Verizon’s Blackberry 8830 officially announced, available May 14th
It’s official! RIM and Verizon have announced that the BlackBerry 8830, the CDMA and GSM "World Edition" device, will be released on May 14th. Initially available only through Verizon’s site and business channels, the new BlackBerry will make its way to Verizon retail stores two weeks later on the 28th. Like the previous Verizon BlackBerry’s before it, it will operate on their traditional EV-DO network while in the U.S., with the ability to operate on international GSM networks abroad. It’s a tad bit taller than the BlackBerry 8800 we all know, coming it at 4.9" tall, compared to the BlackBerry 8800’s 4.5" height. Not much else has changed, with the now-ubiquitous trackball and media player. The BlackBerry 8830 won’t have a camera as this is a business device guys. Look for it to price at $299 with a two year agreement.
[Via Gizmodo]
Why does it take so long for Verizon to provide these devices? In Austria the 8800 is available since about 5 weeks (see http://www.a1.net/business/blackberryhandys)
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Wow, be happy it is coming out this fast and not a year from now! Hmmm, so when is Sprint going to release theirs? Decisions.
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So the 8800 does not have high speed 3G UMTS or whatever and the 8830 does?
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I’d rather have a Pearl. Wait, I’m with Sprint… I’ll take any BB I can get that has somewhat recent technology.
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Why the big deal with the camera and business phone? thats all BS. I am in technology sales and go to a ton of businesses each day. One of the most popular BBs I see now is the Pearl. Other than security “gov” space, Cameras don’t seem to be such a taboo in business. VZW get with the program. Lets get the 8330 out already before I switch to AT&T. I am getting sick of inferior phones. AT&T coverage has caught up. VZW, the ball is in your court.
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IS, broker-dealers and financial institutions have strict rules promulgated by the SEC and NASD about office supervision and controls. They don’t want cell phones much less camera phones, however email is a differnet story…thus the need to separate the functions.
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Hell, I am about sick of all of them! Going back to a tin can and a piece of string!
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The more important issue will be how long before someone finds a way to use the gsm coverage here in the states and not just overseas
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Can you bellieve it? Sprint version is even better looking!
http://www2.sprint.com/mr/news_dtl.do?id=16300
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Will the 8830 be able to act as a bluetooth modem for my laptop? Will Verizon’s dataplan for the phone fit with this?
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Hmmm…Sprint’s version says that it is SIM-unlocked. Even if Verizon won’t unlock the phone for you, one would imagine that the possibility of a third-party unlock exists….
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why are verizon’s models always bigger (e.g. 7130 vs. other carriers’ 7100 models)?
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Sprint has GPS functionality! Looks like that is missing on Verizon…he he he
Finally a blind squirrel has found a nut.
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So once again verizon has managed to mess things up.
They finally get something worth buying first only to be 1-up’d by the upcoming sprint version!!
the Sprint phone is black, which in my opinion looks much better.
It has GPS
It has an unlocked sim card
COME ON VERIZON!!! WE ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS GIVE US WHAT WE WANT!!
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Not sure where the 4.9″ height comes from — press release? The VZW website site claims 4.5″. Anyone know for sure which is correct?
http://estore.vzwshop.com/blackberry/
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I spoke to verizon data services yesterday and they told me that the only way to use the phone is to activate the global services. It costs between $99 to $150/month for data plan (10MB to unlimited) if I remember it correctly, plus the monthly plan you are paying in US plus the per minute charges. So all in all, one might be able to pay for a new phone for the cost of calls in 1 week from Europe. It is also my understanding that EU is looking at capping roaming charges but I am not sure whether it will apply to US based customers. This is just sad. HOWEVER, CAN SOMEONE VERIFY WHETHER THEY HAVE UNLOCKED THE 8830 THEY PURCHASED, FOR A FEE. Verizon is unwilling to give the code even after the contract is over with them (which is what Cingular does). Please respond so that i can decide whether to purchase it or wait for Spring.
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I spoke to verizon data services yesterday and they told me that the only way to use the phone is to activate the global services. It costs between $99 to $150/month for data plan (10MB to unlimited) if I remember it correctly, plus the monthly plan you are paying in US plus the per minute charges. So all in all, one might be able to pay for a new phone for the cost of calls in 1 week from Europe. It is also my understanding that EU is looking at capping roaming charges but I am not sure whether it will apply to US based customers. This is just sad. HOWEVER, CAN SOMEONE VERIFY WHETHER THEY HAVE UNLOCKED THE 8830 THEY PURCHASED, FOR A FEE. Verizon is unwilling to give the code even after the contract is over with them (which is what Cingular does). Please respond so that i can decide whether to purchase it or wait for Sprint.
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is there a cheap way to unlock this phone ??
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Many DOD and contractor locations do not allow phones with cameras for the obvious reason. HAVING a phone WITH a camera IS a deal breaker, becaue I wouldn’t be able to use it. Congrats Verizon on not degrading a business instrument to appease teeny boppers.
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Similar question, thinking about switching to Verizon, like the BB for the obvious reasons, but tried the phone in the store and it had “delays” when calling a local plain old telephone system (POTS) land line. The LG8700/LG8600/Motorola RAZR were crystal clear. Not sure if the phone needed a software update or if the unit was there for a reason, but why would you demo an inferior product? Echo Gretchen & Bryan, very interested in how everyones BB 8830 is performing in regards to weak or problematic areas as compared to a standard phone. Being a Navy Sailor I will be faced with constant weak signals aboard ship and need a phone with stellar reception. Love to have the BB, but if it can’t manage to obtain or keep a phone call then it’s a non-starter. Hope this was just a VZW store problem. Thanks in Advance.
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I am done with VZW. Too many years of lack of top-notch phones or late arrivals. Plus when they finally do arrive they screw it all up by disabling features, and generally making it difficult to use all the features in the device.
It looks like VZW is being run by accountants, so concerned about milking every penny. Thats always a mistake - they will kill the customers to save the cost of the air their breathing.
I am switching to Sprint - and I encourage others to as well… lucky for me my contract ends soon. Sprint roams on Verizon CDMA when you are out of range of their network, their phones have a lot less features turned off, and they generally have a more forward looking dev team. They are even giving the finger to the Street and going ahead and building a WiMax network.
VZW: i cant wait for 700Mhz and open access… good luck.
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