Blackberry Bold release dates, pricing leak out UPDATE: just estimates
By Nilay Patel 
posted May 16th 2008 11:45AM
posted May 16th 2008 11:45AM
Update: We got in touch with InfoSync World, where these numbers were published, and they told us that they were making estimates based on pre-release info. So nope, these aren't close to official -- but it's always fun to dream, right?
thats bullshit that Vzw gets this in September. I can't believe they would release the curve and the bold so close together. and I am pissed my 8703e broke so I bought a curve and now the bold is coming out in 3 months. I hate vzw
yea that does quite suck. I just bought a Curve for Tmo off of eBay. Oh wells.
They are trying to take market share away from the iPhone. Makes sense but will it be effective?
Maybe if you scream and kick enough, RIM will give you $100 credit. Good luck with that.
Big Red is getting the touchscreen Blackberry exclusively before the end of the year if that makes you feel better
better than VZW never releasing it, no? or worse, NEXT july.
hmmm you sound like you bought an iPhone in June 07.
Is it my eyes, or does the screen look smaller than the curve?
The KB looks like the 8830 World Edition KB...and that sucks big time. The KB on the Curve is vastly superior.
Id rather get my Dvorak on.... Cool, but im waiting to get a smart phone til i can get one with Android.
september, just in time for my upgrade
Haha, same here... mine is in August, but I can definitely wait a month for this!
I was all excited but Gizmodo seems to be saying that the Blackberry "Thunder" is coming out at the same time as this :O
Make my decision tough, full keyboard or big touch screen awesomeness.
Does anyone know if the T-mob version is MyFav5 compatible?
Virtually every T-mobile phone released in the last two years is My Faves compatible.
You need to pay extra for the privilege of having your call dropped 10 times a day!
Any word on Canadian (Rogers) pricing? I'm guessing $599 with a 3 year contract.
$599 with a 3 year contract while Ted Rogers holds a gun to your newborn's head and slaps your wife around.
Standard Rogers contract really...
just got the sprint curve and now this is coming out this September grrr...
Not to fear blackberry users. Although now I have an iPhone I had like 4 BB's before and eBay is your friend. People pay top dollar for used blackberry's in good condition. Remember to keep the box, instruction manuals and everything to make sure that bad boy looks "like new" when you list it.
This will cut most of the cost off of your upgrade. And if your really short on cash, do it just a few days before the phone comes out and have your auction end a day or 2 before so that way you use the money right when they pay you through paypal! Yay!!
P.S. anyone heard there's a 3g iPhone coming soon? Lol
Another tip is to upgrade the phone on another line in your family plan to qualify for promotional pricing, then swap the new phone back to your line. I actually maintain a text file containing the ESNs of all of the phones on my account. :-) I've been doing this with vzw for years.
I just picked up the vzw curve. I'm debating on whether to take it back within the 30 day period or keep it until vzw decides to release the Bold (whenever that is :-< ).
I like the curve design better.. and the buttons seem smaller on the bold. The only thing better seems to be the software and I wouldn't be surprised if they found a way to port that over to the curve.
There won't be a direct port of the Curve, but everything I've read indicates that the Bold is the start of a new platform for RIM. Surely there will be a smaller, Curve-like form factor using the same screen, OS, etc, as Bold.
I think RIM is going to get trampled by the new iPhone if they sell it for $200.
I hope the AT&T one supports UMA or I may just have to wait to get the t-mobile version - I really love that feature on my T-mobile curve.
Gee, that's a nice looking handset. If the 3G iPhone wasn't going to be introduced, this might have had a chance of survival.
Just kidding. Should sell very well to loyal BlackBerry users. Good specs, nice design. Probably will sell a lot better than RIM's Thunder when it is released.
Why do you say it would sell better than the thunder? My problem with the iphone is that it just doesnt FEEL like a phone. If blackberry made a touchscreen that had the same shape and feel of the curve i'd be all over it.
3g iPhone...yawn.
i highly doubt they will be able to "port" over the software from the Bold to the Curve seeing as how the Curve's processor would have a tough time keeping up with the demands of software written for a phone with much better processing power.
i've been waiting for a reason to kick Verizon to the curb, and this is it...AND my birthday just happens to be in July...so someone doesn't have much thinking to do as far as getting me a present ;)
I would put money on the 3G iPhone coming in at $299 now, otherwise RIM would have jacked this up to $400.
yawn. boring.
I would actually find it fairly amusing if Rogers got this phone before the States... Although that would make more sense, seeing as how it _is_ a Canadian made phone...
He's already got one:
http://blog.honeyee.com/john/archives/2008/05/blackberry_bold.html
Thumb ball scrolling to navigate a small screen? How quaint.
Hurry up with the iPhone 2 announcement, Steve.
Weird, I hear you were a big thumb ball scroller.
I doubt RIM will ever be "trampled" by the iPhone. BlackBerry addicts are BlackBerry addicts. I got the Curve on Verizon 2 days ago. It's my 5th BlackBerry in 3 years. I will NEVER buy an iPhone. BlackBerry's are perfect in my eyes, and only get better. Not to mention the vast amount of business users whose needs aren't met by iPhones. And how can anyone be mad that VZW is getting the Bold in Sept? If they waited any longer the complaints would be about how long it takes them to get phones. Man up and come off some coin and buy it if you want it. I plan on it. In summation, BlackBerry ftw!
It doesn't bother anyone else that the day/date on the screen of this damn phone doesn't match??? At least not for like another 5 years. Every pic of this thing has that future date.
The T-Mobile and Verizon versions ("Niagara" and "Javelin", respectively) will both have 3.2MP cameras, while the Bold has a 2MP one.
That's probably why the T-Mobile version is $50 more (but of course, it also does not have UMTS/HSDPA, unlike the Bold).
-tor
nice try, but those are different phones. those are successors to the curves where this is a successor to the 8800.
I wouldn't say they would be trampled but from my experience I have seen many, many users switch. And those who have not are only waiting for the 2.0 update in June when it really gets good for Businesses.
Half of my I.T. dept switched right away (I work for I.A.C.) and even my mother who's a Nurse and my father whos a lawyer switched just playing with it for 5 minutes. Blackberrys are awesome, Ive had 3 or 4 of them. However, you can't deny the quick gain of the market that the iPhone has gotten and thats despite the fact that its the first phone apple has ever produced and still has many things to learn.
Little things like a usable Bluetooth stack (starting with the DUN profile, OBEX, HID..); ability for 3rd party developers to release applications (not just those 200 that Apple handpicked), and, oh yeah, the ability to unlock the phone (for trips abroad, say) - something you cannot do now even after your contract expires.
I do like a lot of Apple products - their computers are excellent (at least for laptop/desktop use). Everything is very well thought out. Their industrial design is better than anything else out there. (In fact, I am so pleased that someone finally "got it" wr.t. keyboard - their new aluminum wireless (bluetooth) keyboard without the number pad is the best thing since sliced bred - or even before that).
I just don't think the iPhone is one of those things. Not yet, anyway. Less capable than any other phone (in so many ways, not just the bluetooth issue and lack of 3rd party application support). But I'm glad they are learning (3G and GPS..) They'll "get there" eventually.
-tor
Did anyone notice that it says "NO" for UMA on T-Mobile?
No Hotspot@Home means I stay with the Curve
Good info. I love this site but I must say the comment about TM's price being $50 higher stated as "unfair" definitely moves away from reporting. How these carriers choose to subsidize their phones is their own deal really. It may suck for TM customers but it is hard to call it "unfair".
Me too - finally something worked out for me phone wise...
I waited quite sometime for the BB Curve 8330 that Verizon delayed selling for over a year (after AT&T). Then, discovered that my friends told me that I sounded like I was taking from a box and the sound was hollow and tinnish. So, returned the thing. Contract expires with Verizon mid-June, and I'll be damned if I wait around on them any longer for ANY new offerings that they keep hidden in their magic box for another undisclosed period of time. AT&T can't be all that bad....after all they serve a lot of people. The first new good product, then I'm headed to AT&T.
Sometimes I wonder -- what is it about a Blackberry why people are so loyal to it? While I have never owned one, I do know it does the same thing as every other smartphone out there so what's so special about it?
Either way, she it pretty. But as a Sprint fella I'm still looking out for the Touch Pro (Raphael).
Whoa whoa whoa...The T-Mob version WONT have UMTS????!?!?!?!?!!?!
BS >:(
I have a feeling the new iphone is going to eat this BB for breakfast. Bold is still a stupid name for a headset. I've had a 8700g in my pocket and a ipod touch, i loved them both. as much as i like the way the Bold looks, someone needs to step up to the AT&T first handset scheme. Buy hacked handsets and choose your own carrier!
i seriouslly doubt tmo would allow this not to be UMTS, the spec say wifi so im saying yes
KIRF!
mmmm...This thing makes me randy!
iPhone's are for people who want to make Steve Jobs happy.
Blackberry's are for people that want to make themselves happy.
That is all!
Crap, crap, crap! Just wait for the Sony Ericsson X1. That phone is better than any other overblown RIM filth. Ughhh...
i waited nearly a year, My sorry verizon razor with 4 minutes of battery life holding on with no contract for 6 months ready to jump ship at sight of a worthy phone, while I have 3 better gsm unlocked phones I used in asia, if they really wait until July thy may finally loose me to the stupid 3g iphone. At least that will final be released instead of holding it and teasing people with pictures. Damn canadians at RIM. j/k... don't protest me bro
i want this!
VZW sucks the worst phones but the best service. I ve had the pearl the 8830 world phone and now the curve which all are outdated by now. of course they are still gonna take forever to get the bold. i would switch to att for the iphone in a SECOND if everyone I talk to didn't have vzw and was part of the "in" network. in other words ill use everyone's minutes who has vzw
That screen is tiny/pointless.
/better resolution than the iphone screen... not sure what your talking about...
Great VZW is getting the 9000 and probably the 9500 all at the same time. This will give VZW RIM's top 2 offerings and the 9500 may bring back many of the iphone folks who jumped ship. I would never go back to AT&T as they do not work well within a 50 mile radius of the Home and Job. I guess people that live in the cities can afford to jump ship because they get great coverage from all the carriers which is not the case for people that live in more rural areas. Also expect to see the curve being offered for around 100 bucks come sept.
hi - i see it for presale on horizon...
http://www.horizonwirelessonline.com/cat/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=571