Richard,

2 pointers, try this web browser:

http://reqwireless.com/products-web.html

and did you check the GPRS Access point name? What is it set to? They have changed their WAP Access point to no longer allow internet access.

Richard, HTML service via the Blackberry browser (that uses the BES on your corporate network side) still works fine.

I'm wondering if they are pushing a new GPRS APN and WAP gateway that now blocks standard Port 80 HTML traffic....

No, they just completely pulled HTML access.

There are several rumours circulating:

1) It will never return, you need the BES and web service

2) It's a glitch, all will be restored

3) They will release a BWA Web access update this year

So, no official word from T-mobile on the matter

I got a phone call from the product manager for Blackberry at T-Mobile. I was pretty surprised. He wanted me to know that this was a mistake, a result of network upgrades and a consequence they were unaware of. He said it would be working in about 48 - 72 hours and he picked my brain about my experiences in setup etc.

I have 2 BB 7230 questions for those of you who travel to Europe often (Nick1K)

I'm thinking of getting the 7230 since I can use it in europe and in the states. It will be used in Europe about 75% of the time.

1) For those of you who have roamed in Europe with your T-mobile sim cards in, how have your bills been after the trip? Assume you send and receive a combined total of 40 "light" emails (no attachments) per day, can any of you give me an average per day usage charge?
2) For those of you who have other mobile accounts in Europe (Orange or Vodaphone, etc) will the 7230 work with that local sim card inserted just as any phone would or is it blocked to only accept the T-Mobile sim card? I would like to use my secondary Orange sim card while I'm in France to avoid the roaming charges. I'm assuming it would not work with pay as you go sim cards but rather, with subscription accounts only.

Thanks for your advice and insight!
CDG 1K

Lets hope so, T-mobile have been VERY bad at communicating in this matter, some level 2 Wireless data people were climing it was done on purpose, others said it would be an update and others claimed it was never possible to do html with it in the first place...

I just stuck a dutch sim in a US BB 7230 and it tells me it's an "invalid sim card"

Is this because the device has been blocked by T-Mobile. I've seen unblocked BB for sale online through various websites but they sell at a slight premium to those offered via T-Mobile.

Unblocked blackberries don't work... We tried this... There is so much stupid hard coded stuff on the device now that when you first use the other networks SIM (with an account enabled for blackberry) you will ALWAYS get a "Data Connection Refused" Me thinks the networks know the PIN (BLackberry device ID's) they support when authenticating the device SIM and PIN.

#1: My bills are aprox $60 a month on top of the basic service fee for roaming. This is actually VERY good, as I don't spend a rip off amount with IPass to synch outlook. My Ipass bill went from $200 a month $20. Plus I also have a MUCH lower cell phone bill as internal employees now know they can email me on minor things and get an instant response.

#2: See above. For some reason this won't work. However, we have heard that if you can get hold firmware for the 7230 customized for each network operator it WOULD work. We are still trying this (no one in our IT team has had the time right now). In theroy, you would get the unit SIM unlocked.... backup the data on the unit (all via USB, so quick). Use the firmware installer from the network you will roam on. Once that firmware is loaded, restore the backup. Use the SIM on the roaming network.

Some caveats of what we've noticed. The device hardcodes in the firmware how to provision the service book for the first startup. This can't be replaced via user editable inputs as they are locked. Once it provisions on the network it updates the service books. Plus I would assume that the account with the other networks SIM would need to be for a blackberry device as some networks block access to the blackberry.net APN unless the account is for a blackberry device. In our test we're going to use a T-Mobile US blackberry and try to convert it to a T-Mobile UK blackberry. (we also use O2, but they've jerked us around on upgrading units)

Any other questions let me know

Congrats on your piece in Wired, Richard

Thank you! Coincidentally I think, I got a call from the T-Mobile product manager and he helped clear things up, saying this was a mistake and that HTML would soon work.

And, on another board, as NickP 1K probably already knows, there is a secret workaround that restored browsing to the BB 7230 anyway! Life has been interesting with our little Blackberry friend.

[This message has been edited by richard (edited 10-02-2003).]

Yes, I read the solution

Thanks for the write up Nick 1K! Much appreciated.
I'm going to try to get an Orange (France) 7230 since I've read they are releasing them here. I was a bit confused with your second explanation of changing the firmware and service books (as I don't know what either are!). I'll be interested if you can convert a US to a UK blackberry. But does that mean that it would be a "dual" US/UK blackberry or would you have to manually tweak it every time you crossed the pond?

CDG... If you wanted to use a different networks SIM card than whom you purchased the device from you WILL need to alter the firmware.