I'm looking into getting one of the newer BlackBerries (Bold or Javelin, probably Javelin because as you'll find, 3g is not my priority here) when they come out, probably via a relative in the US. The thing is, I currently can't afford an On Account plan with BIS. Even with just the base You Choose plan and a BestMate addon plus BIS it's still $60-70/month. For comparison, I now only spend about $20 a month on prepay (I make the bulk of my calls to my BestMate nominated number, text a few other people and occasionally check e-mail). I'm not really interested in the push e-mail or applications right now - I just really like the hardware, it's the only QWERTY bar-shaped phone that isn't Moto (Windows Mobile, ugh) or Nokia (not a huge fan of Nokia), and while Sony Ericsson does have a few smartphone types, the last phone I got from them was terrible and I'm not really interested in going back to them. Touch phones are out, so no LG phones/iPhone :p (or iPod touch, which would just be another gadget and I'd still need a phone).
Basically, I'm almost always within coverage of a WiFi network. What I'm thinking of doing is getting one of these WiFi enabled BlackBerries and using it on prepay (or a cheap On Account plan without BIS at this stage), so I'd only have internet coverage in a WiFi area. I know the push e-mail client won't work, or the e-mail client in general, or weather or Vodafone Compass etc but the browser is fine for me. Basically I get annoyed pulling out my netbook to check my uni classes or Gmail, both of which can be accessed by web interface. This will be even more annoying once I get a proper laptop as well. Mostly, I just love the keypads on the BlackBerries, the fact that they'll sync calendars with a Mac and I like the idea of having the option to get BIS at a later date.
What I'm curious about however is - without a GPRS connection via BIS, will PXT/MMS work? If not..I think I remember something about sending images to PXT phones via e-mail (number@vodafone.net.nz)?