MetroPCS said today it will launch the BlackBerry Curve 8330 (not Om’s latest handset crush) in several markets, including Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, with advance pay plans that range from $30 to $60 a month. The BlackBerry is the carrier’s first smart phone.
Last week, MetroPCS COO Tom Keys told us he expected the prepaid carrier to launch a BlackBerry by the second or third quarter of the year. He also told us the carrier would hopefully deploy a Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G wireless network in 2010. Since we’re still on the tail end of the first quarter, it appears they are early with the phone; we can only hope they beat their timing on LTE too.
As data becomes a must-have service on mobile phones, even the regional carriers are adding these services. With Sprint’s $50 unlimited talk and data plan on its Boost subsidiary, Leap Wireless offering data cards and MetroPCS pushing a smartphone at cheap prices, the other carriers might feel some pricing pressure. However, I doubt they’ll make rapid reductions in data costs unless customers start defecting in large numbers. No carrier wants to turn the wireless golden goose into just another dumb pipe.
This would be good news, if Metro’s customer service and coverage areas didn’t stink so bad. Still, it’s about time for Metro to get a phone like this.
Well, we’ve spent a total of 5 hours at Best Buy trying to get the email set up and they finally told us to call customer support at Microsoft to get our outlook password. Huh?
We have a website registered through Network Solutions with the attendant email…I can understand needing our Netsol password to set up a Pop 3 account, but a password from Microsoft? I don’t get it. Does anyone else?
I currently pay $345 per month for 3 Blackberries with data and voice. METROPCS please launch nationwide coverage!!! Please Please Please!!! I would switch in a heartbeat. The fact that your data service only work in major cities and the voice plan will incur $.19 per minute fees when “roaming” is the deal breaker for me. But in the mean time, I will still call my current provider and talk to them about this new MetroPCS blackberry plan. You would be surprised in what you can get just by talking to people. Maybe I may get some sort of credit on my bill just for thinking about switching.
Guys, the coverage issue is a problem. However, they have a roaming deal now with Leap (AKA Cricket) that broadens coverage and doesn’t cost 19 cents per minute. Not sure if that includes all data services, though.
can someone please help me with setting a signature to appear when sendin a text message? how do u do it?
I just got back from a Detroit-area Best Buy and they don’t have the new Crackberry and don’t know when they’re going to get it. What a joke!
No carrier wants to turn the wireless golden goose into just another dumb pipe, but eventually one will have to. It is just like how after 15 years of charging a huge premium over landline voice the carriers one after another bit the bullet and started to let go of their premiums to grow market share. Now voice was far more of a managed service than data will ever be, so it is only natural that in a competitive market some carrier will take advantage of the fact that what it is besat suited to provide ACTUALLY IS A DUMB PIPE and price accordingly, much to the consternation of its rivals and the adulation of its and their customers.
Unless they let you bring your own handset, they want $449 for the phone. Ouch!
do your shoping b/c some places have deal when you take a phone in they will give you the best phone they have all for $0.00
I cant believe thiss.. omg i am so happy and im gnna be the 1st one to get it
YAYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They DO want $449 for the blackberry… but there is no activation fee, no contract, AND an extremely low $50 per month plan??? If you look at it and say, “449 bucks, NO WAY!” Then you are not thinking long-term. Youre going to save that in a matter of months, anything after that is just lining for your pocket. I’m happy with my Messager though, thank you very much.
so when does this come out? i have gone to numerous metro pcs stores as well as best buys and they all just look at me as if im crazy!!
This changes Metro’s demographics – supposedly the credit challenged urban set will now give way to the BlackBerry value seekers. But the Curve is only for Metro’s core markets – PCS frequency as opposed to AWS frequencies in the expansion markets. You are not able to use this Curve in expansion markets.
The metro pcs blackberry curve is out in bestbuy stores in the sf bayarea as of sat. March 14th 2009 its 450.00 comes in redish burgandy color the grahpite color will be out in a couple of months
Metro didn’t release the phone in all markets. Nor did they release the phone in all stores where they *are* on sale. You need to go to their web site and check for availability, which will tell you where you can purchase the phones. The key is for them to flash Blackberrys that owners already have…then Metro can see serious market share. Most people would save a minimum of $550 per year on their existing plan with other companies. Add to that the sales of the new curves @$449 and they have made a sweet profit. There are programs that you can get for your phone that will alert you to roaming…It sounds like a winner to me. Just don’t ask for customer service.
So what if you already have a BlackBerry curve from another provider, will they let you switch? I have mine with At&t, which sucks – but I want it with Metro. That would be great!!!!!
Hi, my ? to u is: does metro blackberry work the same as sprint or att blackberry? I just left metro to go to sprint bc of the expensive ph but after reading ur post, I realize that was dumn. As long as it has ‘real blackberry capabilities’ I’m gonna switch immediately!
I got an 8330 Curve with metro pcs in SW Florida. It works great. It is a hot phone. Love the fact that I can multi-task with all the applications. Listen to music, browse the web and IM through yahoo, msn and aol at the same time.
I had to pay 450 for the phone. But that’s how metro gets you. NO CONTRACT, NO ACTIVATION FEE, NO SERVICE DISCONNECTION FEES but they get you when you buy the phone. It kinda hurt a little bit after the first week I bought it. I wanted to take it back. But then I realized that it was a good decisions. I rather pay more of the phone and pay less a month. I used to have att and verizon and the bills would keep on getting higher and higher. IT WAS CRAZY !!!!! I just paid my bill a few minutes ago and it was only 65 bux with everything included. The only bad thing about it is that sometimes it roams when I’m at home. It only roams for a few minutes and I loose all data services. It only happens late at night. So it doesn’t really bother me that much but I think that happens because of system upgrades they normally do at night.
Email me if you have any questions or problems.
D
HEY!
so im really thinking of getting it, raising money doing everything to get it..im completley in love with it & im so happy Metro Pcs has it now..I was wondering what kind of features it has? like the blackberrys for Tmobile have BBM which is blackberry messanger. A kind of aim thing only for people with blackberrys..does it have it??
just curious :]
i’m getting the phone on saturday. i’ve been hearing really good things about the phone but also negative things. i’m kind of idk about buying the phone. can you tell me all the positive things about the phone like do apps work is everything working fine with the phone. stuff like that. but can you also let me know what is not so good about the phone so maybe i can avoid doing it while i have the phone. if you can get back at me. thankx
Does anyone have first hand experience with Metro PCS flashing a previously owned or UNLOCKED blackberry?? I was told at a corporate store that the dealer location woud do it BUT I went to one dealer and was told they are not able to flash the blackberry’s yet? So I am confused can they flash them or not?? I don’t want to pay full price for the phone at the Metro store so I would like to get one off ebay and then get Metro to hook it up. Any suggestions, advice, or first hand info???
-PF
I am a current Metro Pcs customer and very interested in buying a blackberry. I do not want to pay $450.00 that Metro is asking for. I would love to know if I can buy a used Verizon or Sprint Blackberry of ebay or from someone and flash it with Metro Pcs. Is this possible? Considering Metro has smartphones and Blackberry’s now…
Help!!
You can flash a CDMA blackberry but it will not allow you to use the email function. Everything else will work. Metro will not do it, you will have to have someone else flash it. Metro will not provide assurance that this will work, there can be some ESN registration issues. I have researched this option, and I have to say that if you want all functions, support, etc. you will have to spend the $450.
I HAVE A VERIZON BLACKBERRY 8130 CAN THIS BE FLASED AT METRO STORE ? AND WILL ALL FUNCTIONS WORK ? LIKE MY AOL MAIL.
does anyone know how many tex the blackberry holds?
It took me about a month to get my Env Touch to work on MetroPCS, but I finally got it working. I’ve heard it’s even harder to get Blackberry’s to work.
Hey dude does the env touch work on metro pcs?
how come it took you a month and does it work normally. does internet work fine?
also did you unlock it or did you get it new and metro flash it?
Tell me about the touch being flashed to metro. i just bought a env touch off ebay for 200 and then metro psc said they dont think they have the capability to make the phone work with metro. When I bought it, it said that it was already flashed to metro. The metro rep said that each metro phone has specific downloading programs and there is not one for the env touch. What did you do to make yours work?
if you buy a blackberry from metro your a RA-TARD and you should slap yourself in the face
Hello, I bought da 8330 blackberry curve metropcs when it came out it was around 450, at first I thought it was a good choice but then the I couldn’t get no signal… No youtube videos, yes you can download pandora, iheart radio and a whole lotta stuff but it won’t work, I suppose this is too much of a phone for metropcs!!! Besides that I have to pay exactly 62.35 … Its a good price but I wasn’t expecting my blackberry TO SUCK !!!!!!!!!!!
Pd; I’m switching to att.
I have a blackberry curve from sprint, the same that metro carries and I want to get it flashed over but I don’t want to lose all the apps on it. Can I get it flashed over to a metro without losing anything?
I have a Blackberry 8330 that I’m currently using on Verizon. Since MetroPCS won’t do it, I want to flash and program for MetroPCS. Can anyone provide guidance?
I currently have QPST 2.7 build 215. The newer versions of the software don’t work. Also, the software does not recognize the correct phone and ESN number.
I decided to switch over to pageplus cellular. This is Verizon’s new pre-pay service. 39.95/mo unlimited voice and text. Doesn’t include email. Painless free porting procedure, no additional fees.
Metropcs is a good company, I’m a student in college and I have been with Metropcs for three great years lol. They can flashblackberries from other companies such as tmobile, att, and sprint to Metro…HOWEVER(FYI)!! all of the phones features will not work. ONLY calling will work… thats it nothing else. BUT!! if you get a Verizon Blackberry and get it flashed to Metro Pcs then ALL the features: camera, text, pic, im, internet, will work. (I did my research :) ) The plans are unbeatable. $50 for unlimited EVERYTHING. No contract. No activation fee. The first month of activation free!. AND!! if you want to change phonecarriers they don’t drop a huge $175.00 fee bomb on you for leaving. They’re great.