Hotlink or Xpax Prepaid Blackberry ? Which to choose ?

With Maxis being the only authority in Malaysia to hold the rights to distribute iPhone here, Celcom’s backhanded swing in the market to gain momentum was to outwit Maxis with cheaper and good Blackberry service compared to Maxis’ iPhone plan. With the marketing going on back and forth, we know that both Celcom and Maxis have their own Blackberry prepaid plan for common users such as Serge who does not earn enough to pay monthly fix bills.

Today Serge will compare both Hotlink and Xpax (Maxis and Celcom’s prepaid) and to give you the readers a definitive guide on which might be a better choice. Do note that this is based on the information given by their website and not Serge using the service of which he would like readers who are using either one of this service to leave a comment, also the comparison will be based upon their Blackberry 8520 package deal.

XPax-Blackberry Prepaid

In this package users can get the BB8520 at RM998 but when you look at it properly, users will need to place an additional RM50 reload to get it. This will total it to RM1048 and since it did say RM50 reload; it would mean that if you are a new Blackberry Prepaid user, you need to register for a starter pack and add an additional RM50 reload to get the BB8520; this will definitely put it to more than RM1048 (correct Serge if he is wrong) .

Now Xpax has it nice with their unlimited plan as low as RM1. But as Serge looks into it, he is a bit skeptical as he reads the terms and conditions. Why so skeptical Sergie-poo ?

Blackberry Social-T&C
-No Internet Browsing & Push Email Access
-You can only use Facebook, Flickr, Myspace, BB Messenger, Y! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger,Google Talk, ICQ and AOL services with this package
-No roaming service when Blackberry Social is activated
-Valid in Malaysia only (since we all are asses and Sabah and Sarawak seem to have disappeared, would that mean Peninsular only?)

Blackberry 2.5G-T&C
+All services given
+/-Data capped at 1GB per day (12AM-1159PM)
-Additional data after capping at RM0.10/kb
-No roaming service when Blackberry Social is activated
-Valid in Malaysia only (since we all are asses and Sabah and Sarawak seem to have disappeared, would that mean Peninsular only?)

Hmm, looking at it most users would go for the Blackberry 2.5G which will be charged at RM2.50/day and yet when you look at it XPax does not count 24hours at the time a user activates but it is based on their system. Thus you pay RM2.50 even if you activate it at 11PM today and at 12AM the following day, you’ll pay RM2.50 as it is a new day. Data capping here is both a good and a bad thing, good as it maintains data speed across the airwaves and bad for those who does a lot of data work (then again Serge has not seen a person use 1GB worth of data a day on mobile yet….)

Hotlink-Blackberry Prepaid

In this Hotlink package, a user can get the BB8520 at RM488 when they join them for 6 months with their RM98/month deal. This will bring the overall total to RM1076 which is RM28 more expensive than Xpax. But looking at it looks good though having to be with them for 6 months might put some users off.

As we look at the package offered by Hotlink for BB, it is rather confusing so let’s break it down abit.

Hotlink BIS Monthly Social
+RM28/month = RM0.95/day , 5sen less than Xpax BB Social
-Data capped at 100MB
+Additional data at RM0.05 (off peak) and RM0.01 (peak)
-Social Network only and Instant Messaging , NO Internet browsing & Email

Hotlink BIS Monthly Messaging
+RM28/month = RM0.95/day , 5sen less than Xpax BB Social
-Data capped at 100MB
+Additional data at RM0.05 (off peak) and RM0.01 (peak)
-Instant Messaging and Push email only, NO Internet browsing and Social Networking

Hotlink BIS Monthly Premium
-RM98/month = RM3.25/day , 75sen more than Xpax BB 2.5G
-Data capped at 1.5GB
+Additional data at RM0.05 (off peak) and RM0.01 (peak)
+All service access

Outright, you will probably say that between Xpax 2.5G and Hotlink BIS Monthly Premium, Xpax 2.5G will be the better deal. This is true since data capped on Xpax 2.5G is per day and unless Hotlink calls Serge up to undermine his thoughts; their service is capped per month. Of course let us be reminded that capping data is a good idea as it really does maintain network and data efficiency. The only thing that Serge can say is good for Hotlink would be the additional data charges after capping occurs and since they did not mention anything about roaming being disabled, Serge believes you can roam and have BB service which is another plus factor.

At the end of the comparison, what should you choose ? Serge says it is up to you and for Serge what did he choose ? Well none at the moment as he is a postpaid user for Maxis and he has his own Blackberry Bold. He will however recommend users who does not travel a lot to use Xpax BB Prepaid package and for those who travels overseas, Hotlink looks like a better deal but he has yet to confirm about the roaming bit and how users will be charged overseas.

**Receive call from Maxis @ 1.10pm today**
Data capping is per month
No BB Roaming so its just like Xpax