That's 98% true. They do have transborder plans. I have a plan that costs something like CAD$250/mo. for 950 minutes from anywhere in US or Canada to anywhere in US or Canada. You still have to add the $90 unlimited data plan on top of that, so my BB bill (before international roaming) is almost $350/mo. Expensive but worth it, especially for my line of work (Internet).

The BB can't be used with a bluetooth data connection for access to the internet - they are security locked against it. This is a software restriction and not a hardware one - apparently you can hack the phone to handle bluetooth data, but it's not supported nor openly advertised. I only know about it from colleagues at RIM.

The voicemail problems are strange to hear - I've never had a problem with people leaving voicemails or me receiving them when I travel. All of my travel is transborder or Europe, though, so not sure about Asia.

FWIW - The 8700 is probably the best device I've ever owned. I'm a huge PocketPC fan, but I drop my BB about 12 times a day, and it holds up great. The browser on the 8700 is actually decent now, which helps tremendously.

Simon, call Rogers and tell them to enable International to International calling. Rogers blocks it by default for security reasons (if your phone is stolen). It's free to enable.

Also, the individual overseas carrier blocks this feature if they don't have a reciprocal international roaming/calling agreement with Rogers. If this is the case, simply set your network selection mode to manual and pick a new network. This tends to happen a lot for me with T-Mobile in the states, and Orange in the UK. Switching to Cingular and Vodafone respectively usually fixes the issue.