Posted on August 1, 2007, at 8:44 am .
Continuing the trend of launching devices all North American BlackBerry users want in Europe first, RIM announced late yesterday that they have launched the BlackBerry Curve 8310 in Germany through Vodafone. So how does the BlackBerry 8310 differ from its cousin across the pond? Well, for starters, it comes with that sweet GPS goodness normally found in the BlackBerry 8800. Also, don’t let the image fool you, it does have a QWERTZ keyboard.
Our German friends can get the BlackBerry Curve 8310 now for 99,90 Euro in combination with a Vodafone Business Kombipaket Zuhause 240. Also, the first 5,000 customers will also receive a 1 GB microSD card (sadly, no microSDHC support) with the current 100 top chart songs pre-installed. Can anyone say Hasselhoff?
Check out the full press release after the jump
Posted on July 24, 2007, at 9:58 am .
While our friends in the States are still trying to figure out when AT&T will be getting the BlackBerry 8820, UK carrier Orange beat everyone to the punch and announced the launch of the Wi-Fi enabled device today.
Other than Wi-Fi sexiness, the BlackBerry 8820 features increased MicroSD memory capacity, but sadly, no 3G. No pricing info yet, but you can go here for more details on the device.
Posted on July 23, 2007, at 9:58 am .
Poor Boy Genius. The guy has so many sources on the inside that sometimes their “hot tips” conflict with each other. Take the impending release of the BlackBerry 8820 (mmm, sweet Wi-Fi goodness) on AT&T, for instance. One BG devotee claims that AT&T will be launching the 8820 as early as this week, for $299 on a 2 year plan. The launch will coincide with a “phase out” of the already passé BlackBerry 8800. Others, citing “internal AT&T training documents”, are claiming that AT&T will have exclusivity on the BlackBerry 8820 (sorry, T-Mobile), but not until August.
With RIM’s official press release failing to offer a firm date, it’s no wonder there’s so much confusion. For our money, it’s most likely that AT&T is soft-launching the BlackBerry 8820 this week for enterprise customers (a common carrier tactic), with a full consumer rollout to hit in August. Only time will tell, however. Keep your ear to the ground, BG, but do your best to filter out the noise.
Posted on July 18, 2007, at 7:54 am .
Hot off the presses, we’ve got news that the BlackBerry 8820 is en route, packing delicious Wi-Fi connectivity. Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b and g will all be supported, as documented in the FCC patent last week, and not only for data. Generic Access Networking (a.k.a. UMA) will allow for seamless dual-mode calling while in a Wi-Fi hotspot. Although that’s the big feature, besides which the device is largely an 8800, the new BlackBerry will also also be bringing a few other goodies. For one, it will support microSDHC memory cards, meaning up to 32GB of storage capacity. We looked at the 8 GB cards that are in the works from Samsung not too long ago. No 3G just yet, still quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE. GPS is in there too, and RIM also points out AZERTY and QWERTZ keypad availability, pointing to an early launch in both France and Germany. In fact, RIM’s handset index lists France as the only European country confirmed to carry the 8820 so far.
Press release and more behind the jump.
Posted on July 13, 2007, at 9:33 am .
Pipeline Data has announced that its Aircharge system is now compatible with a range of BlackBerry devices. The AirPro service lets you make over the air credit card transactions using a BlackBerry 8300, 8800, 8700, 8100, 7780, 7290, 7280, 7130 or a 7100. Right now, it’s only available on Dobson Cellular, but since AT&T’s going to be picking it up, anyone else under the AT&T umbrella shouldn’t have any issues signing up once the deal goes through. I guess until near-field wireless transactions get ironed out, we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. That is, if you can call taking someone’s piece of plastic, translating its magnetic strip into a signal which is emitted into the sky, received by giant towers, and transmitted to a multinational corporation which temporarily supplies funds for goods and services old-fashioned.
Posted on July 12, 2007, at 8:27 am .
Australian carriers Optus, Vodafone and Telstra are now packing BlackBerry 8300 goodness. RIM VP Norm Lo took the occasion to talk a bit about the future of BlackBerrys. First off, he’s dashing any dreams of touchscreen devices or 3G anytime in the near future.
“In terms of input mechanisms, we’re looking at different technologies and we continue to assess them on devices,” he said, adding touchscreen inputs “are interesting but we’ll just have to see how they play out.” … Speed is not necessarily a high priority for users. “It depends on the applications you are using — you don’t really need high speed, you need low latency.”
Lo goes on to push RIM’s growing consumer appeal.
“We are finding that about a third to a half of people visiting our website for information on BlackBerry are clicking on ‘for personal use’ rather than ‘for business.’ And in the last quarter we have seen an increase in the number of people walking into a store and buying a BlackBerry handset purely because they like the look of it, and use it just as a phone. Then what happens is once they discover the other things they can do with the device, they go back to the store and get some sort of data plan.”
Posted on July 11, 2007, at 10:20 am .
The announcement made not too long ago has followed through, and the BlackBerry 8800 is now available in stores across the United Arab Emirates. To kick off the 8800, Etisalat is offering their first month of service free for anyone who signs up before July 15. Not a bad deal at all. For any readers in the area, you can pick up your new BlackBerrys at Sharaf DG, CellUCom, i2, Radio Shack, Plug Ins, Alltronix, Jumbo Electronics, Telefonika, Jacky’s and Carrefour. Word has it Etisalat just moved into Egypt since last quarter and have made a million subscribers already. Maybe the Middle East is the next big emerging market…?
Posted on June 20, 2007, at 7:42 am .
We’ve already seen Wi-Fi handoff on EDGE on the upcoming BlackBerry 8820, and now it looks like GSM interoperability is on the way. NewStep Networks and Paragon Wireless have just completed testing on their GSM/Wi-Fi handoff solution, and recieved certification for their Voice Call Continuity client.
“Handset manufacturers’ continuing interest in interoperability with our solution clearly demonstrates not only the value of the NewStep offering but also the forward momentum of the service convergence market,” said Craig Gosselin, NewStep Networks’ chief marketing officer.
