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.
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.
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.
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