Most of us are going to have to wait until at least May to get our hands on a
9630, but for well-connected individuals whose blogs rhyme with "Soy Beanius Report," patience isn't in the vocabulary.
BGR's gone and landed a 9630 and put it through its hybrid CDMA / GSM paces, and in short, it sounds like it's a phone worth waiting for (not to say you've got many other options if you're tied to Sprint or Verizon anyhow). Voice quality is described as "the best phone we've ever used," battery life seems to be enough to get through a full day of use (and we wouldn't be surprised to see this get better as the firmware continues to get tweaked ahead of launch), the screen is as good as the
Bold's amazing example, and the keyboard is "just right." What's amazing is that RIM's managed to package all of this action into a device considerably smaller than the Bold -- and if only they'd manage to throw in WiFi, it seems like we might be looking at the closest thing to BlackBerry perfection here. Verizon, Sprint, your move.
posted Mar 24th 2009 1:44PM
hey chris. what say be the reason you aren't playing resident evil with your pals?
take a break. i'll hold the fort :)
So are you paying more for the old razr or is the Iphone person? Moron.
somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed... what are you talking about? i have a G1
o wait... you meant to comment -below- me... its all good, tho :)
Very nice phone, too bad I won't be getting one because of the extra $30 add on for data. Really? A buck a day for data?
Actually... since you put it that way... a dollar a day isn't that bad for data. Accessing your e-mail and browsing the web ANYWHERE has its benefits.
I don't know why you'd want a Blackberry and NOT have a data plan... even if you could get one without. If you just want a QWERTY keyboard, get some other phone... it's only $2 per megabyte. :)
iPhone data plan is $30 a month too.
You say this like it's shocking that data plans cost this amount of money, or that this is the first phone to have a data plan that costs $30/mo. Where have you been the last couple years?
A buck a day is a rip off. Especially for Verizon where they think they should be able to charge $1-2 a day for voice on top of data and then $.66 a day for unlimited messaging. If you got it all for a buck a day like I do then that would be a decent deal. Then factor in the taxes. Iphone is a rip off too. Heyyyy pay a crapload for an apple insignia. Yeah right.
you get what you pay for .... i can make calls all over the place with my 3 year old verizon razr, and my buddy with an iphone has to go outside to get reception
No wifi is pretty disappointing......still very nice even without wifi. For some reason though I'm still feeling the Curve more.
I don't agree. WiFi on a VZW BB seems uneeded. Techies like it but I don't think there is a real need. EVDO is pretty fast, I use an 8830 for work, and this is first and foremost a work device. Beyond that I don't think there would be large implementation of WiFi in corporate offices, there certainly isn't in the government (not that I wouldn't like to see that). I can't see there being a lot of opportunity to use the WiFi.
From me, wifi on a BB earns a solid "so what". An iPhone without wifi on the other hand...
Forex, I take it you don't leave the country much? For those that do, wifi is very useful.....so even if its a "so what" to you, that's ok, but for some of us its a "hell yeah".
Forex,
I understand what you are saying, but I disagree. I live more in the country, and don't get a good signal in my house. If I bought a BB, I'd love to have wifi so I don't have to stop using my phone indoors. Now, if Verizon changed their femtocell to allow EVDO as well as voice (please correct me if it already does), then I'd agree with you. But even then, until there is a real unlimited data plan, i'm most likely to use the data portion while at home or some other location that has wifi, like a hotel or office.
But you are right, that would be a plus, but likely not the deciding factor for purchase.
I use my Blackberry Curve 1000% more in places without WIFI... in the car using Google Maps, walking down the street looking for a restaurant, and basically anywhere I need to quickly look something up.
Would I use WIFI if my Blackberry had it? Sure... but it's not a dealbreaker. EVDO is fast enough for the stuff I need to do out and about.
Gotta go with FOREX on this one.
Wifi is a VERY nice addition, but is in no way an absolute neccessity. 99.9% of places I go have great EVDO coverage and I'm never left feeling like it isn't fast enough (even on my enV2's dumbphone browser)
My next phone is definately going to be a 9630
There is no such thing as a CMDA Blackberry with WiFi.
I'll take two!!
I would like a new At&t Blackberry. I hope something like this or the Storm (even though it is VZ exclusive) comes to At&t in the next few months.
Was the Bold not enough for you?
It's all good, but RIM seriously needs to improve their web browsing experience.
It's actually pretty good now.....I'm not sure there is any other non touch screen phone that works better than the Bold and 8900 Curve at browsing. They render things pretty accurately now and at a pretty decent speed too.
I love Opera Mini on my Curve. It's much better than the BB Browser.
Nothing will ever be as good as the iPhone... that's good enough to do all of your web surfing. But my Blackberry isn't my primary web browser anyway (that's why we have computers, right?)
To me, mobile browsing is the "ability" to browse the web while mobile... not to "replace" desktop browsing.
@ Michael... three letters for you from a previous engadget post: PRE
> "three letters for you from a previous engadget post: PRE"
Palm Pre?
If I won't switch to AT&T for an iPhone... do you expect me to switch to Sprint for a Palm Pre?
At last, a true successor for the 8830 World Phone. Bell Mobility and Telus should be picking this up too.
This is NOT a true successor. Wifi is a must for those of us who travel. I'm waiting for the Palm Pre.
Sounds SWEET!!
I hope US Cellular gets some of this action!
Don't worry, they usually get the CDMA berries (aside from the storm) not-too-long after Verizon and Sprint....and now with Alltel assimilated, they're one step up in the pecking order.
WiFi for off-network/out-of-coverage-area data access and i'll re-up my vzw contract, otherwise i'm almost free of vzw and can go where the better optioned phones are.
Yeah leave VZW. Their phones are crippled too!
BB Bold owner here, I use my bold for personal use and have wifi turned off. Wifi is a battery drainer, literally halves your battery life.
Definitely not needed, though handy if you're running on on bandwidth for the month.
30/month for data? I pay 65/month for cellular service/tons of addons/500mb data. 500mb is surprisingly a lot of data. I've only ever gone over once and that was because I was tethering my bb connection with my laptop to play some online pc games. Rogers permits tethering, which is a nice perk.
Heavy data usage and online gaming via tether only used up 700mb of data. If you're paying 30/month for unlimited data you may want to consider a plan that may be half the cost but only allow 500mb-1gb of data usage.
Just surfing on your phone you'd never get to 500mb. Unless maybe you watched YOUTUBE videos literally all day long. Tethering will do it easily though. $65 a month isn't too bad, depending on the "addons" you have.
Most people that say they want wifi have AT&T. They think wifi is faster because AT&T tells them they are getting 3G speed when they are not. So they compare the slow network data speeds with a wifi connection and bam. You've been misled. http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/03/20/apple-atandt-get-sued-for-misleading-3g-claims-again/ Run a mobile speed test if you don't believe me. I have had several phones with Wifi and used it maybe 3 times. Basically just to test the difference in speed. Wifi is dead!!!
i ran a speed test.,vzw storm w/no wifi 360 kbps, not bad.
iphone on 3g 600 kbps.
iphone on wifi 3400 kbps.thanx for clarifying it for me, now im definitely going out n buying 2 iphone 3g's for only $99..u rule bro.
No wifi,!!?epic fail. That should be a major requirement in order to fall under smartphone category.
I agree if you are on AT&T, their 3G footprint is so small compared to VZW. Plus throw in the Alltel network they added at the start of March and there is pretty much 3G wherever there are people...
Well, people who know what cell phones are anyway. :-)
I've had WiFi on most of my smartphones and I just never use it. No need to. 90% of mobile smartphone users are not power users, if they get 3G, that is what they are gonna use.
No WiFi on Blackberrys is just something for the haters to complain about... Just like copy and paste on the iPhone. Neither one is a big deal.
But the haters rip on your iPhone so you hate back and rip on the others.. It's a cycle that is actually pretty fun to watch.. so keep it up. :-)
I will most definitely be buying this phone the SECOND it goes on sale.
Holy shhh !!!! Did that guy just say wifi is dead,,?
What a dee dee deee!does anyone agree with him? Or is he out of it n lost touch of reality,,., insane.
He is probably a VZW salesman or something... or even brain-dead!!! Wifi is still a must if you don't want to pay $60.00/month for international email to Verizon. Most of these people have never done business or traveled abroad apparently. They'll never understand that it has nothing to do with faster or slower or more available (in the US). To others, like myself, it's simple... No wifi.. no deal!!
You are quite right. Those who don't need wifi probably live in their mother's basement. Those of us who travel need it badly. For my next phone I want wifi and UMA compatibility.
There is no such thing as a WiFi CDMA Blackberry.
I kinda agree with you on the international part, to a point. For us who support folks who travel internationally it is much easier to just up their plan to the international data plan for the time they are gone then move them back down to the domestic plan. It's all prorated so it isn't that much more expensive and you don't have to worry about finding WiFi spots.
Sprint is getting this phone. Awesome. Only the best phones go on "The Now Network".
Could BGR maybe attempt to avoid turning a device review into propaganda for VZW? I mean seriously - they weren't even testing the device ON Verizon's network but spared no opportunity to plug them. Then to say the storm was the best BB ever for VZW? Really? There's no possible way...
Oh well...pretty pictures. Glad they're finally launching an international capable verizon BB that isn't huge, ugly or plain broken.
Get an iPhone. It has multi-touch and higher resolution screen perfect for keeping track of your appointments.
um actually, the iphone's screen resolution is only 480x320. this is 480x360.
so go back to playing ifart with your fifth grade friends.
lol just because you need multi touch and a 'higher' res screen for looking at a calendar....
Can you actually believe somebody would buy this BlackBerry Niagara when the OLED iPhone HD is due in a few months? They'd buy this and then have to get their money refunded just to get their hands on the iPhone HD with 3.0 software. It's best we let people know beforehand before throwing away their money on old technology and it doesn't even come with WiFi. Wow! I guess if you're willing to settle....
Might as well be Nigeria if there's no WiFi connectivity.
No wifi and the deal's off. I hate paying $50 a month for a data plan when there are wireless network all around me.
I pay $24 on vzw
Why do I keep thinking Niagara in the title of the post is actually Nigeria?
You know what I don't get? Why we haven't seen a CDMA Bold. I mean the Niagara 9630 looks good, but I would way rather have a World Edition version of the Bold that also was CDMA.
-Hayden
http://techthots.com
I have to say, before this phone Blackberry didn't really interest me at all. I'm currently a xv6800 owner and am a little nervous about getting rid of the touchscreen and keyboard, but I think this phone will be worth it. I'll definitely be getting this when it comes out for Verizon
"digitalrio @ Mar 24th 2009 4:02PM
He is probably a VZW salesman or something... or even brain-dead!!! Wifi is still a must if you don't want to pay $60.00/month for international email to Verizon. Most of these people have never done business or traveled abroad apparently. They'll never understand that it has nothing to do with faster or slower or more available (in the US). To others, like myself, it's simple... No wifi.. no deal!!"
Reply
"NeutralToyandMe @ Mar 24th 2009 4:47PM
You are quite right. Those who don't need wifi probably live in their mother's basement. Those of us who travel need it badly. For my next phone I want wifi and UMA compatibility"
It's funny seeing comments like this. So quick to brag about how much one travels abroad, or doesn't live in mom's basement, yet complain about $$$. Lol.
My 8830 WE gets it done in the states and abroad. No WiFi. Certainly doesn't cost me $60/month, lol. I don't see the big deal.
This is going to be an AWESOME phone. I'm gonna need to know the release date STAT. Anyone know??