Julie,

Please don't sign for the BIS data plan! If you just want to test the phone, keep your data plan with Cingular. I'm subscribed to the BIS data plan because it is cheaper here in Mexico with Telcel ($27 USD per month) than a traditional data plan ($50 USD for 50 MB per month). But I can use my GPRS and EDGE plan using Opera Mini if I want, but they will charge me for every KB (about 1 cent).

Please read the forums at Pinstack. Most of the people there surf the net with Opera Mini and are not subscribed to the BIS plan, as their data plan is cheaper than the BIS plan for Cingular (or so I thought). Or are subscribed to both plans. I'd love to use Opera Mini or the IM clients, but it is very expensive for me. But for you, you can easily use your data plan to fully enjoy the BB experience.

What I don't know is how to receive e-mails with your data plan. But I'm sure somebody here or at Pinstack can answer that question.

GB

Julie,

You won't be able to use the included browser unless you buy the BIS data plan. But you may as well download the Opera Mini browser and use your Cingular plan. With your Cingular plan you can also download and use JiveTalk, that is a universal IM client.

There are a lot of posts detailing what you need to input on your APN settings for Cingular at Pinstack forums http://blackberryforums.pinstack.com that is the largest public forum for BlackBerry.

The settings are located on the options icon, then on advanced settings and on TCP. There you have to input:

APN: wap.cingular User Name: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM Password: CINGULAR1

The wap.cingular APN is the official Cingular recommended APN. An alternate configuration is an APN of "isp.cingular" with username "ISPDA@CINGULARGPRS.COM" and password of "CINGULAR1".

And don't worry, you will have EDGE speed.

More information can be had at:

http://blackberryforums.pinstack.com/BlackBerryFAQ.html

GB

Julie,

You have to remember that the iPhone has been out for just a few weeks. Just imagine what you will get in the near future. Apple has just announced one million iPhones sold. With that quantity of units out there, there will be hundreds of developers trying to offer software for it. And with the unlock application finally on the hands of resellers, the price cut by $200 and the possibility of having the same applications running both on the iPod Touch and the iPhone, and Apple saying that they won't be interfering with these developers, there will be a million apps in the very very near future.

IMHO

gb