(Rumor) BlackBerry Bold/Niagara and Storm not coming to Sprint

Posted
by
Kyle McInnes
on February 26, 2009, at 3:02 PM
in News
.
Comments: 38 responses
38 Comments

A BlackBerryCool reader wrote us recently to say that he’s spoken to Sprint and they don’t plan on releasing the Bold or the Storm. According to a Sprint rep, “Sprint does not plan to release [the BlackBerry Bold] onto the Sprint Network.”

Jon: “Hi. I’d really like to buy a Blackberry Bold but Sprint still doesn’t sell it. Can I buy it elsewhere and still set it up for Sprint service?”
Agent (Kate D): “I will be more than happy to answer your questions today.”
Agent (Kate D): “I do apologize, however, you will need a Sprint phone to receive Sprint service.”
Jon: “What’s the status of getting the Bold? I hear 1st quarter ’09, now 3Q09.”
Agent (Kate D): “I do apologize, however, Sprint does not plan to release that phone onto the Sprint network.”
Jon: “How about the Storm?”
Agent (Kate D): “Neither of the phones are Sprint phones.”
Jon: “I know they’re not Sprint phones right now. I’m wondering when/if they will be.”
Agent (Kate D): “Jon, Sprint does not plan to release either of the phones onto the Sprint network. Neither of the phones are Sprint phones.”
Jon: “That’s too bad.”

With all the news we’ve been hearing about the BlackBerry Niagara, I doubt Sprint will pass on the Bold. This is just a customer service representative who doesn’t know what’s going on with the product line.

Remember, if you have any tips, send them in to news [at] blackberrycool [dawt] com.

(Thanks Jon)

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  • Dave

    In response to this, the day before the 8330 was released on Sprint I called 6 local dedicated Sprint stores asking for a confirmation that I could buy the phone the next day.

    They all said they did not have the phone.

    The next day I called 2 of these same 6 stores and they all said “Sure! Come buy it!”

    I’m not certain exactly how Sprint markets their products to consumers… but clearly social media has shown that positive rumors can be more beneficial than not.

  • Dave

    In response to this, the day before the 8330 was released on Sprint I called 6 local dedicated Sprint stores asking for a confirmation that I could buy the phone the next day.

    They all said they did not have the phone.

    The next day I called 2 of these same 6 stores and they all said “Sure! Come buy it!”

    I’m not certain exactly how Sprint markets their products to consumers… but clearly social media has shown that positive rumors can be more beneficial than not.

  • Glenn

    There is no official date out for it yet so it’s easy to say it’s not coming out for Sprint.

    I think there is a better chance it does come out for Sprint than not.

  • Glenn

    There is no official date out for it yet so it’s easy to say it’s not coming out for Sprint.

    I think there is a better chance it does come out for Sprint than not.

  • CPS

    Sprint customer service reps are notoriously uninformed. I’m not even sure why they bother to answer the phone. No information would be better than some of the misinformation that they spew out!

    Like Dave, numerous CS reps gave me the wrong information about the release of the 8330 and if not for the lovely ETFs on 4 lines, I would have jumped ship to another carrier…

  • CPS

    Sprint customer service reps are notoriously uninformed. I’m not even sure why they bother to answer the phone. No information would be better than some of the misinformation that they spew out!

    Like Dave, numerous CS reps gave me the wrong information about the release of the 8330 and if not for the lovely ETFs on 4 lines, I would have jumped ship to another carrier…

  • http://www.videos4blackberry.info/wp Bla1ze

    I have learned from past events such as the 8900 launch on Rogers and from being in a certain “position” myself for a large carrier…never listen to CS reps.

    I called Rogers 4 days before their official announcement of the 8900 and asked if I could get one, rep on the line told me not to expect it till at least February, called 3 local Rogers stores immed. after speaking to the CS rep, all of which would sell me a 8900, the one closest to me had it ready for me as soon as I walked in the door..signed my name and walked out less then 2 mins later..nice for a device that was not available for another month or so huh? lol

  • http://www.videos4blackberry.info/wp Bla1ze

    I have learned from past events such as the 8900 launch on Rogers and from being in a certain “position” myself for a large carrier…never listen to CS reps.

    I called Rogers 4 days before their official announcement of the 8900 and asked if I could get one, rep on the line told me not to expect it till at least February, called 3 local Rogers stores immed. after speaking to the CS rep, all of which would sell me a 8900, the one closest to me had it ready for me as soon as I walked in the door..signed my name and walked out less then 2 mins later..nice for a device that was not available for another month or so huh? lol

  • justin

    Have you ever heard on non-disclosure agreementd? A lot of us in the wireless world have to follow them very carefully or risk losing our jobs.

  • justin

    Have you ever heard on non-disclosure agreementd? A lot of us in the wireless world have to follow them very carefully or risk losing our jobs.

  • Alex

    Are you kidding me? When are CS reps normally privy to inside information about release dates?

    I think this is an attempt to publish a note with the words, “Sprint” and “New Blackberry,” in the same story. I, like many others, are still hanging on to an 8703e waiting for a Blackberry on Sprint that is actually an improvement and not just a little different. Of all the networks I use, Sprint is the most reliable for ME and I’m not switching to get a different phone.

    Go dig up something worthy like when will there be a new Blackberry on Sprint. There will be one eventually, so find out when.

    Why don’t you wait to publish a real rumor and not just a transcript of something that someone’s brother’s friend’s cousin’s landlord heard from a guy at Sprint the other day.

  • Alex

    Are you kidding me? When are CS reps normally privy to inside information about release dates?

    I think this is an attempt to publish a note with the words, “Sprint” and “New Blackberry,” in the same story. I, like many others, are still hanging on to an 8703e waiting for a Blackberry on Sprint that is actually an improvement and not just a little different. Of all the networks I use, Sprint is the most reliable for ME and I’m not switching to get a different phone.

    Go dig up something worthy like when will there be a new Blackberry on Sprint. There will be one eventually, so find out when.

    Why don’t you wait to publish a real rumor and not just a transcript of something that someone’s brother’s friend’s cousin’s landlord heard from a guy at Sprint the other day.

  • Boo Boo

    Very disappointed with blackberrycool. This post was useless. Just uninformed banter from a general customer service rep. The title is misleading and will have me question clicking on future posts. Very national enquirer of you…

  • Boo Boo

    Very disappointed with blackberrycool. This post was useless. Just uninformed banter from a general customer service rep. The title is misleading and will have me question clicking on future posts. Very national enquirer of you…

  • Martin

    Who was it they “spoke” to? Looks like an online chat to me so the person probably isnt exactly in on the inner working at Sprint.

  • Martin

    Who was it they “spoke” to? Looks like an online chat to me so the person probably isnt exactly in on the inner working at Sprint.

  • DavidB

    And the rep was technically correct. The Bold won’t work on Sprint. And who is to say what “name” a CDMA 9030 might be called anyway? Niagra is a development code name like Thunder was that launched as Storm. Javelin launched as Curve. I wouldn’t be surprised if Niagra launched as Bold, but I wouldn’t count on it.

    On a side note, with Sprint’s current CS reputation, why do people pull stupid stunts like this? Do they REALLY think Sprint reps know and are just hiding the info and with clever questioning they can get a scoop? Lame.

  • DavidB

    And the rep was technically correct. The Bold won’t work on Sprint. And who is to say what “name” a CDMA 9030 might be called anyway? Niagra is a development code name like Thunder was that launched as Storm. Javelin launched as Curve. I wouldn’t be surprised if Niagra launched as Bold, but I wouldn’t count on it.

    On a side note, with Sprint’s current CS reputation, why do people pull stupid stunts like this? Do they REALLY think Sprint reps know and are just hiding the info and with clever questioning they can get a scoop? Lame.

  • liganimc

    As a former Sprint/Nextel Tech-Data Rep this story does not surprise me in the least. Customer Care reps are only there to fix billing issues and give generic answers to questions that do not warrant speaking with the Tech/Data/BlackBerry Group. They are merely “pulses” to answer the phone and do not have ANY information on future products or training on anything more technical than powercycling a Motorola IDEN phone, regardless what 3rd party websites have to say (like bbcool, go figure that one). The only people at any provider that will have pre-release information is the SPRINT/RIM co-design team (for packaging, advertising, and proprietary software development) and the execs that are both not available via the normal 800 numbers…

    This story is a waste of time and effort to read. Try finding some official information on the Sprint 8830 getting a valid and supported version of 4.5 next time, maybe then I’ll be happy with the product development reporting on this website.

  • liganimc

    As a former Sprint/Nextel Tech-Data Rep this story does not surprise me in the least. Customer Care reps are only there to fix billing issues and give generic answers to questions that do not warrant speaking with the Tech/Data/BlackBerry Group. They are merely “pulses” to answer the phone and do not have ANY information on future products or training on anything more technical than powercycling a Motorola IDEN phone, regardless what 3rd party websites have to say (like bbcool, go figure that one). The only people at any provider that will have pre-release information is the SPRINT/RIM co-design team (for packaging, advertising, and proprietary software development) and the execs that are both not available via the normal 800 numbers…

    This story is a waste of time and effort to read. Try finding some official information on the Sprint 8830 getting a valid and supported version of 4.5 next time, maybe then I’ll be happy with the product development reporting on this website.

  • http://rim.com/ Ryan

    WRONG! The Niagara is coming to Sprint. Preprod models are with them now…idiot

  • http://rim.com Ryan

    WRONG! The Niagara is coming to Sprint. Preprod models are with them now…idiot

  • DavidB

    @liganimc:
    Sprint released 4.5.0.135 officially for the 8830. It’s all over the blogs.

  • DavidB

    @liganimc:
    Sprint released 4.5.0.135 officially for the 8830. It’s all over the blogs.

  • http://www.parabola.ca/ Parabola

    Sorry guys, just gotta chime in and say this is a poor post … even putting ‘(Rumor)’ in the title does not make up for the sensationalist headline. Words from a frontline CS rep are not newsworthy. Unfortunately, this reminds me of the ‘Rogers will get Storm before end of year’ post debacle.

  • http://www.parabola.ca Parabola

    Sorry guys, just gotta chime in and say this is a poor post … even putting ‘(Rumor)’ in the title does not make up for the sensationalist headline. Words from a frontline CS rep are not newsworthy. Unfortunately, this reminds me of the ‘Rogers will get Storm before end of year’ post debacle.

  • liganimc

    @DavidB

    Forgive my ignorance, DavidB, I choose not to read blogs as they are even more notoriously incorrect than BBCool. Maybe BBCool needs to get it right so I won’t have to be angered by the lack of clear and concise reporting.

  • liganimc

    @DavidB

    Forgive my ignorance, DavidB, I choose not to read blogs as they are even more notoriously incorrect than BBCool. Maybe BBCool needs to get it right so I won’t have to be angered by the lack of clear and concise reporting.

  • fizz

    those of us who has been around for a while should by now know that rumors are exactly that and as much as they feed into our wanting it to be what we want to hear, they are not. As far as customer service reps, majority of them are NOT Sprint employees, or employees of any other cell carrier FYI. They are simply outsourced and not in the loop as to what Sprint is going to come out with and why would anyone expect these reps to tell anyone what Sprint isn’t advertising (and believe it) is beyond me. A friend of mine is a manager at a call center that deals with Sprint customers and she has confirmed to me that they are only there to help customers with billing issues, if they cannot handle their requests they simply transfer the calls to Level 2 or 3 for other types of support where at that level would very well be a Sprint respresentative/technician.

  • fizz

    those of us who has been around for a while should by now know that rumors are exactly that and as much as they feed into our wanting it to be what we want to hear, they are not. As far as customer service reps, majority of them are NOT Sprint employees, or employees of any other cell carrier FYI. They are simply outsourced and not in the loop as to what Sprint is going to come out with and why would anyone expect these reps to tell anyone what Sprint isn’t advertising (and believe it) is beyond me. A friend of mine is a manager at a call center that deals with Sprint customers and she has confirmed to me that they are only there to help customers with billing issues, if they cannot handle their requests they simply transfer the calls to Level 2 or 3 for other types of support where at that level would very well be a Sprint respresentative/technician.

  • Tim

    I have zero faith on any questions asked to any customer service rep since they are always the last to know about new gadgets and projects. It’s not a matter of if it will happen but when. Sprint are not louses, they are just slow at implementing anything.

  • Tim

    I have zero faith on any questions asked to any customer service rep since they are always the last to know about new gadgets and projects. It’s not a matter of if it will happen but when. Sprint are not louses, they are just slow at implementing anything.

  • Crissy

    I heard that Sprint is going to release the Blackberry Bold in May, May is almost over. :( Does anyone else have any information about Sprint releasing the Blackberry Bold, anytime this year? I really want that phone, seems like Sprint is falling behind in getting the latest Blackberry phones.

  • http://n/a Crissy

    I heard that Sprint is going to release the Blackberry Bold in May, May is almost over. :( Does anyone else have any information about Sprint releasing the Blackberry Bold, anytime this year? I really want that phone, seems like Sprint is falling behind in getting the latest Blackberry phones.

  • DavidB

    @Crissy:
    There haven’t been any solid rumors about a CDMA version of the Bold 9000 (9030?)since the info started leaking about the Tour (Niagra) 9630.

  • DavidB

    @Crissy:
    There haven’t been any solid rumors about a CDMA version of the Bold 9000 (9030?)since the info started leaking about the Tour (Niagra) 9630.

  • BBTech

    *Laughs* it always amazes me reading un-intelligent comments.The sophistication of the BB , made original for Corp execuaives,those who have intelligance to grasp its many applications w/o whining over when a new phone (to keep up w/Jones) is released. It is Proprierity information. When asked when this or that to be released, it woyuld be foolish to tell the world the exact “whens” for that purpose.
    SPRINT, Cs is the best in the business, not because work for them, cause actually beleive in the company..NOt perfect, but by far the leader, we in ATS support hear daily the rudenes of Cs who if spoken to as some, in a normal face to face, would be removed from premises ..When there is a new release , you will know by the announcements of Ads & Television..Stop wasting our time in Tech Support for trivias..There are many who ACTUALLY need Tech Support.

  • BBTech

    *Laughs* it always amazes me reading un-intelligent comments.The sophistication of the BB , made original for Corp execuaives,those who have intelligance to grasp its many applications w/o whining over when a new phone (to keep up w/Jones) is released. It is Proprierity information. When asked when this or that to be released, it woyuld be foolish to tell the world the exact “whens” for that purpose.
    SPRINT, Cs is the best in the business, not because work for them, cause actually beleive in the company..NOt perfect, but by far the leader, we in ATS support hear daily the rudenes of Cs who if spoken to as some, in a normal face to face, would be removed from premises ..When there is a new release , you will know by the announcements of Ads & Television..Stop wasting our time in Tech Support for trivias..There are many who ACTUALLY need Tech Support.