Fido introduces BlackBerry Pearl 8100, finally.

by The PocketBerry Team

21 January 2009 No Comment

fido

We take it for granted in the US when we have all these new smartphone models coming out and complain why our carrier is getting after everyone else. The Pearl 8100 is about two years old and change, yet there are countries and providers just getting it for the first time like Fido.

Fido was the first Canadian mobile service provider to bill airtime by the second, not by the minute as other providers have done and still do. Clearnet Communications joined the Canadian Wireless Market with an Urban Focus similar to Fido and also offered per second billing. Shortly after the introduction of Fido and Clearnet, Rogers AT&T (now Rogers Wireless), Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility also started offering per second billing. Telus acquired Clearnet in 2000 and the three major cellular providers in Canada reverted back to per-minute billing in the summer of 2002. Fido is currently the only company to offer an Over-the-Counter exchange for phones that fail during the manufacturer’s one year warranty period (with a refurbished unit after the 15 day return period). Fido also formalized the upgrade process for newer phones by offering “Fido Dollars”, equivalent to 5% of customer revenues, which can be used towards the purchase of a new handset at any time even when purchasing a phone with a new agreement. Fido dollars can be used when renewing service with a new agreement. They are also the only company to include a “minute tracker” system free of charge with every monthly plan, which sends a text message to customers when they reach 75% and 100% of the minutes included in their monthly package.

Theyre no contract VS contract pricing seems pretty fair too. Anyway here’s the scoop:

The Pearl will be priced at: