Big news for Canadians on the Mike network. Telus yesterday launched the BlackBerry Curve 8350i, the newest iDEN BlackBerry with Push to Talk service. Telus is selling the BlackBerry Curve 8350i for $249.99 on a three-year contract or $599.99 without a contract.
“The BlackBerry Curve 8350i combines the convenience of our Mike Direct Connect Push To Talk technology and the trusted BlackBerry solution,” said Jim Senko, vice-president of Mobility Solutions at TELUS. “It’s a fantastic new addition to our extensive selection of business-ready smartphones operating on our Mike or PCS networks.”
You can find the press release after the jump, or head to www.noordinaryphone.com for more info, but we’ll be at a Telus event today, so expect some hands-on goodness.
Belgian company arrowUp announced today the launch of its eID PKI (electronic Identity Card Public Key Infrastructure) application for BlackBerry. The application enables quick checks to be conducted of Belgium citizens’ eID on BlackBerry smartphones connected to a BlackBerry Smart Card Reader using Bluetooth.
Jean De Coster, Sales Manager, arrowUp comments: “This application is unique and has been exclusively developed for the BlackBerry platform. In Europe there is no comparable application available and as a leading company in the field of e-Identification, we are extremely pleased to offer this application with the BlackBerry solution.”
arrowUp’s eID application is intended for government and medical organizations, as well as insurance and security companies. Interested organizations can learn more at http://eid.arrowup.be/arrowup/en/arrowup/.
I feel bad for all those poor souls that have locked themselves into Sprint/Nextel for push-to-talk functionality, only to wait an average of three years for new iDEN BlackBerrys. HipVoice is a cross carrier push-to-talk service that will soon be launching for BlackBerry. As the video shows above, not only does it work irrespective of your BlackBerry or carrier, subscribers will also be able to communicate with WinMo and Symbian devices (iPhone coming soon). Here are the different ways HipVoice can be used.
UNICAST: Push-To-Talk one to one MULTICAST: Push-To-Talk one to many (Also to Walkie Talkies) CHANNEL: Push-To-Talk to anyone subscribed to the channel RICH MESSAGING: Text message users that are on or off-line
HipVoice is looking to charge $10/month for the service. Honestly, I’m not sure how they’re doing this, but sign me up. You can learn more about HipVoice at http://hipvoice.com.
While pretty much any GSM subscriber in the world that wants a BlackBerry Bold can now easily get one from their carrier, things have not been so easy for those CDMA subscribers. Our poor friends on Sprint and Verizon (and Telus and Bell) have been waiting patiently for world on release dates of the BlackBerry Niagara (the CDMA Bold/8830 successor), but news has been slim since early October.
Thankfully, Engadget Mobile is reporting that Sprint is looking to release the BlackBerry Niagara sometime this quarter. The CDMA Bold variant would feature a 3.2 MPx camera, aGPS, Wi-Fi, EV-DO Rev. A, a gorgeous HVGA screen and possibly an updated design to make it similar in style to the BlackBerry Curve 8900 and BlackBerry Storm. Obviously, ‘this quarter’ is fairly vague, but I know it will make at least one person happy. We’ll post more as it comes!
Big news today for the Republic of Seychelles, as RIM and Airtel have jointly announced the arrival of BlackBerry service for the archipelago nation (yes, I looked it up). Airtel will launch BlackBerry service in Seychelles initially with the BlackBerry Curve 8320.
Mark Guibert, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at RIM added, “It is with great pleasure that RIM is working with Airtel to introduce the BlackBerry solution in Seychelles. Millions of people around the world have chosen a BlackBerry smartphone to stay connected to colleagues, friends and family while they are on the move.”
Airtel will be offering both BES and BIS services for corporate customers and individual users, respectively. For more information, head to http://www.airtel.sc/.
Welcome back, BlackBerry Nation, to Nan the Power User! Today, we are going to check out Momentem from Redwood Technologies. Momentem is time tracking software that helps you squeeze every last drop of billable time from your BlackBerry. Let me start by disclosing that I typically don’t purchase software for my BlackBerry. I’m a deal hunter who looks for free apps or beta tests to slide in for free. Further, monthly subscriptions scare me more than rattlesnakes in the floorboard of the Jeep at the ranch. (Everyone else is folksy these days; I wanted to take a stab at it.) So when I was asked to check out Momentem at $9.99 per month, I was prepared not to like it.
Our Danish friends are getting a nice little present from RIM and 3 just in time for Christmas, with the announcement of the BlackBerry Bold. By now, 5 months after its initial launch, most of you know why the Bold is such a great stocking stuffer: 3G HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, all rolled into one slim, sexy package with a HVGA screen.
3Business is offering the BlackBerry Bold for DKK 319.20 on an 18 month contract or for DKK 1,999 straight up. You can find out more information at their website below, but make sure to check out our exhaustive BlackBerry Bold review first. Merry Christmas, Danes!
Christmas came just a little bit early for Sprint/Nextel subscribers, who finally have a new iDEN BlackBerry. Sprint and RIM officially announced the push-to-talk enabled BlackBerry Curve 8350i this morning, while Sprint’s online ordering page has been up since late last night (thanks to everyone who sent this in).
“The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is the most recent example of our solid commitment to iDEN technology and our Nextel Direct Connect customers,” said Danny Bowman, president of Nextel Direct Connect. “The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is designed for customers who require instant convenient push-to-talk services to communicate with friends and family as well as with employees, customers and suppliers. The BlackBerry Curve 8350i is a premium smartphone that strikes a perfect balance between performance and usability.”
Confirming the pricing information we broke earlier this year, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i is being sold for $149.99 with a two-year contract. If you want the iDEN BlackBerry now, you must order online, as the device won’t be available in stores nationwide until January 11th.
The final destination in our BlackBerry launchtrip around the world is lovely Spain. It is here that the Phone House has announced that it will be launching both the BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 later this month.
A quick search of www.phonehouse.es shows a 269 € price for the BlackBerry Bold but nothing yet for the Pearl Flip. To bide your time until launch, you can read our exhaustive BlackBerry Bold review with full device specs below.
It’s been awhile since we’ve talked about South Korea on BlackBerry Cool, and for good reason, as RIM had been facing resistance in South Korea due to public perception and issues with software standards. Today we have some great news for our South Korean brethren: SK Telecom and RIM have jointly announced that the BlackBerry Bold 9000 will launch on December 29th for corporate customers (no plans have yet been finalized for consumers).
New members of the BlackBerry Nation can read our exhaustive BlackBerry Bold review below, or find more information on what was preventing BlackBerrys from coming to South Korea after the jump.
Belgian company arrowUp announced today the launch of its eID PKI (electronic Identity Card Public Key Infrastructure) application for BlackBerry. The application enables quick checks to be conducted of Belgium citizens’ eID on BlackBerry smartphones connected to a BlackBerry Smart Card Reader using Bluetooth.
