There really hasn’t been a big cloud of secrecy surround the BlackBerry 8350i, but the iDEN-packing BlackBerry is finally official. For peeps still holding onto the iDEN PTT network, this is the first BlackBerry to offer WiFi and group connect. Plus, it still has all the traditional iDEN goodies of GPS beacon, international Direct Connect, and Talkgroup, along with everything the Curve offers. Pricing is set at $149 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year Sprint commitment when it becomes available on January 11, 2009. The entire package seems like a quality iDEN phone, hopefully the build quality on the Curve can withstand the traditional blue collar abuse Nextels tend to attract.
A week ago, I went to Sprint and got the Blackberry 8330. Sprint’s 3G network is blazingly fast. Then I saw a colleague with a Blackberry 8350i, so I went back to Sprint and exchanged the 8330 for the 8350i—since my job requires me to also have a walkie-talkie.
The Sprint salesperson did point out that the 8350i runs on the Nextel radio network, but failed to make it clear that Nextel’s network is slow and nowhere near Sprint’s 3G network. The store only had two 8350i’s and I was lucky enough to get one before they were put out as display models.
Now I’m stuck with the 8350i (since Sprint would only allow one return/exchange within 30 days of purchase) which takes 2, 3 or 4 times longer than the 8330 to open a website. Watching Youtube.com is a joke as Nextel’s network is rather slow.
If you love to surf the ‘net, don’t get the 8350i and stick with Sprint’s 8330 or other 8000 models running on the 3G network. But if you use the walkie-talkie more than you surf the ‘net, then get the 8350i.
I know I cannot have everything in one phone such as the 8350i. But considering that I have to now carry only one phone instead of three (and capable of using a 16gig MicroSD compared to the 8330’s 2 gig capacity) —more than outweighs the shortcomings of the 8350i running on Nextel’s network.
Overall, I’m still happy with the 8350i. I only wished that Nextel runs on the 3G network.