T-Mobile asks users to Pay Once for a BlackBerry Pearl

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You may have thought that there were only two ways to go about organising your phone bill but T-Mobile has come up with a new solution – Pay Once. It’s not quite as deliciously inviting as the name suggests but it’s certainly interesting to see a fresh approach to the tariff structure.

The way it works is that you pay £179.99 in exchange for a silver BlackBerry Pearl 8110, like the one in the picture, with a 2-megapixel camera and GPS, and in return you get as much data as you can crunch in a year. There’s no voice or texts included, so you’re still topping up for that lot but, then, maybe you won’t need to if you use VoIP and web based SMS services?

It works out as around £15 a month to put it into some kind of perspective, so we’re not necessarily talking about a bargain here, just a different way of doing things. Nothing’s set in stone as yet but the idea is that, once your year is up, you’ll either be able to Pay Once Again at the same cost with an upgraded handset or slightly less if you just want to keep your Pearl. Interesting.

I don’t think Pay Once will change the world but, marketing aside, an extra package probably doesn’t cost T-Mobile an awful lot in the long term, so what the hell? It’s probably worth a punt for them and it certainly keeps them looking progressive.

Pay Once is available from 1st May and I expect to see it doing very well.

T-Mobile

BlackBerry Pearl 8110 Review:

Comparison of RIM's BlackBerry Pearl 8110, Curve 8310 and Bold 9000 smartphones

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The BlackBerry 9000 was officially announced by Research In Motion this morning, and within minutes I was on the phone to my mobile contract provider, arranging the return of the Pearl 8110 I’d just ordered. Even though the 9000 won’t be out until Summer, it’s still worth waiting for, in my opinion.

Or is it? Do you prefer the 45g-bar-of-chocolate-size of the Pearl 8110, or the BlackBerry Maps featured in the Curve 8310? Let’s take a look below the jump at the key features of the three feathers RIM has in its cap…

Shiny Video Review: RIM's BlackBerry Pearl 8110


Haven’t caught wind of the new 8110 Pearl handset from BlackBerry? Well, lucky for you, our very own Katie Lee has put together a short review of the Blue Slate mobile, and pitted it against the original Pearl, which she’s already very fond of.

She also touches on the new price plans from T-Mobile, just recently announced, which include instant email for only £5 a month…