RIM just got
real nasty on everyone with its latest announcement, namely, that the WiFi equipped, integrated-GPS-havin'
BlackBerry 8820 has just gotten the proper release treatment, stating that the device will be heading to retailers in the "coming weeks," and is slated to land on AT&T later this summer, making a ton of American businessmen very, very happy. The GSM world phone, which
we got to manhandle back in May, features 802.11a/b/g, EDGE data (no 3G boys?), UMA (allowing the phone to seamlessly switch between cellular and WiFi networks without dropping calls), and a microSD / SDHC slot which can support cards up
32GB, which is quite a lot of gigabytes. It wouldn't be surprising to see this pop up over at T-Mobile, considering its
WiFi love, which AT&T still has yet to embrace (though Mr. Jobs claims it's
coming). Other specs stick pretty close to the RIM playbook, which isn't going to ruffle any feathers probably. Stay tuned for exact release dates and other appetite-whetting information as it becomes available.
posted Jul 17th 2007 5:28PM
Sweet. Just in time for my new job which will start in the "coming weeks," at the law firm where I'm slated to land later this summer. Good timing, RIM.
Good luck on the bar my friend. I'm in the same boat. Was just about to snag a Curve, but it'll have to wait...
Thanks for the good wishes... but I passed the bar in 2003. I've been doing a couple federal clerkships after a 2 yr. stint with biglaw, and am finally returning to the private sector (IP boutique). Good luck to you, though. The bar is really easy... just lots of memorization. Do barbri.
I would call this latest BlackBerry part of the "iPhone effect". Because of the huge success of the iPhone, the once lazy-ass handset makers are all scrambling to get a decent product to market. Hooray for the consumer!
..now can I get a live, two-way video calling INCLUDED in my unlimited calling plan please? Sheesh!
I'd hardly say this was spurred on by the iPhone. This isn't that much different than the 8800 that's been around for a while or any number of other handsets that RIM's released recently that have been in development for a year or so... or maybe living in Waterloo I just get to see and hear about these things earlier than most?
Yea because RIM just decided to whip up this device in mere weeks after witnessing the "success of the iPhone." Yea...that's it.
Todd, Cram a bastard in it, you crap.
that is just...
do you know anything about the industry?
I've heard that the particular model lacks camera, but I am not sure.
Most business-centric Blackberry devices don't have a camera, due to the increasingly popular policy of no cameras in the businessplace, so the inclusion of a camera would be a far greater surprise than the lack of one. Some companies don't even allow personal camera phones.
UMA...so this is going to be on T-mobile as well.
"slated to land on AT&T"
and
"It wouldn't be surprising to see this land over at T-Mobile"
... so which is it??
Both? Just a different model number number, essentially the same phone.. not unlike the like 10 versions of the 8700 that exist
It's slated to drop on at&t first and by the end of the summer. They've got a limited exclusive on it.
RIP Palm !!!
This is the business version. the 8300 is the "consumer" version and has a camera (but no gps)
I have been waiting for a new wifi BB. unfortunately, it looks like I have to carry data plans to use the wifi. I was hoping to dump all my windows mobile PDA's in favor of wifi BB's, but these users don't need phone/data service, just connectivity in the building. I'm disappointed, RIM.
Why not wifi enabled pdas if theyre not gonna leave the building?
at last.... BG has this as going to UK first
I'm really surprised they stuck with the 8800 keyboard. I've used both the 8800 and 8300 keyboard, and there is no comparison. I guess they didnt want to mess with designing new keys for the 8800 form factor.
In any case, the wifi is a benefit--I think people would've been more excited about 3G, though. I would've been excited to see a nice keyboard on a non-camera model.
I'd wondered why RIM's stock went up today when most of the telephone stocks were down. Any mention of a new BlackBerry causes investors to go orgasmic. That company really knows how to please investors. Too bad I missed out on it.
BlackBerry sure does make some cool-looking smartphones and I guess they work well. 32 GB of expandable memory is nothing to sneeze at, for sure. Okay, it's got GPS, but why aren't people sneering at it for only having EDGE support. I thought EDGE was crap for the high-tech boys.
Anyway, RIP Palm and Moto.
Between integrated wi-fi and the fact that most e-mails download quickly even on an EDGE connection, it'd be a waste of battery life.
Though I have heard rumblings of a 3g Blackberry to drop at the end of the year that shall we say is over 9000...
I went to the RIM site to get a closer look at this smartphone. It is really impressive. I wish I had a need for a cellphone because this thing is sweet. No wonder the company does so well. I'm curious about how much it will cost. I could buy this just to use in the house over my WiFi connection. Good-looking product.
Wifi support sounds amazing, but how hard is it to make two versions of this phone - one version with a camera and one without?
What we need is a curve with wifi, gps, and a camera. A consumer wifi-blackberry.
I agree, I would love a device with all the bells and whistles even in a suretype form factor especially!
The killer app that I've been holding out for is carrier independant GPS and I want it to work like it does in my car...always on...no extra fees. If ATT tells me I have to pay extra to use the feature, I'm not interested.
No, the GPS usage is free; it uses satellites, not the network, like it should. (Ie, it's a "real" GPS, not doing the triangulation thing.) Both Google Maps and Blackberry Maps will make use of it, too. (Of course, they're pulling maps, so data plan stuff applies here.)
Nothing wrong having camera on the phone. I got a GOOD picture of my boss sleeping in his office. IT GOOD for blackmail when you need it.
Someone had said that the BlackBerry uses EDGE more efficiently or is less demanding of high data usage. Not sure what that means, but I think the iPhone is more data hungry due to how people are going to use it with full HTML browsing and youtube stuff.
There was a really interesting article over at AnandTech explaining why 3G phones in small cases really aren't that practical due to the chip's physical size and poor efficiency at this point in time. Lots of photos and some graphs.
So i wait like 4 months for this thing and finally break down and get an unlocked 8800 to take over seas rationalizing that I reall don't need wifi in a ountry covered by wifi....Then RIM says ok we will release the phone we should have months ago.
Will we be able to use the phone gps and wifi without subscribing to a
data plan? Hopefully AT&T won't limit the phones features if the consumer doesn't get a data plan like they currently do for the iphone. I think you can currently get a blackberry without a data plan but those are useless without wifi, so they might change that with this phone.
I was told that the WiFi plan was a scheme to trap customers into buying the data plan. Basically No data plan = no Wifi. Anyone can confirm this to me?
With the AT&T 8525 no data plan is required for wifi. However, if you attempt to access the internet but the wifi isn't available or drops out then the request is AUTOMATICALLY routed throuh AT&T data services for at a high $$ rate. My first encounter with this cost me $7 for a page or two of data. I've seen quite a few people asking about the wifi on the 8820 but so far no one seems to know how wifi will be handled.