BB Curve 8500 :: Cannot Use Gmail App And Opera Browser

I recently bought an unlocked curve 8520 from Smartone Vodafone in HK and am now in China using china mobile service. I have not signed up for the blackberry email service -- my plan was to download the dedicated gmail app.

On my old Sony Ericsson W888 I was able to download the dedicated gmail java app and was using it on china mobile. I have tried to download the gmail application to the curve via both the pre-loaded browser and the hotspot wifi browser but am not allowed to -- there is an error message saying I can't access gmail and have to access gmail via the Internet. I can get to gmail using the browser, but my goal is to download the dedicated application which has a better user experience.

After these steps, I downloaded the Opera browser, thinking perhaps if I use a different browser, I could directly access the internet and download the gmail application. I downloaded the Opera mini v5 beta onto my Macbook and loaded it onto the curve via the BDM software but it does not run after loading the application. I then downloaded Opera v4.2 from its website I accessed via the Hotspot wifi browser on the curve directly. This would not run either.

Separately, I tried to access the mobile.blackberry.com homepage to download new themes but I received a page that said: "Unfortunately, your current device and/or browser are not compatible for this site." I was hoping to download some new themes to replace the vodafone pre-loaded theme.

At this point, it seems my blackberry is bascially locked down and not open to new applications -- I have not been able to successfully download / access the gmail app (which has worked here in China on another sony ericsson phone through the same carrier), the 2 opera browser versions, or the main mobile.blackberry.com site.

Questions for the forum:

1. is this a carrier issue where China Mobile is walling off access? any work-arounds? I have tried to access the internet via just a hotspot wifi browser through a regular wifi connection, but still no success.

2. why can't the curve even access blackberry's own mobile.blackberry.com home page? it's surprising that the site won't even recognize one of the company's own devices.

3. is there any way to download the gmail java app via the PC and then load it onto the curve via BDM? after searching online, I cannot file a standalone gmail app which I can download and transfer via the USB cable. does it exist and if so, please let me know where to download it.