After seeing it kicked around the Net for a few months, it's good to see the BlackBerry Curve
8330 finally go live on Verizon Wireless. Well, almost -- you'll have to wait until May to lay thumb to QWERTY while riding that cool EV-DO wave of data. It'll cost you $270 after a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract with further discounts available when signing up for eligible voice and data plans. Your cash will be rewarded with the wee 4.2 x 2.4 x 0.6-inches / 4-ounces curve sporting a 320 x 240 pixel display, 2-megapixel camera, media player, stereo Bluetooth audio, microSD / SDHC expansion, and 260 minutes talk / 11 days standby. Unfortunately, it's
missing WiFi like the
early prototype and
GPS like the rumored Sprint version coming in April.
Update: Sorry, scratch that. It does have GPS which Verizon touts as VZ Navigator.
[Thanks,
thatguy0109]
posted Mar 31st 2008 8:16AM
I still wonder how many years we are behind in tech compared to Korea and Japan
Well the generally North American isn't as technically inclined as those two countries. Consider that we still have an analogue network right now eating out a big chunk of the 800 mhz band, installed in early 90s.
On second thought, this blackberry does look very crippled from the specs, I wonder what DOES it have?
Uh, Tom:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/18/analog-cellular-networks-r-i-p-1983-2008/
Although Alltel is making a more "gradual approach".
Well, after the collective "OH SHIT!" heard from Korean phone companies after the iPhone dropped, I am going to say not so far behind in tech. But when it comes to phone lines and infrastructure, you need to remember those countries are the size of California.
Looks like verizons shit got his with the ugly stick again.
This device WILL BE vzNavigator capable as with all of the other recent Blackberrys. It says it right in the first paragraph on the read link.
Aren't all Verizon phones GPS-capable? I think they all use QUALCOMM chips that have embedded GPS, which is how Verizon complies with the FCC E911 mandate.
that's (A-GPS) Assisted one. It doesn't calculate the device's coordinate from the GPS satellite. It uses it's approximate location from the cell tower with the signal strength.
VZnavigator is fairly garbage in any sort of city atmosphere. But then again, regular GPS units don't work that great in cities either.
i have One
Ciudad Tech
Thrilling.
er, wait - no. that other thing...
Tedious.
Verizon is the last one to launch something yet again!
At $250 when ATT is offering a refurb for 29.99!
Who says Verizon isn't trying hard enough??
The worst part of this is they'll charge like $500 or something for the device new (without a new contract and whatever else) and people will PAY IT.
Ugh - it's always a fight in the USA, do you want good phone service (verizon) or do you want better devices (GSM providers such as AT&T).
In the end I just want to move back to Europe soon and use real technology.
Uhh - WTF. So they release the curve, but without WiFi? HOW ABSURD! That's the whole reason I would want a curve over my current pearl.
Does anyone know if the Blackberry 9000 OS is available or will be available for upgrades for Pearls and other blackberries?
Cheers.
The A-GPS does not always work.
http://www.ccdnlaw.com/
WHAT??? Does Verizon really expect folks to fork $270 for a phone that's almost a year old? I would pay that much for the 9xxxx, but damn. . .
Thanks, Verizon, for confirming the reason why I'm switching to AT&T in 19 days.
Verizon A-GPS VZNavigator really sucks in NYC. A complete waste of money. In some parts of Manhattan it loses signal. The maps are horrible and hard to read.
Verizon has the best voice service but AT&T is workable and the SIM card is a bonus being able to use more than one device with one contract.
What is the difference between this one and the 8830 Worldphone? The world phone has the gsm band, and the curve has a camera?
TMo and AT&T have WiFi in their units due to the slow EDGE data compared to EVDO.
Per a Sprint agent last Friday, they too will be getting the 8830 in May.
re:Ben - The Curve is a little less bulky than the 8830, adds a camera, and has a 3.5mm headphone jack. Some people really prefer the keyboard on the Curve over the 8830's too.
I may be wrong, but VZ Navigator is not GPS. VZ Nav relies on Cell Towers for Trilateration. GPS is a truly GLOBAL POSITION SYSTEM . To use GPS is to use a receiver which calculates it's location based on it's distance from 4 or more GPS Satellites. GPS works anywhere on the Planet. VZ NAV uses the same principles as GPS but uses Cell Towers. The GPS system is free for consumers to use (save for the cost of a receiver). VZ Nav is not.
It burns me the eff up when people refer to any and all position/locating services as GPS.
Verizon must be joking; no wifi? Does Verizon hate their customers? I've been on for 5 years and I love the service, but the cell phones selections are horrible. I'm honestly considering switching to T-Mobile now. I would have bought this phone if it had Wifi.
Newbie ?...
Will there be a hack to enable the GPS and/or WiFi?
Yes, I'm a noob in caring about cell phones. I use to not worry about
what my cell phone was like, now that I do I've been seeing that Verizon might not be good for me anymore. Or perhaps I'll just get a Pearl and a PMP device w/wifi.
DARN IT!..I am a PC Tech, and waited g-d knows how long for a BB with Wifi, but nooo, says verizon..I gotta stick to winblows 6.0 or 6.1..whatever its all crap..I dealt with windows all day when working for a very well known PC company..I want to try BB as I know from friends having them with utter happiness for the most part, now I gotta get a xv6800 or if desperate enough a samsung i760 with 1.3mp camera which I heard isn't as good compared to xv6800..thats why I wanna switch to ATT..wifi, rollover minutes and more functional phones with good software.
E
I just can't believe Verizon would put this phone out late and then with no WIFI, i am really considering switching to T-Mobile and getting a IPhone. Verizon is total BS
GPS capable means the GPS hardware in the device is enabled and available to applications on the device. Since Verizon limits GPS access to only their own application, I would not refer to this as GPS capable.
Is T-Mobile the next best thing after Verizon?
I never felt the poor taste of Verizon until now. It really does feel like they're insulting their customers. I just keep seeing really good phones being released on every other network except Verizon. In five years I've always had a signal and only a couple dropped calls. I know fully understand why everyone bitches about them as much as they do.
What are the odds that Verizon releases a wifi phone by July? Maybe I should keep my phone till the end of the year and see what happens with Android enabled phones.
do people really use wifi, when u have verizons fast 3g network, i understand where tmobile customers would want/need wifi, but verizon?
I like the Wifi because I don't want to pay for a data plan when I wouldn't use it a lot outside of a hotspot. I would have also liked to see user created IM software, and maybe some VOIP stuff. Does Blackberry have a big online community for software development?
VzNavigator sucks for 9.99 a month ive got the 8830 now and had VzNavigator, it aint worth it, when will verizon open up and let us use the gps already in the phone with google maps. But if it had WiFi im sure verizon would find some way to charge you for using it.
Correct... I bought a perl for my wife so she could use VZ Navigator. It never worked when she needed it. Their phones are always out of date... no wifi? Give me a break...
I am so wrapped into Verizon it is hard for me to change... but I think I am really going to consider it now.
I've never seen so many stupid people in one blog!
@ everyone who was disappointed in no WiFi, honestly who wants to use WiFi? do you still use dial-up modems to log onto the internet and prefer to sit there for over 5 minutes to allow a webpage to load up, seriously, CDMA carriers dont offer WiFi because guess what, they already use 3G networks, GSM companies DONT, they have to compensate, so if you want a PDA device and just because it looks cool and your too cheap to pay for the FASTER than WiFi data services, then by all means, get a crappy phone from elsewhere.
I agree.... Verizon's network is by far faster than any other hints no need for wifi. So you want a blackberry but you don't want to pay for a data plan omg.... if that is what you are looking for then maybe a blackberry is not what you need. If so many people are so un happy with Verizon then why is Verizon the #1 carrier. Could it be that people are more worried about having service that works than having the latest greatest phones?
i am waiting to get one so i can get rid of my crappy ass chocolate does anyone know exactly when it is going to come out in may?
seriously though, what is the deal with VZNavigator? Why does it never work? I've almost been really lost a couple times because i relied on VZNavigator to get me to my destination and it either stopped working and did not work at all. It should be reliable if we are paying $10 a month for it. I don't care about WiFi, Verizon 3G is fast enough, but if they would just give us normal GPS that would be great. Anyway what date in May is this thing coming out?
So, does anyone know the exact date of the release of this phone?
I have read these posts on this comment about Verizon and the phones. I wanted to make a comment. I am a Verizon user for cell coverage and like their 3G speeds; however, what I am thoroughly upset with Verizon about is the fact that they continue to disable certain features of their phones where other carriers that have the same phone have not disabled those features. Why is it that T-mobile can have the Blacberry Curve with full GPS support, but when you get the phone through Verizon, they disable the service and you can only use the "GPS" with their VZNavigator service? I am sick of Verizon blocking certain features like wifi or gps just so they can make money on their products like VZNavigator and 3G services. Why is it that Verizon's data packages are $45 per month for unlimited data when you can get unlimited data with other carriers for around $29 per month? One answer...Verizon is the most greedy carrier out there. Why do I stick with them? Because they are the only carrier that I get a cell phone signal in my neighborhood.
Is WiFi really slower than EVDO? I have a Palm Treo 700W from Verizon right now, with EVDO, and the web browser is almost useless. Yet when I connect to a WiFi network with my laptop, performance is great. What makes anyone say Verizon EVDO is as fast as WiFi? Does anyone know the bandwith capability of EVDO compared to WiFi? And does anyone with a phone that has WiFi enabled know how it affects battery performance? And can anyone explain why Verizon is so far behind all of the other carriers with respect to hardware????
In comparison to the other Curve models, the Verizon curve will have other benefits, according to www.blackberry.com:
* It'll be the only Curve that has "Video Recording" option.
* It'll be the only Curve with 96MB internal Flash memory, while rest has 64MB
I just talked to my VZW rep and she said this will come out this Friday, 5/9. She also mentioned that the data will not work outside the US (still checking on Canada). Has anyone else heard this to be true? It takes away significantly from the value if so.
Recheck on the Data Package. I just upgraded my 7350 to the Curve today and the new Unlimited Data Package is 29.99/month. Finally. I had been paying the $40.00 in my old plan. The Curve on line cost 149.99 with a 50.00 mail in rebate off of that with my "New Every Two" plan.
Has anyone tried, downloading the VZ navigator subscribing wait until the GPS is unlocked, test it with google maps or something, then unsubscribing and seeing if the GPS stays unlocked? Could this work?