BlackBerry Curve World Edition for CDMA networks
It’s been reported in the past that the much anticipated and rumored BlackBerry 8330 will be the convergent device for all of the features we long to have for our Curve devices - GPS and Wi-Fi under the hood. Well, unfortunately, it seems that new information has surfaced that leads us to believe that we will not receive GPS in the Curve series.
With our newly obtained information, it appears the BlackBerry 8330 will be another World Edition device that will eventually find it’s way to CDMA carriers, such as Verizon, Sprint and Telus. If and when it actually finds it’s way to market, this will likely be the third CDMA+GSM hybrid device from Research In Motion, joining the 8830 and 8130 (unreleased) with this world-traveler functionality.
While this news may upset some of you waiting for the 8330 to touch down on your favorite GSM carrier, this may come as a blessing in disguise for Verizon and Sprint/Nextel customers who have been foaming at the bit for a camera-enabled full-QWERTY high-speed BlackBerry device (admittedly, I ran out of hyphenated phrases).
This news also irons out a rather confusing naming scheme convention that was presented with the oddity of having the 8330 as the Platinum Edition GSM device within the Curve line. For the 8000 series line, the naming convention is as follows:
81xx: SureType consumer device; camera-enabled
83xx: QWERTY consumer device; camera-enabled
88xx: QWERTY business device; no camera, GPS-enabled
xx00: GSM device
xx10: GSM device; step-sibling upgrade of xx00 (Pearl and Curve only)
xx20: GSM+Wi-Fi device
xx30: CDMA/EVDO+GSM device
Mix and match as needed, although this doesn’t take into account carriers who disable features, such as Verizon and their hard-nosed approach to free GPS functionality.
To recap, if you’re a current GSM customer (AT&T, T-Mobile, Rogers, Vodafone, etc) who wants a Curve and GPS, you won’t see this feature functionality - get the Curve/8300 (with the exception of T-Mobile customers). If you’re a T-Mobile customer and want a Curve, wait a few months and get the UMA/GAN-enabled 8320 when it’s available. If you’re a CDMA customer (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, Telus, Alltel, etc), you will now have a decision to make - get an 8830, which is available already, or wait for the 8130 Pearl (SureType-QWERTY) and 8330 Curve (full-QWERTY).
Until next time…
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 9:18 am, kirk Said:
Verizon is hardly the perfect network. Too bad reception is almost none existent in the burbs of northern virginia. ATT is the only carrier is only one that works in my house!
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 9:31 am, whit Said:
I have had the network through SWB then att, then cingular then att over the last 14 years and haven’t dropped a call since the mid-90’s. I think you guys buy into verizon’s commercial a little too much. Does that dorky guy actually follow you guys around?
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 10:07 am, Marlene Said:
tOMPSON - Is it with T-Mobile? I hope so!
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 10:09 am, Marlene Said:
tOMPSON - And how soon? The waiting is becoming unbearable! ha
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 10:20 am, tOMPSON Said:
@Marlene: unfortunately it seems like another network operator will have exclusively until December starting from July
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 11:05 am, Marlene Said:
tOMPSON - Thanks for the reply. T-Mobile’s data/text pricing plan is lower than AT&T’s, hence the wait. But if T-Mobile raises theirs up high, I will go with AT&T. Will see what happens in July. On the other hand, also have my eye out for the iPhone for a lookee-see.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 11:56 am, nickbb Said:
att is in contract to have the curve for the first 90 days of its release so even if this is true we wont be seeing it untill around september or later. way later. i want it now. lol.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 11:57 am, Ross Said:
Why do you say it won’t be for at least a year? I doubt we’d be getting reports of something like this if it were a full year away. I have to believe that Verizon is very interested in getting a cameraBerry to market as soon as possible.
I’d bet fall or holidays for a release.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 12:02 pm, Ryan Said:
Verizon is a big, smart company but I hope they are smart enough to realize that if they don’t get a camera bb out real close to the iPhone launch, they are going to lose business. I could end up being a portion of that business lost.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 12:05 pm, Robert Said:
See, I am not the only one in this boat!
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 12:09 pm, Corey Said:
@Ross - That’s just what I’ve heard from Verizon. They say that their corporate customers aren’t comfortable with a camera, and the Pearl will be out in November for those who want a device with a camera.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 12:10 pm, Ross Said:
I’m with the folks who don’t understand wanting to jump ship because of a phone. ATT coverage is actually pretty good in my area, but it pales in comparison to Verizon. With VZW, people don’t know I’m using a cellphone.
However, if data and phone are more important, I guess I could see it. I know EDGE is supposed to be ancient compared to EVDO, but when I ran “site loading races” between the Curve and my VZW 8703, I really didn’t notice a difference. Email was also delivered about the same time, with ATT actually having a slight..umm..edge.
For me, I just can’t downgrade my voice clarity that much.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 12:39 pm, Ross Said:
@Corey
Ah - now that makes sense. I should have used the caveat of my belief in a Curve release timetable that all bets are off if VZW gets the Pearl. I don’t imagine Verizon would bother rushing 2 different cameraberrys to market.
I was rooting for a Curve first, but I guess a Pearl is more “exciting” to the masses.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 1:36 pm, Ryan Said:
I don’t know about anyone else, but if the Curve came out today for VZW and didn’t have a camera (for whatever reason), I would still buy it. I just really like how it looks and who doesn’t like new toys? I have the 8703 and refuse to buy the 8830. It’s ugly, in my opinion.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 2:17 pm, gquaglia Said:
Don’t need to shell out $1700. Garmin and Tom Tom make portable units that work as well as built in units and only cost about $400. And you pay $0 per month to use it. I never understood why anyone would pay a monthly fee to use an inferior nav program on their cell phone.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 2:37 pm, Ross Said:
I actually think the 8830 is pretty slick looking. I’ll find out more about the keyboard when mine arrives this week. I used to have a Treo, so I’m sure the 88’s keyboard is at least superior to that.
I’m kinda hoping Corey’s asasertion that the 8330 won’t be available for a year is true. This way I can play with the 88 for a year and then switch.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 3:25 pm, josh Said:
BG-Could that new Black Curve be the Next Sprint BB Offering?
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 3:56 pm, ed Said:
the people that use sprint/verizon actually want to be able to do more with their phone that make a call… data the new way to communicate.. att/tmobile are 10yrs from delivering what cdma/evdo offers today
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 4:01 pm, marlene Said:
Ed– What do u mean by att/tmobile being 10 yrs away? 10 yrs behind or 10 yrs ahead??
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 4:46 pm, Jibi Said:
FWIW, the exclusivity periods for the 8300 series only cover the individual device models, so an AT&T exclusive on the 8300 does not trump T-Mobile releasing the 8320 or Verizon releasing the 8330. Unfortunately, there are these things called ‘testing’ and ‘development’ that have to take place before they can release the devices. Perhaps that’s why people think that AT&T’s exclusive on the Curve is keeping T-Mobile from releasing the Wi-Curve, but it’s not the reason (it is, however, one of the factors for T-Mobile not releasing the Curve/8300, which they had an option to do).
Considering my sources show that an 8330 model is already being tested, I’m not really sure that it’s going to be a year out. That’s just my assumption, atleast. Then again, it may never see the light of day on CDMA networks.
tOMPSON, there is one more GSM device in RIM’s cookbook that I just found out about - the 8310 - so perhaps that’s the one with internal GPS (but it’s not equipped with Wi-Fi).
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 5:21 pm, Karis Said:
Jibi,
So are you saying that T-Mobile could release an 8320 at any time now? Could this get any more confusing? Don’t answer that;)
I’m seriously hating my Pearl with Suretype, even after 7 months and am impatiently waiting for the T-Mobile Curve-like version, whichever model number it is.
I’ve considered jumping carriers to Cingular but I’m trying SOOO HARD to stick it out (TMO is so much cheaper). I need to get back to a full keyboard SOON!
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 5:38 pm, Jibi Said:
If it was 100% ready for market and tested thoroughly, then yes. The thing is that UMA/GAN is a very new, untested-waters technology - there are only 2 devices on the market that currently support it, if I’m not mistaken. This one will be RIM’s first UMA/GAN/Wi-Fi device to hit the market (and the first smartphone device with the technology), so I think it’s safe to say that all parties - T-Mobile and RIM - are taking their time with this release to ensure it’s reliable functionality at launch.
T-Mobile has been working on UMA for nearly 2 years now (I remember first hearing about it in Aug/Sept 2005, if I’m not mistaken) and it’s just now making it’s way to market this month. The market for the technology is still not certain, where a novelty perhaps could turn into a necessity (or it could bust), so considering the time and effort put into the rollout, it’s only logical they’d spend as much time on testing the devices.
You won’t have to wait much longer, although it’ll likely be longer than you want to wait.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 6:02 pm, marlene Said:
Jibi — re your reply to Karis abt not having to wait much longer, do u have an approx timeframe? I’m also waiting for T-Mobile’s BB Curve (or whatever name the 8320 will be given). I need a full qwerty keyboard for quick texting. I have Sidekick II and am anxious to be rid of it.
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 6:10 pm, Karis Said:
Thanks Jibi! Personally I don’t care for Wi-Fi but I know many do.
Hmmm, so if T-Mobile is going to launch UMA/GAN on June 27th (as I’ve read), I hope the 8320 isn’t far behind!
As always I’ll be checking BGR 20 times a day!!!
Permalink | Reply
On Jun 17, 2007 @ 6:16 pm, Jibi Said:
Look at my original post - a ‘few’ months.
Permalink | Reply