I myself own 2 phones – a LG Secret KF750 phone and a Blackberry Bold. My previous Nokia 7610 phone “died” due to some faults in its memory function. Hence I bought the former about 5 months ago. The latter was purchased much earlier, in September 2008.   I bought a Blackberry Bold because Blackberry phones stand out for their push-mail capability and its internal messaging service, and of course, its curvy product design. Most importantly, I want to be kept abreast of what’s happening around me and to be on top of matters, for the sake of “personal efficiency”. Mine is an unlimited data plan, of which its monthly subscription plan charges is about $68. The other is a Prime plan, which is “almost extinct today”, a mobile plan I retain since 2001 during National Service period when I first wanted to buy a mobile phone. (My 2 mobile lines are all under M1. Guess what? My 2 mobile lines look very identical, just by a mere difference of 1 digit number only. Hehehe.)  I’ve just cancelled my rental of M1 Vodafone Mobile USB modem device few weeks ago. I find it redundant since I’ve bought a wireless router for usage of wireless internet at home last month. Why waste more money on bills when I can have wireless internet at home as well as internet on my blackberry device when I am outdoors? Saves money! And no more fighting for the cable internet at home with my young sister who may be working from home occasionally. Good. Peace finally.  In today’s world which is mostly electronically connected, smartphones are gaining more popularity. Well, you can say that they are true-blue pocket computers. With a smartphone, you can do a lot of things on the move – be it watching YouTube videos, updating your Facebook or Twitter status, read up on the latest news and of course, making phone calls. Yup, that is what I normally do with my Blackberry Bold. Even my young brother-in-law also bought a blackberry device after he saw mine. Haha. I went “Wah!” when I first knew about the cheapest Blackberry plan offered by SingTel last month. 1GB of data plan. $10.70 per month! This is extremely cheap!!!!!!!  It is the first telco in Singapore to offer a bundle Blackberry voice and data plan. I read with interest about what ST Digital Life writer, Mr Sherwin Loh has said about it in the latest issue dated Wednesday 9 September 2009. Titled “Don’t Penalise Blackberry Users”. Read on. ‘This is a positive step forward because previously, users needed a regular voice plan and had to pay extra for an additional Blackberry data plan. So instead of paying over $60, consumers are now paying only $48. While this is a good first step, I feel that more needs to be done to get more consumers to take up this best-in-class mobile push mail service. For those unfamilar with the Blackberry brand, aside from the fact that US President Barack Obama is one of its biggest fans, the brand from Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM) represents a string of devices that support push-mail, alongside Web browsing and other smartphone functions. What many might not know is that there are two services that support the devices. The Blackberry Enterprise Service (BES) is for companies who want an integrated and secure mobile email application. The Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) offers the same thing but is targetted at consumers who want mobile e-mail like Gmail and Hotmail. It is primarily the second service that has caught on, such that more than half of RIM’s 28.5 million global subscribers are now non-corporate users. Unlike other phones shold here that work with a simple voice or data plan, BIS for consumers is still pretty much a special value-added service. Due to the nature of the device, you cannot just take any SIM card and use it on a Blackberry device and expect the full selection of services to be available. But these are nothing more than barriers to entry. Customers are told that they need to sign on for 2 plans in order to make phonecalls and receive e-mail. Yet, for any other phone, you can choose from any of several bundled voice and data plans. Wheras for consumers who want to buy a Blackberry device, they do not have this option. Across the board, phones offer the same functions, so why should Blackberry service plans be different? In United States, for example, there is no price difference between a regular data plan for, say, the iPhone, versus one that supports BIS on the AT&T carrier. Both plans can be used for e-mail and surfing. All these stem from the historical perception that Blackberry phones are business devices and offer great extras. So if you want to have it, please then be prepared to pay more. But even as RIM has moved away from their business-centred direction to reach out to consumers, telecos in Singapore have not caught up. While prices are dropping and SingTel can be applauded for coming up with a Blackberry voice and data plan – even one wonders why SingTel took it this long – a closer look at its new Blackberry plans reveal some irregularities. Their cheapest BIS data plan, at $10.70, provides 1GB of data. But reading the fine print carefully and you will find out that this supports only BIS e-mail and certain chat client applications such as MSN Live Messenger. Subscribers cannot use this plan to surf Net on their phones. Therefore in order to do that, you have to sign-on another data plan. But because of Blackberry’s unique method of compressing data, it is unlikely that many consumers will even touch the 1GB data ceiling, so what are users really paying for? Mere connectivity only? As for SingTel’s voice and data Blackberry Flexi Plan, those who sign up for a 2-year contract can pick up another Blackberry device only as part of their contractual handset discount. Can you imagine going to a telco, only to be told that you can buy a phone from a limited list? Are Blackberry users being penalised? One can argue that since this is a specific Blackberry plan, only Blackberry devices should be offered, but what about those long-time users who already have a Blackberry device but want to sign a 2-year deal and maximise their loyalty by getting a new phone for their wives/husbands or child? Should they not get the same benefits as any other subscriber? For the other 2 telcos, the field is now left wide open for changes to be made, with new plans to be introduced and possibly, getting new customers in the process.’ | 
那么前去观看这部电影的朋友们，可得留意哦！
