Our November timeframe for the BlackBerry 8130 release just got narrowed down considerably by a Verizon snitch today. November 8th. looks like Verizon’s release date for the 8130, with pre-orders starting October 26th. The 8130 is quite a bit of machinery, if you haven’t seen the specs yet, which include GPS, stereo Bluetooth, EVDO, and a video-capturing camera in a silver or amethyst case.
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Verizon’s got a teaser page set up, counting down to an unveiling of new phones this week including the BlackBerry 8130. We’re still counting on a November release date, but hopefully the unveiling will give us some hard and fast specs to chew on for a month until it comes out. So far, EVDO is the only big new feature we can nail down, and it will sadly be missing Wi-Fi. Sources have confirmed that the ticking clock isn’t for an actual release, which was a reasonable, if hopeful, assumption. It just goes to show misinterpretation goes hand in hand with vague and cryptic teaser campaigns.
Engadget’s got their hands on some shots of Sprint’s upcoming Q4 lineup, including a BlackBerry 8130. Sprint’s poster confirms that the next-gen Pearl will have GPS, and previous reports have led us to believe that you won’t find both Wi-Fi and GPS under the same hood. Beyond that, the BlackBerry 8130 will be sporting stereo Bluetooth, EVDO compatability, as well as being able to work with Sprint’s streaming TV service. Guess that talk about streaming video support in the upcoming 4.3 OS update was well-founded. The rest of the rumored features are likely to hold up, like 3.5mm headphone jack and external microSD card slot. Keep an eye out for it before the end of the year, as expected.
Pinstack head honcho Hayden has got a plethora of fresh shots of a BlackBerry 8120, packing Wi-Fi, external microSD slot, OS 4.3, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Wi-Fi browser. However, while we’re pretty sure that the CDMA version of the BlackBerry Pearl 2 (or the 8130, if you will) will have a 2 Mpx camera, our man Hayden neglected to state whether the camera in the BlackBerry 8120 is 2 or 3.2 Mpx, which prevents us from resolving the debate as to which device will be better. (Which would you take: EVDO, 2 Mpx BlackBerry with no confirmed MicroSD slot, or an EDGE, 3.2 Mpx BlackBerry with Wi-Fi web browsing? Also, where for art thou GPS? Deep within the 8110, perchance?)
Other items of note on this new beauty? Notice that, while the form factor has stayed mostly the same in comparison to the original Pearl, the soft keys surrounding the trackball have been enlarged, and there appears to now be a top and rear speaker. Also, check out the sweet “Dimension L” theme – I cannot wait to get my hands on that.
Thanks for the snaps, Hayden!
Following the brief viewing of an EVDO Pearl, a few more official-looking details have leaked through on Sprint’s Pearl 2. The 2 megapixel camera seems to be what the Pearl 2 will be packing (so long, dreams of 3 megapixels), and is slated for a Q4 release this year. That time frame lines up nicely with rumors of Telus releasing their own Pearl 2 before the end of the year.
(While Simon seems to think that these new Sprint Pearl details confirm that a 3.2 Mpx camera is not to be in RIM’s next SureType BlackBerry, I’m holding firm on my stance that the new GSM Pearl will have sweet 3.2 Mpx camera goodness, as well as other features such as Wi-Fi, while the CDMA variant will be more of a ‘tweener 1.5 Pearl, ed.)
While GearLog was busy checking out the likes of the HTC Touch and Gandolf at Sprint’s technology summit, they did manage to spot a Pearl-looking BlackBerry sporting EVDO… possibly the BlackBerry 8130? If Sprint’s releasing it anytime close to Verizon, you could be seeing them with the 8130 by November.
Cheers, Gizmodo!
