Those of you dying to get your QWERTY on with RIM's hot new
Blackberry Bold can start marking your calendars and stashing cash under the cushions -- release dates and pricing info have hit the tubes this morning. As expected,
AT&T will get the Bold first in July for $300, while Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile customers will have to wait until September. Oddly, T-Mo subs will have to cough up an extra $50, which seems a little unfair. Of course, these aren't official dates and prices, so things are likely to change, but we'd say everything seems in the ballpark, wouldn't you?
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?
posted May 16th 2008 at 11:45AM
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ben @ May 16th 2008 11:48AM
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
striggity @ May 16th 2008 11:54AM
yea that does quite suck. I just bought a Curve for Tmo off of eBay. Oh wells.
Mike @ May 16th 2008 12:08PM
They are trying to take market share away from the iPhone. Makes sense but will it be effective?
ChrisM @ May 16th 2008 12:15PM
Maybe if you scream and kick enough, RIM will give you $100 credit. Good luck with that.
0157h7 @ May 16th 2008 1:14PM
Big Red is getting the touchscreen Blackberry exclusively before the end of the year if that makes you feel better
Tomoki @ May 16th 2008 1:23PM
better than VZW never releasing it, no? or worse, NEXT july.
Jason @ May 16th 2008 1:29PM
hmmm you sound like you bought an iPhone in June 07.
xtole @ May 16th 2008 2:04PM
Is it my eyes, or does the screen look smaller than the curve?
Mike @ May 23rd 2008 1:45PM
The KB looks like the 8830 World Edition KB...and that sucks big time. The KB on the Curve is vastly superior.
Wiigee @ May 16th 2008 11:50AM
Id rather get my Dvorak on.... Cool, but im waiting to get a smart phone til i can get one with Android.
maxxwizard @ May 16th 2008 11:52AM
september, just in time for my upgrade
anonymouspimp @ May 16th 2008 12:18PM
Haha, same here... mine is in August, but I can definitely wait a month for this!
Eddie @ May 16th 2008 2:05PM
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.
Abhishek @ May 16th 2008 11:53AM
Does anyone know if the T-mob version is MyFav5 compatible?
striggity @ May 16th 2008 11:54AM
Virtually every T-mobile phone released in the last two years is My Faves compatible.
Mitch @ May 16th 2008 2:09PM
You need to pay extra for the privilege of having your call dropped 10 times a day!
Brandson @ May 16th 2008 11:55AM
Any word on Canadian (Rogers) pricing? I'm guessing $599 with a 3 year contract.
martythemaniak @ May 16th 2008 12:01PM
$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...
Nino @ May 16th 2008 11:55AM
just got the sprint curve and now this is coming out this September grrr...
Gingerbread Man @ May 16th 2008 12:02PM
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
mulder_fbi @ May 16th 2008 1:55PM
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 :-< ).
Brian @ May 16th 2008 12:04PM
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.
Zal @ May 16th 2008 1:14PM
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.
hopkinsrocks @ May 16th 2008 12:27PM
I think RIM is going to get trampled by the new iPhone if they sell it for $200.
DanH @ May 16th 2008 12:27PM
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.
Steffen Jobbs @ May 16th 2008 12:26PM
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.
Brian @ May 16th 2008 2:15PM
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.
HARRYZWD @ May 16th 2008 12:28PM
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 ;)
Alex @ May 16th 2008 12:34PM
I would put money on the 3G iPhone coming in at $299 now, otherwise RIM would have jacked this up to $400.
David Owens @ May 16th 2008 3:54PM
yawn. boring.
xtremesniper @ May 16th 2008 12:45PM
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...
Kai @ May 16th 2008 12:50PM
He's already got one:
http://blog.honeyee.com/john/archives/2008/05/blackberry_bold.html
Quix @ May 16th 2008 12:50PM
Thumb ball scrolling to navigate a small screen? How quaint.
Hurry up with the iPhone 2 announcement, Steve.
Dr. Evil @ May 17th 2008 4:06PM
Weird, I hear you were a big thumb ball scroller.
aalqadaffi @ May 16th 2008 1:11PM
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!
Etrigan @ May 16th 2008 1:17PM
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.
Tor Slettnes @ May 16th 2008 1:24PM
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
Nick @ Jul 24th 2008 8:03PM
nice try, but those are different phones. those are successors to the curves where this is a successor to the 8800.
Gingerbread Man @ May 16th 2008 1:32PM
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.
Tor Slettnes @ May 16th 2008 1:45PM
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
Ben @ May 16th 2008 1:56PM
Did anyone notice that it says "NO" for UMA on T-Mobile?
benjaminshapiro @ May 16th 2008 1:56PM
No Hotspot@Home means I stay with the Curve
TC @ May 16th 2008 2:01PM
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".
Josh @ May 16th 2008 2:12PM
Me too - finally something worked out for me phone wise...
Mack @ May 16th 2008 2:34PM
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.
DP @ May 16th 2008 2:43PM
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).
Rick @ May 16th 2008 10:28PM
Whoa whoa whoa...The T-Mob version WONT have UMTS????!?!?!?!?!!?!
BS >:(
socritic @ May 16th 2008 3:33PM
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!
LP @ May 16th 2008 6:22PM
i seriouslly doubt tmo would allow this not to be UMTS, the spec say wifi so im saying yes
chickenator @ May 16th 2008 6:46PM
KIRF!