Me: A normal guy, no issues, really into BlackBerry Curves. You: A BlackBerry Curve with a similar build quality as the 8900 with a lot of class and great UI. Let’s meet for drinks, dinner, movie? Be prepared to spend time in my pocket.
When I ran that personals ad on Craigslist I didn’t quite expect the 8520 to answer. This inexpensive phone will cost $48 at Wal-Mart (!!) and about $130 on T-Mobile proper and comes in black and light blue. I’m going to put it through its paces for a few days and report back but from what I can tell they worked pretty darn hard to get this phone under $50. First, they took off the scroll ball and replaced it with a touch sensitive pad – sort of like a track pad – and definitely took some liberties with the backlighting and fit and finish.
RIM really dropped the ball after launching the Bold with the shouldhaveneverbeenlaunched Storm. But I’m happy to say that they’ve come back into our good graces with the launch of the T-Mobile Curve II otherwise known as the 8900.
For all intents and purposes the 8900 is a baby Bold. It lacks 3G but makes up for it with UMA support which means you can take it overseas and not incur horrendous roaming fees. Sure, it costs an extra $10/month (unlimited UMA calls that aren’t taken out of your regular minutes) but maybe you live in a dead zone. Simply having the ability to use Wi-Fi for data and voice is a huge plus for T-Mobile. This was one of the major reasons why I chose to stay with T-Mobile instead of jumping ship to AT&T for the Bold.
The following are my first impressions compared to the 8320 and Bold.
Jones’n for some sweet BlackBerry Curve 8900 action? I hear yah, so you might wanna check out the simulator on BlackBerry’s download site to satisfy your itch. Just don’t let your old 8300 see you’re cheating on it. It could get ugly.
BlackBerry via CrackBerry
Get it here, folks.
This Handheld software includes:
1. Video recording capability.
2. HTML email for internet email accounts.
3. Music and Video Streaming video capabilities.
4. New browser home page design.
5. Improved downloading experience.
6. Improved UMA and data performance.
7. Attachment downloading and document editing.
8. Free/Busy calendar look-up and remote email search for BES users (Requires BES SW 4.1.5 or higher).
It’s an 88MB file and be sure to back up your crackberry. Stupid PocketMac won’t let me update software, so I’ll have to wait until I’m at a Windows machine. Figure it out, RIM!
Research in Motion has a couple of more handsets that aren’t out just yet. CrackBerry got their hands on the upcoming Curve 2 – formally known as the Javelin. Think of the phone as a toned down Bold, notibly lacking 3G wireless and featuring a smaller bezel.
Today RIM announced the Slacker application available for BlackBerry. It was demoed at CTIA and I got a chance to play around with it a little bit.
The relationship brings Slacker Personal Radio to BlackBerry devices. The biggest benefit is the ability to cache thousands of songs. Every time you hit a hotspot the device will sync and update the station. Plenty of music is available from Fergie to Bad Company. If you don’t like something, you can ban the song or artist. Conversely, if you do like something you hear, you can rate the artist or get more info. I didn’t see a “buy now” link, but I’ll bet donuts to dollars somebody is working on that.
Read the rest and see some pics over at MobileCrunch.
To you and me, this is red. To T-Mobile this is “sunset.” Regardless, everyone’s favorite BlackBerry and the one I recommend the most when folks ask me which BB to get is now in bright, shiny red. Standard goodies: HotSpot@Home, Wi-Fi, 2 megapixel camera, redness. $149 with two year contract.
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Photoshopped Curve.
It’s unclear whether or not Sprint is still looking to rid itself of failing acquisition Nextel, but RIM is set to unleash an iDEN BlackBerry Curve newly dubbed the 8350. Other than Wi-Fi, the 8350 is no different than its counterparts except for that ugly antenna it will surely don.
By now we’ve beaten the Curve into the ground but that doesn’t mean Verizon can’t try their hand at selling it. The 8330 on Da Big V has VZ Navigator, BroadbandAccess, and a 2 megapixel camera with flash. Thrill to Mobility Today’s rousing video review.
Sprint this friday is finally getting the Blackberry 8330, aka the Curve, as reported. It’s been a long wait, and Sprint users are as expected excited.
The Curve is RIM’s flagship Blackberry, people who own one on other carriers tend to agree it’s badass, and if you’re a Sprint person, you can get one tomorrow for $180 with a two-year contract.
Crackberry users on Sprint have been lusting after the Curve for awhile, and there are signs it’s coming soon. Another dropped in newspapers across the country yesterday, spilling the beans that a red version might also be showing up at launch, which could be Wednesday.
This isn’t the first time a Sprint-flavored version of the flagship phone has shown up in ads before it’s even been announced, but it gives the idea of a near release date much momentum.
Just a quick note for Verizon Wireless subscribers itching to get their hands on the BlackBerry Curve. The 8330 that was announced at CTIA will be available on May 9 on the Internet and in Verizon Wireless business channels; May 12 in all Verizon Wireless Communications stores. It will retail for $269.99 after a $50 rebate.
The BlackBerry Curve 8330 has shown up in Best Buy’s May Mobile Buyer’s Guide for $199 with a two-year contract and service plan under $60 per month or $179 with a two-year contract and service plan over $60 per month. Existing Sprint customers looking to upgrade can get the Curve for $229.99 if they’ve fulfilled an existing two-year contract. Otherwise the regular price is a ball-busting $749.99.
via Gear Diary
Is it just me or is Alltel getting a decent amount of cool devices lately? The latest device to hit Alltel store shelves is a titanium-colored BlackBerry Curve 8330. This one is akin to the Curve available on AT&T because it lacks Wi-Fi, but has GPS. A new 2-year contract will fetch the Curve at $230 starting May 1, but you can pre-order now.
Now we’re talking. Back in July, yours truly did a post on the new AirDrives headphones — you know, the headphones that basically sit on the outside of your ear “eliminating the need to choose between music and social interaction” — and I mused that they might be better positioned as workout headphones.
Well, Mad Catz has gone a step in what I believe to be the right direction by offering up an iPhone-friendly headphone/mic combo (also compatible with BlackBerry Curve and Pearl). Any cell phone headset that can let outside noise back in would be nice and safe in the car. Let’s hope Mad Catz releases a universal 2.5mm version too.
Cheap? No sir, they’re $99. However, they’re made to be worn all day because they don’t actually go inside your ears.
AirDrives(TM) Interactive Earphones for iPhone Now Available [Press Release]
Those of you who’ve been sitting on an AT&T upgrade and waiting for your dream Blackberry to arrive, today is your day. The 8310, aka another Curve, is now available at your neighborhood AT&T store. Or should be, at least. My local store here in Seattle hasn’t received their stock yet, but are confident it’ll be in today.
The Curve has been a strong smartphone so far, and with its nice keypad and integrated Wi-Fi. The new AT&T flavor, though, adds the coveted GPS service, which is very handy. It’s not just mapping, but full-on turn-by-turn directions.
What’s better is the top-of-the-line Blackberry will only set you back $200, with a 2-year contract, of course, and will come in titanium and red.
The Curve [Product Page]
Cast your memory back to the dark ages before smartphones. The StarTAC was still in common rotation. Cellphones were bricks. Windows Mobile was just a glimmer in Bill Gates’ eye. Enter the BlackBerry 850, a small QWERTY device that made getting email on the go dead simple. But this was 1998! Why did we need email on our hips? Well, now we know that learning about V1AG7A and P3nni st0cks are absolutely important to our work day and that an email at midnight that basically says “WHR IS THE FILKINS FILE YR FIRED YR BOSS — Sent with my BlackBerry” is now the lingua franca of business. It’s a BlackBerry world. The iPhone and everyone else are just living in it.
And so we come to the BlackBerry 8320 aka The Curve. Designed along the same lines as the Pearl, the 8320 is already available from AT&T and, as a result, is already covered quite handily by other outlets. However, as a sometime RIM user and all-time Sidekick user, I’d like to talk about it from the perspective of a potential WinMo/Symbian to RIM switcher. Here we go.
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