Cheapest way to get a blackberry?
May 27, 2009 4:33 PM Subscribe
I bought a Verizon Dare about 6 months ago and I've got phone envy. I'm stuck with Verizon (and my wife prefers it) for the next two years. How can I get a Blackberry on the cheap?
Should I try and pick it up on eBay, barter on Craigslist, just suck it up and pay full retail, or is there some better fourth way? What Blackberry is best for a law student soon to be a practicing lawyer (I don't use a laptop in class)? Thanks!
Should I try and pick it up on eBay, barter on Craigslist, just suck it up and pay full retail, or is there some better fourth way? What Blackberry is best for a law student soon to be a practicing lawyer (I don't use a laptop in class)? Thanks!
6 months into my recent Verizon contract, my Blackberry met an untimely and watery death. Mr JG called Verizon who agreed to give me a Blackberry at the 1 year contract price and that was still cheaper than anything I was finding on Ebay.
posted by jerseygirl at 6:13 PM on May 27, 2009
posted by jerseygirl at 6:13 PM on May 27, 2009
Be wary of the latest and greatest. My husband loved his Blackberry before, but when he upgraded to the Storm, he was really dissatisfied. It's not nearly as intuitive than the previous one.
posted by misha at 6:34 PM on May 27, 2009
posted by misha at 6:34 PM on May 27, 2009
Verizon may give you a discount on a Blackberry since they'll be signing you to a new 2 year contract that costs a lot of dough (base 450 minutes + unlimited data comes out to around $90/mo after taxes, fees).
Alternatively, purchase one on the second-hand market (craigslist, ebay), log into your VZW account online and look for the 'change ESN' feature (its like swapping a SIM card on a GSM phone). This may allow you to get a Blackberry and also have your existing plan. The downsides of this is you're charged for every byte of data that you use on the network and you also may not be registered with Blackberry's servers that run the push e-mail feature (main feature of the BB).
I've heard horrible things about the Moto q/9q because of WinMobile & Verizon's screwing of the interface. As far as hardware goes, the pearl is too small for some people (& no full qwerty), the Storm is a bit glitchy, and the 8830WE has keys that go bad. My advice, wait for the new BlackBerry they'll release in a few months. Google "Blackberry Tour" for more information on that. It will be a world edition like the 8830, but will have a 3MP camera and other new goodies.
posted by ijoyner at 7:23 PM on May 27, 2009
Alternatively, purchase one on the second-hand market (craigslist, ebay), log into your VZW account online and look for the 'change ESN' feature (its like swapping a SIM card on a GSM phone). This may allow you to get a Blackberry and also have your existing plan. The downsides of this is you're charged for every byte of data that you use on the network and you also may not be registered with Blackberry's servers that run the push e-mail feature (main feature of the BB).
I've heard horrible things about the Moto q/9q because of WinMobile & Verizon's screwing of the interface. As far as hardware goes, the pearl is too small for some people (& no full qwerty), the Storm is a bit glitchy, and the 8830WE has keys that go bad. My advice, wait for the new BlackBerry they'll release in a few months. Google "Blackberry Tour" for more information on that. It will be a world edition like the 8830, but will have a 3MP camera and other new goodies.
posted by ijoyner at 7:23 PM on May 27, 2009
Wirefly.com has a lot of deals on phones these days - check out Deals2buy.com and look over the past couple of days.
You can get a blackberry for free by extending your contract. You already have a contract for the next two years - extending your contract would just add a few months more.
posted by bbyboi at 8:48 PM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]
You can get a blackberry for free by extending your contract. You already have a contract for the next two years - extending your contract would just add a few months more.
posted by bbyboi at 8:48 PM on May 27, 2009 [1 favorite]
Get me a copy of an Australian power bill, rental agreement, etc that I can photoshop my name into, and I'll give you my 1.5-year-old 8830.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 7:54 AM on May 28, 2009
posted by TheNewWazoo at 7:54 AM on May 28, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
Anyway, you end up paying full price for the 'discounted' phones over the course of the contract they lock you into.
FWIW, if you don't need a real Blackberry, a Moto Q9M has a full keyboard and can be had for not much on eBay. Plus, it's old enough that Verizon won't require you to pay for a data plan to activate it.
posted by willpie at 5:20 PM on May 27, 2009