Sprint’s BlackBerry 8350i in the woods
For those of you clinging to your iDEN network with dear life, you probably never thought this day would come. Well, it has, and we’ve got some live pictures of Sprint’s BlackBerry 8350i. One of our ninjas took some time out to photograph one for us and gave us a quick rundown. Here we go:
- The 8350i has a 2.5mm headset jack, not a 3.5mm one, and it comes with a 2.5mm headset in the box.
- Ships with the much beloved plastic holster, not the leather holster we’re accustomed to.
- There’s a small size difference. It’s around 2mm taller and 1mm thicker than the other Curves (8300, 8310, 8320, 8330).
- The PTT button can not be reassigned as a convenience key.
- Instead of using the same battery as the Curve, the 8350i uses the BlackBerry 8800-series batteries.
- The side keys are now black instead of being chromed
- We were told the device isn’t a real beast in terms of the signal department. “It can’t get a stable signal to save its life once it boots up”
If that’s not enough for you, we’ve got all the snapshots in the gallery. Just make sure you’ve got your hardhats on, this thing screams CAUTION.
Click on over to our Sprint BlackBerry 8350i gallery!
i think this will compete with the storm lol
BG what software version is it running?
Looks like they stuffed a 8703e/8830 in a modern curve style body. Probably the reason it still uses 8800 series batteries, and has the 2.5mm headphone jack.
thanks to the storm two more customers ripped from sprint. totally removed our small business from Nextel. Sprint FTL
a wast of hard wear stop wasting time sprint this phone should have been rugget qchat and cdma it would have sold more than than the instinct I should be ceo
At least this Curve has wi-fi! Who needs a cell signal when you have wi-fi? I can’t wait to get my mitts on this… Dreaming of all the wi-fi yummyness. Wi-fi is the greatest. Wow. Wi-fi.
Yeah BGR, what software version is this unit running?
OS 4.6.1.53 but keep in mind that’s not the final build.
Signal was much better after an hour, but have noticed that the GPS won’t pick up at all. Won’t find ANY satellites.
Again though, this is an evaluation unit, so quirks are to be expected.
From other instances of evals compared to final builds, this is one of the better ones. Feels more “solid” than other Curves.
Granted, its an iDen BlackBerry. However, there are still plenty of iDen users out there, and this device will be the best iDen handset available by far once it comes out.
Pathetic that it has a 2.5mm jack instead of the regular Curve 3.5mm. I do like the black though, sans the yellow accents.
boy they fuglified that phone. looks good w/o the yellow bumble bee outlines
iden iden whens the next phone 2015
Everyones bitching about this phone? Really?? This is the best offering in the Nextel line up period! Its a big step in the right direction.
It can’t get decent signal??? I was looking forward to this since I carry a bb and i870, but I think I’ll just pass.
Please read above. It took a while for the signal to pickup, however now it is running fine for the most part. This may have had something to with the fact that it was using a new sim card and that it was fresh out of the box.
Also again, understand that this is an evaluation unit, and like other evaluation units, its not 100% retail ready yet.
Considering what is out there for iDen devices, if you are in a scenerio where you rely on the push to talk, this will be THE best iDen device on the market hands down.
That being said, I don’t necessarily see this device bringing a ton of new clients to nextel to start with, however, this device should retain many users and companies who are considering a move to other ppt carriers (Read: Verizon).
BTW, I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but the device will be priced at $149.99 after all applicable rebates, and those who are currently carrying 7520’s and 7100’s were probably eligible for upgrades about 2 years ago anyways.
As for the 2.5mm jack, there are pluses and minuses. You can still use the older headsets if you don’t like 1: having the device blaring out at you whenever you are using direct connect and 2: you don’t want to have one of the headphones dangling or stuffed in your shirt. A simple $5.99 adapter at Radio Shack will allow you to plug in higher end wired headsets.
Build quality? Any more rugged than the existing Curve line?
Since this version of the Curve runs OS 4.6 I wish very much we could “find online” build of 4.6 for the other Curve phones, like the 8320. I would love to have OS 4.6 on my 8320.
I loved my old Nextel phones… and this is the best replacement I could ever see for my needs.
Oh, I love LOVE FUCKING LOVE the yellow accents, and the NEXTEL[ Logo
I just got word today that the phone has been pushed back AGAIN to December 15th. and also you have to have a Simply Everything plan. I think I’ll pass…
8330 Launch: FAIL
Bold Launch: FAIL
Storm Launch: FAIL
What makes you think this one would be any different and NOT get fucked up somehow?
The only recent BlackBerry launch that seems to have gone off as planned was the “Flip Pearl”, It probably was fucked up too, but noone cared about it other than tweens and soccer moms.
*BLEEP* Another shipment of fail.
….
*BLEEP* Roger that.
“*BLEEP* Another shipment of fail.
….
*BLEEP* Roger that.”
…thats great. LMAO
Ummm no you don’t need a simply everything plan.
have seen no signal issues with this blackberry unit .. the build quality is excellent.. wifi is great …OS is nice and smooth.. docstogo, seperate mms and sms box..best curve out
BB and Sprint can expect about 40 of these units to sell instantaneously to our company the first day. Still carrying around the 7100’s. When is the official release date? Sprint reps telling us taking orders Dec. 2nd, won’t ship til After Jan. 5th.
AndyBo, email me. n8dpmc@gmail.com. If you’re doing that many units, I know someone who can help you out a lot more than your local rep.