jmthakur

I dont use R world at all so perhaps that may make me a rare creature! So I find the R world button in my 6265 a nuisance since often i press it unknowingly and get charged for mere that one single key press because that means as per Reliance Rules i have accessed Rworld. Is there any way to de-activate or change this button? If someone knows, please help. Thanks!

Wow!!! Thanks, Chirag! will download, try and report outcome. Thanks again!

Ok, Sanjeev, a big sigh and thanks!!

Hi Dj, Can you said that Reliance has reduced the prices of PPC 6700. can you tell me whether it is available in regular webworld or do i have to contact the company itself. i had done some checking a couple of months ago and I was told that I either have to buy through a corporate plan (whatever that meant) or i have to go through persons who import this product and "tweak" the instrument to make reliance compatible. The former was not possible for me and for the latter, i was a little uncomfortable with the method involved as well as the fact that mostly, only second hand pieces were available. Please do let me know if you know where I can buy it directly. Thanks!!!

Right, coolrajiv, i did not read properly. I also presume that the CDMA model is available only in Tata CDMA and not for Reliance. I have been waiting for a long time for a Windows Mobile based Reliance CDMA model and have been avoiding the tinkered models such as the UTC 6700. CDMA users get the antiques of models and Reliance CDMA users are even farther behind to Tata!

For which operators are these models useable? Can they be used for Reliance? Has reliance officially announced them too? Any news? Please update. Thanks!

as an airtel blackberry user since 4 years, my two cents worth of input is that this is the problem if you go for a limited plan where you get charged for the kb that you use. within 3 months of use, i switched on to the unlimited plan, which incidentally is far lower than reliance though I am sure reliance may come out with competitive plans. if you tend to use a lot of email (my cutoff is 50 emails per day), then go for the unlimited plan. once you start using a blackberry, your usage will automatically increase than what you estimate earlier. For example, I have added all the email IDs of my wife and son who dont access the net regularly so if any email comes, i let them know. Reliance will have some teething problems but their reputation is to be stagnant though I am still optimistic of their service improving.

one comment that I have is that dvorak is superior, but qwerty has simply the mass of numbers. Hence, qwerty will be used on all other places - in other computers, cybercafes, on keyboards of phones/pdas, etc. Hence, you cannot simply switch. and it may be too much of a bother to be skillful of both keyboards. The analogy is of Windows and Mac. It is said that Mac is far superior than Windows but since Windows is said to be on 90% of PCs, it is preferred.

Heard from a neighbour that the Classic model is creating lots of problems and hence Reliance is taking them back. Have no official source with me but just sharing with you.

Well said, kshah. I am a ardent fan of Palm models and have also interacted in this forum for their availability. The bottom line though is whether these models are available in India and activated for Reliance. For a layman like me, importing it, activating it for reliance, etc. is a hassle though some members here have been kind enough to guide for purchase and even for activation. Any ideas of how to get ready and activated models here? Thanks!

Airtel and I think Hutch too give promotional schemes whereby the blackberry rates are far lower. For example, they have annual schemes, combo schemes, etc. whereby the per month rate come down almost by 40%. The website of reliance blackberry mentions that there are also some "combo schemes" but I cannot find out details inspite of calling the help line, checking with webworld, etc. All claim ignorance of website. As far as blackberry connect is concerned, I myself use Blackberry connect only. This helps you to use alternative mobiles like Nokia and Sony. Internationally, even the Treo 650 and Dopod have been blackberry enabled and one hopes that they will soon come to India also. In India, Airtel provides Dopod model but that one is a little dated and clumsy one. The problem with reliance is that we are tied to CDMA models which do not see innovations.

Thanks again for the very detailed guidance. Let me do the spade work and revert back.

Great! Thanks. Now let me search for the instrument.

Thanks Kshah. How do I adapt Treo 700p for Reliance? Or do you know anyone who can convert Treo 700p for use in Reliance?

Good, but as usual, the question is whether it can be used or adapted for use in Reliance CDMA?!

My two cent worth of contribution on the best model for blackberry. I would not recommend any of the blackberry models since they are too focussed on email and do everything else - including even voice - mediocre. I use E61 and am quite happy with it since I have symbian. There is no camera and I dont need one. There is no touch screen and I am too happy about it but some others may want it. What it lacks is a full fledged PDA system of Palm or Windows Mobile which I sorely miss these PDA (i.e., organizer) features. Unless really really required, do not go for blackberry models - that is final comment. All the best.

just continuing to air a few more thoughts - beware of the blackberry devices also. Incidentally, I use a Nokia e61 but earlier I had blackberry models. There is almost nil outside servicing of this model. There is (or was about a year ago) no outside service possible with no technicians available. The accessories are almost impossible to get in the general market. I replaced the battery for Rs. 2700! If the sync cord or charging cord stop working, they too cost a lot to replace. You need to renew the warranty service every year for about Rs. 4000! Covers, etc. are also not easily available and as usual, the original covers cost a huge amount. Also, since the Blackberry models use a different OS, none of your favorite programmes or games would work. I was used to playing the single pathetic game - bricks - using the side wheel. My personal opinion is that blackberry is only a superefficient email device. For camera, music, games, and, above all, even voice, look elsewhere please.

as a user of blackberry, my understanding about blackberry service-technicalities apart - is that it does a very simple job. You give them your email id and password. and then like an efficient secretary, it checks your mail every fifteen minutes and when there is a mail it sends what really is an sms (but of a slightly longer length). Thus, you get the email. Since most emails may be of small size, you feel that you are getting the email. Also, since emails come on their own, you may feel it is an "instant" service while really it is not. The above job can also be done by any windows mobile or for that matter any other phone having gprs and any email retrieval programme - you need to just change the settings so that it checks the email every 15 minutes. Only Blackberry uses lesser battery for this. This in a nutshell is blackberry service - as I see it, a mere glorified secretarial sms service- . It is only, I think, patent and other protection as also relatively lower number of users who demand this service that does not encourage many others to give similar services. And I can also assure you that the service is frequently down - I know it because quite frequently i get an sms that the service will be down for so many hours.

heres a gud compariosn of all the four models.. its a jpg file.. zoom and browse..... ' Sorry, but the jpg file is not loading. Cant see it. Could you please check. Thanks.

The competition hots up! I use Airtel Blackberry services (individual, not corporate) and I was informed by my service provider that I can pay Rs. 6999 for one year advance blackberry unlimited service. Actually, they had a similar promotional offer about in around July 2006 and I had gone for it. Thereafter, on completion of one year, I was told that it is not there so I was thinking Reliance Blackberry as an option (since I already have a reliance phone). However, under Reliance, for the same features, I will have to pay Rs. 1099 pm or Rs.13188 in all as compared to Airtel Rs. 6999 per annum but payable in advance. I am surely tempted back to Airtel. One personal reason for preferring Airtel at this moment is that it provides Blackberry Connect where I can use my E61 which being Nokia is far more user friendly and having better voice and other features than the Blackberry models which are super-efficient email machines but, and this is my personal view, poor in other areas. Reliance does not seem to provide Blackberry Connect as far as I know. I think even if they do, they may have to come with special models for CDMA. So, it is good that companies are competing. Am sure Reliance will come with a better offer. I have seen that in the reliance blackberry site, it is stated that there are "combo" and other introductory offers. The help line has no details about this but some member here may be aware?!

ok, i know that reliance has not yet launched the blackberry but let me continue the cribbing and let me start expecting problems. This is because I have been a blackberry user and at least in one way blackberry in reliance is a good news since i can think of having one mobile only now. The problem is that Blackberry instruments are notoriously poor in every respect except for email. We Reliance users use the mobile for talking. Even a friend of mine using Blackberry curve is quite unhappy with the voice itself and thus uses the Blackberry for email and at times as a backup mobile. The music is also said to be inferior to even the average Nokia or other good mobiles. Actually, for Airtel and Hutch, the good thing is that even Blackberry Connect is there so, like me, you can use Nokia and Sony handsets also (e.g., E61, 9300/9500) which are excellent mobiles also.

As of date, the reliance website is silent on Blackberry but I know the members here are well informed through other sources. Hope that someone posts information as soon as the blackberry is launched. Thanks in advance!!!

thanks a lot to all for informative comments. just a few cents worth more. users who are concerned with logging along huge laptops could look at, e.g., to Sony Vaio TZ. it is quite expensive - 1.15lakhs but see some features. it is just 1.2 kg in weight. it has 11 hours of rate battery as compared to rated 3.5 hrs others offer. its dimensions are that of an India today magazine - just a little thicker. There are other less expensive models of other brands but I have liked this one the best. And do not rely on what you see on the website - for once, the web photo - though 3D - does not do justice to what you see in the showroom (though I confess i have only caressed it at the showroom and continue to use my 2kg "inferior" laptop!) i was (and am too) a fan of PDA mobiles (such as Treo, KJam, etc.) who have word, excel, outlook, task, etc. etc. which give me illusion that i have a pc in my pocket. really speaking, these are pathetic versions of what are in the PC. Try to enter, for example, an excel formula in pocket excel. Or try entering a task in a blackberry. My point is that perhaps many of us, me included, end up paying huge amounts for something that is not what is promised. And, more importantly, something we do not use. I cannot think of many situations where I need to work on word, excel, etc. but where I cannot open my laptop and quickly finish the job. On most occasions i just need to use my mobile to talk. But, as a user said above, people have different circumstances and preferences. Thanks again for the feedback.

"i-mate has reportedly launched the JAMA Windows Mobile 5.0 PDA phone, which the company says is akin to a personal computer in one's pocket." I hope my strong remarks to claims of phone-manufacturers below are taken in the right spirit. I have two comments. Firstly, i think phone features have plateaued. Secondly, there is no such thing as "a personal computer in one's pocket". I write this as much as to learn as to express. Dont you all think that phone features have plateaued and there is nothing really new. We move from Windows 5 to Windows 6. We move from photo quality from ??mp to ?? mp (1.3 mp to 2mp, then to 3mp). We move from Blue tooth 1 to 1.2 etc. But these are all in one generation and I surely would not change my mobile to get only the "improvements". Leaving the iphone and its debates apart, I think except hype, there is no revolution now or in the near future in phones - at least as a lay, non-technical user like me sees. No doubt the improvements matter but not so much. I think the N95 failed (i think it did) probably on this account since it only "improved" on some features. Then, at least my quest for the pc-in-my-pocket is wholly unsuccessful. and i have used many phones. Neither Windows Mobile 5 nor Palm nor Symbian provide even remotely what a PC does though they do claim and make very pathetic and poor versions of the PC features in their software. Any person who has regularly transferred word files from PC to any such "pocket pc-phones" might agree. Also, phones are poor imitators of features found in other specialised gadgets. I compared photos from my 2mp Nokia 6265 with photos taken in 2mp mode in Sony Cybershot. I have stopped using 6265 for photos. I have heard music in 6265 (or even Sony mobiles) and the Ipod - again I have preferred carrying an additional gadget - the Ipod - rather than use the Nokia. Finally, to me, the best solution is to carry a laptop and use the most basic of phones - preferably a black and white one to conserve battery. The phone will do the talking and the laptop with internet will do the rest. I know these comments should be somewhere else but seeing the review of this new Imate new model, I could not resist writing these lengthy comments which are not in the least intended to offend anyone!