If you’ve been interested to get a Blackberry Curve but held off until now because you wanted to see what was available from both Maxis and Celcom in terms of their offerings for a prepaid version of the entry level Blackberry, here’s Maxis’ latest offer, which I initially wrote about here. It looks like competition in this area is rather fierce, although there are only two celcos involved in offering it.
So, the latest Maxis offer is this: pay RM 488 up front for a Blackberry Curve 8520 on a prepaid basis. You are also required to pay RM 98 x 6 months in advance, for the prepaid monthly premium BIS (Blackberry Internet Service) charges. Total commitment up front = RM 488 + (RM 98 x 6) = RM 1,076. After the 6 months is up, you are free to choose from any of the 4 prepaid BIS packages offered by Maxis, or move over to Celcom who also offer prepaid BIS plans. Or, sign up with DiGi on a postpaid corporate BES (Blackberry Enterprise Services) plan. Your choice.
Contrast this to Celcom’s offer: RM 998 for the Curve 9520, plus a RM 50 compulsory top up for the prepaid XPax account. 6 months of Celcom’s premium service at RM 2.50 daily will cost (RM 2.5 x 30 days) x 6 months = RM 450. Grand total = RM 998 + RM 450 = RM 1,448. Significantly more expensive than Maxis’ offer.
Here are more reasons why the Maxis package is better:
1.The RM 98 monthly charges includes WAP browsing, Celcom’s RM 2.50 daily package does not. Browsing accidentally using WAP on your Curve 8520 on Celcom’s network will reduce your credit very quickly, as many unsuspecting users have discovered.
2.The Maxis package includes a free RM 100 designer skin; Celcom’s offer only includes a cheap rubber/silicon protective case.
So, getting the Maxis package as it stands now is highly recommended. It’ll save you a lot of money compared to the Celcom offer. Ah, don’t we just love competition? It’s unfortunate that I committed too early to the Celcom offer; this will teach me to exercise more patience!
So, what do you think? Have you bought one? Itching to try a Blackberry after hearing so many good things about it? No better time to try, I say!