[ggoodale]

Take this one with a good-sized grain of salt, as the rep I spoke with yesterday had 'just completed' training on the new 8320. However, he stated the following:

• The BlackBerry data plan sold with the Curve will include T-Mobile HotSpot access for free.
• HotSpot use by devices other than the Curve will be included as well - your phone number and PIN (?) will be your access credentials.

Now, since I haven't heard of any special data plans coming out in support of the Curve, One of two things must be true: My rep was confused, or the BlackBerry data plan now includes HotSpot access, regardless of whether you own a Curve. Even if the latter is true, however, it's likely he was wrong about using HotSpot with devices other than the Curve.

I checked out HotSpot in a Starbucks today and couldn't find any way to log in using my phone number, but I suppose that may only mean the new portal hasn't gone live yet. I'd love for this to be true, as it's kind of a rip-off that the new $20 Total Internet plan includes HotSpot access, but the $20 BlackBerry data plan doesn't (which was my reason for calling in the first place).