Travel Technology - Blackberry: in China?

I was wondering if I could purchase either this (http://www.blackberry.com/ap/products/blackberry7200/blackberry7290.shtml) or this (http://www.blackberry.com/ap/products/blackberry7700/blackberry7730.shtml) in Hong Kong, and use it in China?

What would I have to do?

Thanks. :)

Blackberries are not sold "over the counter", you'll need to find an operator that sells them. I know several HKG operators offer the devices, and they DO offer roaming in China. Where are you located? Are you a subscriber to any of the Hong Kong operators?

My Tmobile Blackberry works well in Shanghai and Hong Kong. You need to have service with a provider that has international roaming.

I can't offer a definitive answer because I don't use a blackberry, but I can surf the web (and use gmail) with my Shanghai sim (Shanghai Mobile) and believe I could do the same with my Beijing sim (China Mobile) if I bothered to register. The following thread provides a little more info:

http://www.geoexpat.com/forum/thread4282.html

I am just visiting Beijing for two days from the US. I have a Blackberry 7280 and Cingular/ATTWS service. Will I be able to roam in Beijing?? If so, what service provider is most common there?

Sorry for the dumb questions but I have never been to china before.

I am just visiting Beijing for two days from the US. I have a Blackberry 7280 and Cingular/ATTWS service. Will I be able to roam in Beijing?? If so, what service provider is most common there?

Sorry for the dumb questions but I have never been to china before.


I have a Vodafone Blackberry and it did not work in Beijing, nor Seoul nor Bangkok. It did however work beautifully in Singapore - as everything else!

To answer my own question (and perhaps others) the only blackberry (so far) that I have found that works worldwide (quad band) is the 7290

While this doesn't answer your question about the mainland, I just returned to Los Angeles 12 hours ago from a week in Hong Kong, using the 7290. Before I left I had AT&T/Cingular initiate World service (for $19.99 a month, and can be cancelled pro-rate at any time), and it worked instantly as I stepped of the plane in HKG.

My company email (Lotus Notes) got pushed to me instantly, and I joked to a friend in Hong Kong that it seemed to show up a second or two faster then in the U.S. No unexpected issues web surfing either (outside of the usual provisos that many WAP and most HTML sites don't load well on the BB browser).

At one of the electronic store I visited, a clerk said the 7290 is only distributed in Hong Kong by the telephone cartel PCCW. You can not buy it over the counter at a typical store that sells cellphones.

I think there are two things to consider here:

1. one is your equipment. of course, you need the proper blackberry..

2. More importantly, you need your home phone company to have a roaming agreement with their different counterparts around the world. Phone companies vary tremendously in this respect - some aim for people that dont really travel so your Blackberry is useless - no matter what the technology.

PCWW is the old Ma Bell of Hong Kong, i.e. the old monopoly carrier...

I think the route of the problem may be that cell phone techology in Asia may have already, to a certain extent, leepfrogged Blackberry. While Blackberry may be substantially more effective with respect to its own functionality than modern cellphones on sluggish GSM networks, the fact remains that today's high-end phones can swing a lot more tricks. Consequently, Chinese mobile companies truly believe they are giving you the best they have to offer with their y15/month GPRS service. For them, side deals with the Blackberry people, at much higher prices, are hard to justify (though I still have yet to receive confirmation as whether or not any of them have jumped in).

I am just visiting Beijing for two days from the US. I have a Blackberry 7280 and Cingular/ATTWS service. Will I be able to roam in Beijing??

You should have no problems - my 7290 with ATT service works fine in PEK, SHA, PVG, and TSN.

And it does show up on your phone several seconds before it hits the email on your box - due to the route the Exchange servers follow to locate you in the corporate DHCP environment.

Okay, so let's say I go to 3 Hong Kong (http://dualband.three.com.hk/website/template?pageid=d85100&lang=eng) and get a Blackberry.

How will I use the Blackberry AND keep my China Mobile phone number at the same time? :confused: