BlackBerry’s Wonderful Winter Deals and Some Plans to Go With Them

By Alex Angove

Last updated 31 January 2016

BlackBerry is running a couple of deals until February 24, just in time for Valentines Day, if that's the kind of thing your significant other finds romantic. You can pick up two different BlackBerry Passport bundles at a discount, or grab yourself a PRIV with two free accessories, worth up to a combined $99.

The good news is that buying a phone like this means you aren't tied to any carrier for a long-term contract. You can go with a BYO plan, which is generally a lot cheaper than a contract, and gives you the flexibility of moving between carriers if you decide your cell service isn't up to par.

BlackBerry PRIV deal

The PRIV deal is pretty simple. It's still the standard price of $699, but you get two free accessories that add up to around $99 under normal pricing.

PRIV Leather Smart Flip Case, Black
PRIV Sync Pod with 1.2m USB Cable

BlackBerry Passport deals

The Passport deals vary depending on whether you grab the standard Black or White model, or if you're feeling fancy and want the Silver.

BlackBerry Black/White bundles:

$479 down from $499
Sync Pod
Black leather flip case
Screen saver x2

BlackBerry Silver bundle:

$519 down from $549
Sync pod
Black leather Flex Shell

BYO Plans for your Shiny New BlackBerry

The BYO market changes pretty regularly. Only recently Rogers, Bell, and TELUS all significantly raised their BYO pricing. At the same time, Fido, Koodo and Virgin Mobile also all had a $5 per month bump.

That being said, the latter three are still good options if you want a strong cell service, but don't want to pay contract prices, as each is owned by one of the major three carriers and operates over their parent's network.

Note: These plans show results using Ontario is a base. If you were prefer tailored results from your region, follow the link at the bottom of each table and adjust your location once the new page loads. People in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Quebec will have very different pricing and plan results to what is displayed.

1GB plans

1GB is around the minimum you'll want to be looking for if you plan on using your phone even semi-ragularly while you're out and about. You can get some decent browsing and social media time, and even stream the occasional song or podcast.

Don't go crazy, though; streaming services burn through data quickly, and make sure you steer well clear of any video apps like YouTube or Vimeo. It's also wise to avoid updating any apps using your cellular data. For the big stuff make sure you're connected to a WiFi network.

#1	Videotron	Videotron 65GB All-Inclusive Cell Phone Plan Unlimited data Deal: Holiday Offer! Waive the $50 activation fee when you subscribe to a mobile plan with data + Get $10/mo. off when you bring your own device $5/mth + $50 Upfront Go	$5/mth + $50 Upfront	Go
#2	Public Mobile	Public Mobile $19 Unlimited Canada-Wide Talk + Text + 1GB 1GB at 4G speeds up to 100Mbps Deal: Receive $0.95/mo. in points value with Public Points + Get a FREE eSIM or $5 off on a physical SIM with new activation on this plan $19 + $5 Upfront Go	$19 + $5 Upfront	Go
#3	Fido	Fido $29 Data, Talk & Text Plan with 20GB 20GB data at download speeds up to 150Mbps $29/mth Go	$29/mth	Go
#4	Virgin Plus (previously Virgin Mobile)	Virgin Plus (previously Virgin Mobile) $29 Plan with 20GB Data and Unlimited Minutes 20GB at 4G speeds up to 150Mbps $29/mth Go	$29/mth	Go
#5	Koodo Mobile	Koodo Mobile $29 - No Tab/BYO Plan with 10GB Data 10GB at 4G speed up to 100Mbps $29/mth + $10 Upfront Go	$29/mth + $10 Upfront	Go
#6	Rogers	Rogers Infinite 50GB Non-shared Student Plan 50GB full speed data at download speeds up to 250Mbps $44/mth Go	$44/mth	Go

2/2.5 GB plans

The next tier up is usually either 2GB or 2.5GB, depending on where you go. With this much data you can go as crazy with browsing and social media as you like. It's still wise to restrict any large application updates, or video streaming, to WiFi networks, but you can get by with a small amount of daily music streaming. Just be sure to keep one eye on that usage meter.

#1	Videotron	Videotron 65GB All-Inclusive Cell Phone Plan Unlimited data Deal: Holiday Offer! Waive the $50 activation fee when you subscribe to a mobile plan with data + Get $10/mo. off when you bring your own device $5/mth + $50 Upfront Go	$5/mth + $50 Upfront	Go
#2	Public Mobile	Public Mobile $23 Unlimited Canada-Wide Talk + Text + 6GB 6GB at 4G speeds up to 100Mbps Deal: Receive $1.15/mo. in points value with Public Points + Get a FREE eSIM or $5 off on a physical SIM with new activation on this plan $23 + $5 Upfront Go	$23 + $5 Upfront	Go
#3	Fido	Fido $29 Data, Talk & Text Plan with 20GB 20GB data at download speeds up to 150Mbps $29/mth Go	$29/mth	Go
#4	Virgin Plus (previously Virgin Mobile)	Virgin Plus (previously Virgin Mobile) $29 Plan with 20GB Data and Unlimited Minutes 20GB at 4G speeds up to 150Mbps $29/mth Go	$29/mth	Go
#5	Koodo Mobile	Koodo Mobile $29 - No Tab/BYO Plan with 10GB Data 10GB at 4G speed up to 100Mbps $29/mth + $10 Upfront Go	$29/mth + $10 Upfront	Go
#6	Rogers	Rogers Infinite 50GB Non-shared Student Plan 50GB full speed data at download speeds up to 250Mbps $44/mth Go	$44/mth	Go

5GB plans

5GB is a huge amount of data. It's unlikely most users will ever hit this cap, unless you're specifically trying to. Application updates, music streaming, and just about anything else is totally fine

However, don't go crazy and do something like stream Netflix, or a lot of HD YouTube. Some video streaming is fine, but make sure they're short videos and try to avoid HD quality. A single Netflix movie is likely to burn through most of your cap, if not all of it.

#1	Videotron	Videotron 65GB All-Inclusive Cell Phone Plan Unlimited data Deal: Holiday Offer! Waive the $50 activation fee when you subscribe to a mobile plan with data + Get $10/mo. off when you bring your own device $5/mth + $50 Upfront Go	$5/mth + $50 Upfront	Go
#2	Freedom Mobile	Freedom Mobile $30 4G LTE 10GB CA-US plan 10GB at 4G LTE speeds up to 100Mbps Deal: Limited-time Offer! Get $15/mo. off for 6 months with new activations on this plan + $5/mo. credit for your next 12 months $15/mth + $45 Upfront Go	$15/mth + $45 Upfront	Go
#3	Fizz	Fizz Unlimited Minutes & Text Messaging + 6GB Data 6GB data at download speeds up to 150Mbps $19/mth + $5 Upfront Go	$19/mth + $5 Upfront	Go
#4	Koodo Mobile	Koodo Mobile $22 Unlimited Canada-Wide Calling Plan 5GB at 4G Speed up to 100Mbps Deal: Receive 1GB bonus data per month with Automatic Top-Up $22 Per 30 Day Top-up + $10 Upfront Go	$22 Per 30 Day Top-up + $10 Upfront	Go
#5	Public Mobile	Public Mobile $23 Unlimited Canada-Wide Talk + Text + 6GB 6GB at 4G speeds up to 100Mbps Deal: Receive $1.15/mo. in points value with Public Points + Get a FREE eSIM or $5 off on a physical SIM with new activation on this plan $23 + $5 Upfront Go	$23 + $5 Upfront	Go
#6	Bell	Bell Monthly $24 Prepaid Voice and 4GB Data 6GB at 4G speeds up to 150Mbps Deal: Get 2GB bonus data with Automatic monthly top-up options $24 Per 1 Month Top-up + $10 Upfront Go	$24 Per 1 Month Top-up + $10 Upfront	Go