BlackBerry Storm 9530

The SIM is not built in. GSM consists of multiple Bandwidths. Not every phone offered from AT&T/Tmobile is international capable although it is GSM. Like the phones they offer for local GSM service, Verizon's BB Storm will work outside of the USA because it is built to pick up those frequencies, BUT not the ones used in the USA.

Actually, no.

Unlike previous Verizon global phones, the Storm does include GSM 850/1900, which are the US bands. The new Samsung Renown also has this. Verizon has just started spec-ing its global phones this way in order to provide full roaming in Latin America.

However, it is still locked so that it cannot be used with, say, an AT&T SIM. The point of including those bands has nothing to do with domestic GSM networks, so Verizon prevents that.

Now, some hacker might figure out a way to unlock it... I don't know how feasible that is with this particular device.

However, if you did managed to hack it, get it unlocked and working with AT&T, it would be 2G-only. The WCDMA/HSDPA 3G roaming capability is indeed ...
(continues)

And who knows if the phone was designed to search and use a CDMA signal before searching for gsm.

Here's something else, if by some odd reason, there is no CDMA signial, verizon or one of its roaming partners (which yes includes sprint) but does detect an 850 at&t gsm signal, would it automatically roam to that network? Or is the phone locked out to markets as well?

Verizon has no roaming agreements with domestic GSM networks, so it would not work.

If it's like the Samsung Renown, when you insert a SIM card, you select whether you want the device to operate in CDMA mode or GSM mode, but not both. So there is no chance of not finding CDMA signal and automatically having the phone search for GSM (or vice-versa).

i have never traveled over seas, but verizon says that the 8830 will auto find the network, say, when you turn it on after landing in italy. again, i dont know if this is true, but its what i have been told

I am sure VZW and AT&T have roaming agreements in place in the event something must be done to roam off CDMA. I'm sure some partnership (or form of it) is still in place from back in the day when the two would roam off eachothers AMPS networks.

I was wondering about unlocking the Storm's GSM radio too.

Theororetically, if you knew someone high up at AT&T, or VZW... and you could enable full roaming, I wonder how it would work when transferring between CDMA to GSM?

Since it does have the NAM GSM bands, I wonder how it would work unlocked? I'm sure the software would need to be reworked, but it is a very interesting concept.

Just an FYI - a GSM model for the US is in fact coming, VZW and RIM did sign a exclusivity deal. The issue was AT&T and T-Mo were getting RIMs products sooner than VZW and VZW essentially strong armed their way into getting a device from RIM first. You read alot about how VZW customers are stuck in the mud when it comes to RIM products in the past... but the consumers weren't the only ones who felt that way - upper VZW officials also felt like the red-headed step child of the RIM WORLD. Now how long that exclusivity deal is for that I don't know but it's safe to say the 9510 is at the very least 6 months away... oh... and with AT&T - Data is not required, it may be when you intially purchase it but it can be removed... 🤣

finally sum1 with common sense!!

Way to be so lame that you put up a bogus review of the storm. Everyone in here knows you did not go buy one by simply looking at all of your GSM fanboy BS on here. Way to be lame

If you get a blackberry without data, its stupid...

if you dont want data, DONT get a blackberry.. get something that doesnt have internet service..

perhaps you were to use an at&t SIM card with Sim-able on the storm?

do you think that would actually work? since you would not have to "hack" the device or anything since Sim-able does the hard work the easy way

u have to unlock it.

but it still wouldnt be worth it.