Nokia to Blackberry

[Anonymous]

I have had a Nokia Classic for about seven years on a pay-as-you-go basis.  I am not technically minded and this simple device suits me perfectly for texting and the odd phone call.

A friend recently gave me a Blackberry 9700, thinking he would help me 'upgrade'.

I naively thought I could simply take the sim card from my Nokia, put it in the Blackberry and retain my mobile number and contacts.  Apparently, it is not that simple.

Can anyone explain to me in basic terms what I have to do to to get the Blackberry to work, please?

Thank you.

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

Honestly I wouldn't bother.
There are no real simple ways to explain how BB's work. You need to have accounts with BIS or BES (whichever is still running) just to get emails and for the older models like yours, you need to pay a monthly fee for them.
Primarily they were designed for business users and that type of phone is not suitable for the needs you have described.

[Anonymous]

OK.  Many thanks for that.

[Anonymous]

I agree with @MI5.....Blackberrys are extremely complicated unless you have used them before; especially if your not very technical

[Marjo]

Hey guys, what phone(s) would you recommend in this case?  Not too technical, easy to use, simple? 

[MI5]

Any except a BB.
iPhone is probably the easiest to use and there are some good deals on a 5s around now.