Sprint to release the BlackBerry Niagara this quarter?
We know how hard it must be for Sprint BlackBerry users considering that Sprint missed out on recent handsets like the Storm and Bold. Sprint hasn’t even issued OS 4.5 yet but as the saying goes, “good things come to those who wait.” If you believe this latest rumor, a very good thing is on its way to the black and yellow land of Sprint — the Niagara. A CDMA variant of the Bold with updated looks to compliment the styling queues of the 8900 and Storm, the Niagara features all of the goodies one could hope for: full-QWERTY keypad, 480 x 360 display, EV-DO Rev. A, aGPS, WiFi and a 3.2 megapixel camera. We even hear that there might be HSPA world-roaming (wouldn’t that be swell?). If the rumor pans out, it would certainly give Sprint a much needed shot in the arm. But then again, Verizon would probably just come in after a short period of time and wreck the party.
Tags: AGPS, BlackBerry, bold, CDMA, ev-do rev. a, Nigara, RIM, Sprint, WiFi, world-roaming
Dam all the good stuff comes when I got out of my contract! Thanks Sprint I’m real proud of you!
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Looking good. I can’t wait to see live pics of this unit.
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_More_ pearls to swine? The only use Sprint has is to keep the rest of us entertained.
@HiDef- You’ve seen this already in the Javelin/8900. All you’re missing is Sprint’s special sauce.
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What is news here? You’ve been telling us Niagra was coming around March 09 for a long time now.
And why would Verizon “wreck” it? What, you think RIM is stupid enough to not let Verizon also offer it, that Sprint would get some exclusive that the USA’s largest carrier wouldn’t get? If you don’t like the Verizon theme, you can always switch to another if you’re such a hater.
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The news this Goat has been waiting for… For a LONG time.
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I find it entertaining that news of any devices, cool, plain or sought after coming to Sprint get some stupid comment while at the same time those same people are paying at least 15% more for thier smartphone plan that doesn’t include nav. I can’t wait for this and the Android Instinct
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I been patiently waiting for os4.5 for my 8830, I will wait for this if not I’m back to att for the bold an a free phone for my dad.
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I’ve seen some very horrible reviews of the Storm and the Bold by industry experts, so I’m looking forward to what Sprint has to offer, and all at much cheaper prices than its bigger rivals.
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@backbeat: according to BGR (and other sources,) this isn’t Sprint’s Curve - this is the CDMA Bold, albeit with the 8900’s screen, camera and styling.
Also, if the rumors be true (PLEASE OH PLEASE BE TRUE) and it has global GSM/GPRS/EDGE and NA3G freqs, I think I may be regretting my Kogan Agora pre-order sooner rather than later…
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great so this and the bold may be coming to sprint …rigth?
i heard rumors that sprint is getting a cdma bold or may be is this one intead of the bold
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It’s always been obvious that the kind of device described here (CDMA-centric version of 9000/Bold) would make it to Sprint and Verizon. The question is only when, and given that the 9000/Bold was first announced on May 12 and became available to most parts of the world by September, one would think it could be at Sprint/Verizon any moment. However, there is no way of knowing the timing — yet. I wouldn’t be holding my breath, and my guess is 2Q. What ought to be obvious is that there will be at least a few differences compared to the original 9000/Bold: (1) MicroUSB instead of MiniUSB, (2) At least 256 meg flash compared to 128 and (3) 480×360 screen compared to 480×320. Probably also a 3.2 mp camera compared to 2.0. It would have the same radio setup as the 9530/Storm (i.e., HSPA for Euro/Asian frequencies, EV-DO on North American frequencies, and no WiFi).
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I totally saw this coming, with the lack of support on MMS and 4.5 for their current BB lineup I expected them to keep stringing us along and just put out a new phone to support. If they ever do a 4.5 or MMS for their current phones once this hits I would be SHOCKED.
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This is NOT the CDMA Bold version! Period!!
This is the CDMA version of the Javelin aka Curve8900 or some shit.
You don’t merge styling and call it what its not. A Bold is definitive in its style as is a Javelin/Niagra as is a Storm. Call it what it is, Sprints saving grace next gen BlackBerry!
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sprint is still going to go under as a company.
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You are wrong. The Niagara IS the CDMA variant of the Bold. The CDMA variant of the Curve 8900 (Javelin) is the Jupiter.
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Sprint still by far has the most solid line up for any business/public sector class user - maybe VZ has picked up a percentage of that market share and if you believe everything you read on ’some blog’ yes you might think that the Storm is the latest and greatest but if your business depended upon it would you really want to trust the untried and untested ’sexy’ handset?
If your looking for a consumer class handset then VZ, AT&T and TMob is your best bet - if you want a solid handset with super solid front and back end support then Sprint/Nextel is where I’d'put my money.
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lmao at you guys taking offense to the authors sarcasm or people using sprint.. get over it every carrier has strengths.. sprint is the best carrier overall in so cal in regards to service #1, cs #1, price #1 but its plenty of reasons to go with others… so get over it… but the phone looks nice
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The difference in form factor between the 8900 and the 9000 series is very close to zero. They both have essentially the same size screen/resolution, the keyboards are largely similar, they both have GPS and so forth. In the GSM world, the differences are (1) HSPA vs EDGE, (2) 1 gig fixed memory vs not, (3) 624 mhz processor vs 512, (4) 128 meg flash vs 256, (5) 2mp camera vs 3.2, and (6) MiniUSB vs MicroUSB. Of those differences, the first one (HSPA vs EDGE) doesn’t translate into the CDMA world because all CDMA Blackberries have been EV-DO since May 2003. All the other differences are likely to reflect the higher specs in the CDMA world regardless of whether it carries the 8900 shell/body of the 9000 shell/body. In other words, any CDMA version of the 8900 and 9000 would have at least 256 meg flash, 3.2mp camera, 480×360 resolution and MicroUSB. So then what kind of differences are we talking about? It seems to me like the only potential difference would be support of Euro/Asian GSM/HSPA protocols/frequencies. Perhaps the 9000-series version will have it, whereas the 8900-series wouldn’t? But then again, why bother leaving it out in the 8900 body when it most likely can fit all of those GSM/HSPA radios? Especially, because Verizon and Sprint thus far have declined WiFi and therefore have the extra space for those other radios. The one other difference would be the fixed memory (1 gig or otherwise) because it is allegedly important for a small percentage of Pentagon and high-level exec types, and it adds some cost.
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The Niagara is the CDMA variant of the Bold. As someone else said the codename for the CDMA variant of the 8900 is Jupiter.
If you haven’t noticed, RIM has moved towards the same form factor on the latest set of devices, minus the KS. The Storm and 8900 are similar. Just as the Niagara is similar in form factor to both of them. Just like the 9220 is basically a 8900. And then you have the Jupiter, which is a CDMA 8900. The Niagara should release late Q1- Q2 at the latest. It should be on shelves before WES.
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Niagra = semi-Bold specs in Javelin hardware.
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/05/06/blackberry-javelin-and-blackberry-niagara-explained/
Get it straight, boys.
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@Anton Wahlman who said “all CDMA Blackberries have been EV-DO since May 2003″
Your resolution to give up the pipe couldn’t even last a week, eh? Jebuz!
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Finally Sprint is coming with another blackberry!!! And it was OS4.5, which is pretty much all I wanted on my curve….
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although I would like a storm, I guess this will do…
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A little bit late but worth the wait… I think this will be the first of Sprint’s wave of new phones to make up for falling behind. Pair a wave of cool new stuff with the already great plans and network and Sprint will have a successful comeback!
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What strikes me about the pics is that it looks like it has the same case shape/feel of the Storm which is a BAD BAD thing. You know those little water balloon tube thingies they have a fairs that slip out of your hands? That’s apparently what the designers were going for when they made the Storm because it’s about as easy to hold onto one. People have said that the faux leather back of the Bold is cheesy. Regardless of how you feel about it visually, it feels a lot safer in the hand. Hopefully they don’t make the same mistake.
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