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Best friends, mortal enemies: the BlackBerry Curve from Verizon and Sprint
Taking the carrier out of the equation for just a moment, let's get to the hard-hitting question about the two flavors of the 8330: which color combo do you prefer?
Blackberry Curve 8330 comes to Sprint
We had heard whispers about the Blackberry Curve hitting Sprint this month, and it looks like they were dead-on -- say hello to RIM's latest, the Curve 8330, all done up in black. Apart from looking way hotter than the silver version that's made the rounds, you're getting GPS, a 2 megapixel camera with video recording, Bluetooth, "enhanced" web browsing, and the usual suite of Sprint music and TV services. $179 with a two-year contract later this month, says Sprint. One more shot after the break.[Thanks, moochy989]
BlackBerry Curve 8330 launching on Verizon in May
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 vzNavigator.
Verizon Hub headlines carrier's 2008 initiatives, devices
We've gotten the inside track on a few dates on Verizon's radar for the next few months, and it looks like the boys and girls in red are prepping an interesting mix of exclusive and Sprint catch-ups to keep customers fat and happy. As handsets go, the Motorola Q9c is planned for April along with the TouchFLO-powered XV6900, LG enV2, and the CDMA rendition of the BlackBerry Curve (so much for exclusivity clauses on this one, it seems), while the Samsung Glyde is currently slated for late April or early May. Centro fans will be happy to hear that the diminutive Garnet phone will finally hit Verizon following Sprint and AT&T launches in the tail end of May or the beginning of June, followed shortly by the Nokia 6205, which apparently isn't either the 2505 or 7205 unless one of those flips have been renumbered.As technology goes, Verizon looks to launch EV-DO Rev. A-based push-to-talk services -- Sprint folks will know this as Qualcomm's QChat -- toward the end of May. We've also caught wind of something called "Verizon Hub," which we're told will go head-to-head with T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home service. It's not known whether this'll be a WiFi setup (a la HotSpot@Home) or adopt Sprint's CDMA femtocell strategy, but seeing how Verizon and Sprint seem to be endlessly engaged in a game of cat and mouse, we wouldn't be surprised to see 'em go with femtocells. We don't have a date on Hub just yet, but it's targeting the second half of the year at the earliest.Update: Commenters are noting that Verizon's do-all FiOS phone bares the "Verizon Hub" name, though it doesn't go head-to-head with HotSpot@Home -- and the Hub we're referring to is showing up on Verizon Wireless roadmaps. Weird. We'll keep a close eye on this one.
BlackBerry Curve 8330 inbound for Sprint next month?
After seeing how the Pearl developed from the 8100 into the 8130, we can only guess that RIM must get some sick kick out of playing its GSM and CDMA customers off against one another. Come on, you just know Sprint and Verizon were probably beating down RIM's door the second the Curve was announced for GSM carriers across the lands, and if we had to guess, there's probably been a mad rush on the part of said carriers to get the so-called 8330 into their labs, approved, and onto shelves as quickly as possible following its development. Right now it's looking like Sprint would like (emphasis on "like") to have the Curve available in all retail channels on the 20th of April, according to a release document being floated over at Boy Genius Report. Our hearts have been broken too many times to count on that date, but by golly, we're hoping.
Telus getting BlackBerry Curve, Samsung U740?
With the 8130 and the 8830 already in Telus' BlackBerry lineup, the natural next step for any CDMA carrier to take is to launch the recently-spied CDMA Curve, of course. Indeed, it looks like Telus is stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing here, thanks to a sharp-eyed HowardForums member who captured a shot of Telus' site showing the 8330 on sale for $199.99 CAD (about $203) on a three-year contract. 'Course, like a mirage, the mysterious 8330 vanished into thin air -- its time hasn't come yet -- but we expect it'll be back in the mix in short order now.Separately, we've heard from another tipster that both the Curve and a Samsung U720 can be found in metadata associated with Telus' media player. What's the U720, you ask? We're not sure, but they're calling it the "Flipper" and it looks suspiciously like Verizon's U740, alias "Alias." No word yet on when exactly the Canadian carrier will commit to putting these new pieces up on its site for keeps.[Thanks, Tal and John]
First pics of CDMA BlackBerry Curve 8330 surface
We heard you poor souls loud and clear -- hoping, begging, praying for a CDMA Curve announcement during CES. Apparently, said device is on the way. According to non-blurry (gasp!) pictures over at BBGeeks, the CDMA Curve is rockin' a 8330 model number, integrated GPS, built-in camera and a temporary sticker on the back warning that what you're looking at is absolutely not for sale under any circumstances. Excited? You should be, now hit up the read link and take a peek.
