T-Mobile intros one-off payment for BlackBerry email

Can students be tempted to adopt the Pearl with this latest email deal?

T-Mobile intros one-off payment for BlackBerry email

23 April 2009 10:30 GMT / By Susi Weaser

Whilst RIM's BlackBerry Pearl handset brought push email to a market away from merely corporate business users, T-Mobile are hoping their latest package will remove the pricing barriers which have previously made some people think twice before committing.

"Pay Once" offers users a BlackBerry Pearl 8110 and a year's access to email and the Internet from the phone. To make phone calls and texts, the owner needs to buy credit in the traditional pay-as-you-go manner. Available from T-Mobile stores from 1 May, it will cost £179.

The hope is that this will attract a younger market, who want access to email and their social networks without paying a monthly fee for the privilege, as well as allowing people to buy the phone as a gift.

The phone itself is currently only available in silver, and features a 2-megapixel camera, built-in GPS and quick links to social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and Flickr.