spirit that evaporates quick should do the work.

[sajands]

Guys, I have the BB 8900 and on the Vodafone BIS 899 plan. Please advice on how to watch streaming media. I tried to watch SL vs India from www.crictime.com and it kept saying please wait till the video loads but even after an hour nothing happned.

Is there a way to watch Live streaming media on BB.

Downloaded Google maps 4.4, site says has voice navigation but did not get find any options. How does one use the in-built GPS. I need lots of help in the GPS.

P.S. I have 6 satellites detected by the internal GPS.

[arsudarsan]

Originally Posted by sajands

Downloaded Google maps 4.4, site says has voice navigation but did not get find any options. How does one use the in-built GPS. I need lots of help in the GPS.

P.S. I have 6 satellites detected by the internal GPS.

Google maps has voice based search facility and not voice navigation. You need to press the Green call button and then speak. Make sure you use US accent.

How did you manage to get 6 sattelites detected?

[sajands]

Originally Posted by arsudarsan

Google maps has voice based search facility and not voice navigation. You need to press the Green call button and then speak. Make sure you use US accent.

How did you manage to get 6 sattelites detected?

Hey arsudarsan,Dont ask me, i guess got very lucky. i also updated the O.S. to 5.0.0.610 maybe that had something to do to in detecting satellites. my guess again.Thanks for the tip. -Sajan.

[JVH]

Originally Posted by ghpk

If you are regular user, you'll end up with a dirty trackball, I have cleaed my original one not less than 20 times before it gave up.
then ordered a few from china, it was cheaper than going for a hunt on local market.

Ordered the trackball from China? And then how did you fix it? DIY or a local mobile store?

Originally Posted by shajufx

Time to clean it up. Google it, you will find plenty of instructions, even videos. I used after-shave lotion (without moisturizer) and it works perfect. Any mild spirit that evaporates quick should do the work.

I do clean it all the time but the frequency has now increased. Looks like I've to order a new trackball.

Thanks Guys!

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by JVH

I do clean it all the time but the frequency has now increased. Looks like I've to order a new trackball.

Thanks Guys!

On an average whats the life of a trackball. I mean how long before I should expect it to start acting weird.

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

On an average whats the life of a trackball. I mean how long before I should expect it to start acting weird.

My ball sorry the pearl ball is rolled around 2 years + I have cleaned it only once so far, but I dont have the habit of handling it with a dirty or dusty hand.

[JVH]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

On an average whats the life of a trackball. I mean how long before I should expect it to start acting weird.

Pearl 8100 - For 1.5 years, absolutely no problem. My wife uses this now and even she is quite happy

Curve 8900 - For 9 months, no issues. After that the headache started.

Both were handled with clean hands though

[The_Warrior]

I have a BB Bold and 2 days ago it stopped responding, as in the software crashed. They relaoded the new software and now i am not able to connect the phone to the PC. Have given it back to the store and have asked for a replacement. they say that it will go to Bangalore and then the next course of action will be decided.

Now the question is.... will they replace the phone or not??

Any pointers??