BlackBerry coming to Giffgaff
Earlier this month, Giffgaff announced the details of their long awaited BlackBerry support. Finally, UK mobile phone users will be able to take advantage of push email, free BBM and BlackBerry internet services on the best value mobile network and completely free from the constraints of lengthy contracts. The service is due to launch on 8th December 2011. (edit: This was later delayed until 1st February 2012 for further testing).
Giffgaff’s intention to bring BlackBerry support to the network had been announced months and months ago but with the furious work to push out other projects such as data-only Gigabags, the amazing Hokey Cokey goodybag and data roaming it got left behind. Even worse than that, bringing BlackBerrys to Giffgaff actually got quietly delayed to 2012 at one point and it seemed nobody could be sure that it would actually ever happen. Thankfully for those of you constantly glued to your “CrackBerry” on other networks, they got past all the technical hitches and are currently in the final stages of user testing.
BlackBerry support will be offered through Giffgaff’s increasingly-maligned “Goodybag” architecture. It will be a monthly add-on (the name hasn’t been confirmed yet) and, at present, it must be bought with another goodybag. Giffgaff haven’t confirmed why this is yet but it may well be due to the technical restrictions of the Goodybag system.
Here’s the lowdown on all aspects of the new BlackBerry add-on:
How much will BlackBerry support cost?
In what must be the cheapest offer available anywhere in the country, BlackBerry support costs only £3 per month.
Do you have to buy another goodybag as well?
Yes, BlackBerry support only works with another goodybag.
Can you buy it while another goodybag is active?
Unfortunately no – the BlackBerry add-on must be bought at the same time as the goodybag.
Can you buy the BlackBerry add-on from your credit balance?
You can buy the BlackBerry add-on from either your credit balance or via a debit/credit card or even with an e-top-up voucher. You just have to make sure that you buy both the BlackBeryy add-on and the Giffgaff goodybag from the same payment source.
Is it possible to queue BlackBerry goodybags?
Yes, just like normal goodybags you can queue BlackBerry add-ons in advance so they activate automatically once your old one runs out.
What about roaming data?
Like all their other services, roaming data with BlackBerry on Giffgaff is a bargain. Even though they get charged for the data, Giffgaff is giving everyone 10MB for free every day!
Does it work with the Hokey Cokey goodybag?
Yes, you can activate a BlackBerry add-on with any goodybag. Hokey Cokey might not be ready for launch but will definitely be coming soon.
What are the data charges?
On any of the goodybags costing £10 or more, all data is included in your goodybag rate. However, the £5 Hokey Cokey and unlimited texts goodybags don’t include any data. These will have internet access charged at the standard PAYG data rates of 20p/day for a maximum of 20MB but all BBM and push email data will be completely free.
So what are you waiting for? If you’re paying over the odds on another network for your BlackBerry phone, now could be the perfect time to switch and start saving cash! Please let us know how you get on with BlackBerry on Giffgaff and if you have any questions we haven’t answered, let us know in the comments.
