I am a current Cingular user and was thinking of changing from the SX66 to the BlackJack, but I was curious which data plan I would need to look for. I know the OS of the BlackJack is a SmartPhone OS, but when I configured it online the only data plan it would show was the Data Connect plan. The SmartPhone Connect Unlimited w/Xpress Mail plan is only $19.99 and the Data Connect (Unlimited) is $44.99 so there is a big difference in the two. I know that the Data Connect plans are for use with wireless PDA's, but isn't the BlackJack technically a Smartphone and would qualify for the Smartphone connect plan?! I plan on checking this out at my local store but I wanted to ask first to see what everyone else's experience has been.
The Blackjack will work with anything from a MediaNet plan all the way to the PDA Data Connect plan. It's really a matter of how much risk you want to take by perhaps getting billed later for incorrect usage.
well, is it a matter of an incorrect billing type or a technicallity that Cingular overlooked? I mean that Samsung and Microsoft have identified this product as a smartphone, not a PDA/Pocket PC therefore it should not have to have the Data plan and should automatically qualify for the Smartphone plan. I know it is all technicallities, but I hate it when the big companies take advantage of its users.
Thanks for the input I am still going to ask at my local store and I can't wait to see what they say about it. Thanks again for your help.
I would say it should probably belong on the smartphone plan. But I am not Cingular policy, and I know many who went from a RAZR to the Blackjack with nothing but a MediaNet plan and it works and it is legitimate. Interestingly, if you do buy a Blackjack and try to change your phone in your online Cingular profile, you won't find the Blackjack listed yet.
As someone who works for Cingular and accesses the billing/oredr system daily I can tell you that ANY data plan will work with ANy device if you talk to the right person. The only real exception is if you are going to teather to a laptop in which case the high throughput would be recognized.
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Always waiting for the next best thing!! And right now that's the Blackjack!
The BJ is a Smartphone, it runs WM Smartphone OS. However, Cingular is calling it a PDA because of the QWERTY keyboard (according the Cingular rep I spoke too). Sounds like an excuse to make more cash off the confused. I for one, will be signing up for the Media Max 200 plan once I get my Blackjack this week. Sounds like unlimited data, plus 200 msgs for the same price as the $19.99 Smartphone connect.
The 'unlimited data' portion of these plans is the same, correct?
I was looking into this on-line also. I chatted with a rep and the PDA plan was the only plan they would let me select. How do you get a BlackJack with the smartphone connect plan? I would like to get a 3125 for my wife and BlackJack for me, but just can't justify the data plan cost of cingular when Sprint charges so much less. Especially when you consider 2 phones. If I could get both phones with the smartphone plan, I would jump. I got nowhere with the rep I was talking to.
Thanks,
Rob
jhat3k1 - Please let me know if there is a way to get the smartphone data plan on the BlackJack. I am not currently a cingular customer, but am looking to switch. I want to get smartphones for my wife and me.
I purchased my BlackJack at a Cingualr store in NJ and they signed me up with the $19.99 Smartphone data plan. I have tethered the phone with no problems.
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I am also looking to switch to cingular for the blackjack. I have been doing alot of research into this and spoken with numerous cingular reps. I've heard a couple different stories about the data plans too so i'm a bit confused. The first rep said the blackjack with only work with the pda data plan which i know is not true. The second rep said that the blackjack will work with any of the data plans but that the smart phone data plans don't have the same speed as the pda data plan. So basically he was saying that with the blackjack it runs fast like a pda so it needs the faster pda data plan, and that the other smart phone data plans would work but would run slower on the blackjack. is there any truth to that? another rep i spoke with said that all plans used the same internet, same speed, everything and you could use any plan with the blackjack. Can anyone clarify any of this? does anyone have a blackjack and one of media max plans(i was planning to get the media max 1000 plan) Also a little feature that cingular does not have that is important to me and maybe some of you that were planning to switch is no insurance for pda phones. something that expensive needs insurance.
Thanks for the help.
What I found out is that I should stay on the PDA plan. This plan takes advantage of the 3G network and allows much faster speed for the data. At least that is the snow job I was told.
If you're the type of person that has no qualms about violating terms of service, then yes, you can use the BJ with a variety of the plans. I know that the MediaNet plans have you surf through a different IP address (WAP vs. ISP) and there are some sites you wouldn't have functionality with. {I.E. you can't go to HTTPS sites on WAP with the medianet or the smartphone connect plans.}
The best bang for your buck is Mediamax 200 which gives you unlimited data + email + 200 sms messages for $19.99; HOWEVER, you're technically not supposed to have it with the BJ.
That said, i know someone that right before they got their BJ they added mediamax 200 to their Razr. Then, with the magic of SIM cards, they switched sims and "forgot" to call Cingular and "activate" their new phone as instructed.
You definitely run a risk being on the lower dollar plan that Cingular doesn't want with the BJ. (in theory they could charge you per KB for being on the "wrong" plan) However, with normal web browsing, you're very unlikely to be detected. If you tether, you're going to have more throughput and increase your risk. I know that with Verizon, they assume that if you're using over 5 GB per month of data that you're tethering or doing some other activity that's violating terms of service... So, that's a threshhold that you should stay away from.
I would say that violating the terms of service is unethical, but how you rationalize and justify your actions is your business.
I just bought the BJ (yeah that sure sounds dirty doesn't it??) yesterday, and I too found the differences with the Reps idea of how to handle this device. It seems that the Reps all have a different idea of what this device needs and how it should be set up (but this is no different than what I found from other cell providers). What I was told is that yes it can be done and that the reason that they don't do it at the lower rate is that they will lose money (yeah right)!!!! As for against the agreements, it is not a violation as it is not spelled out anywhere in the agreement that having smartphone plan on this device violates the terms. If anything cingular are violating the terms by requiring the PDA plan as this is referred to as a smart phone by the manufacturer and MS who wrote the software for it (which is the smartphone version and not the full blown PPC version). Having said all of this, I have a friend that has been running the mediaworks plan on a Treo for 3 years and receiving no termination or overages.
I feel that they need to get their stories straight, as I have called CS 2 times already and neither time has anyone said that the programming on my device is wrong, and I have 2 phones both with the smartphone packages (didn't care about the texting as I don't do this). When I signed up the store rep added it without problem and said this is the correct package for this phone as his regional rep said it was most definitely a smartphone and that was the data plan they were to put on it (and he said they had activated over 100 BJ phones with that plan without problem).
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