Posted on June 11, 2008, at 9:28 AM .
The Boy Genius continues to filter through the black swamp of tech rumors to deliver us the goods, this time with an update for the BlackBerry Thunder, the exclusive touch screen BlackBerry for Verizon he broke news of during WES.
A few things stand out: first, the Thunder will not have an external microSD slot, meaning you’re going to have to pop the battery to access it, as if it were a BlackBerry Curve. Once you’ve popped that battery, however, you’ll see a SIM card sitting next to it. BG has also heard that the BlackBerry will support CDMA 1x, EV-DO, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS and HSPA, making it a very slick hybrid device. Of course, North American readers can forget about unlocking it for use on, say, AT&T: like the BlackBerry 8830, the Thunder will only use CDMA coverage while inside the great US of A — which doesn’t matter much seeing as the BlackBerry will only support the international 900/1800MHz bands with 2100MHz WCDMA band anyways.
BG is still saying Q3 release this year for the Thunder. We keep you in the know as more information develops.
(via Boy Genius Report)
Posted on June 9, 2008, at 8:29 AM .
BG has done it again, leaking another exclusive picture of a nascent BlackBerry. This time, it’s the BlackBerry Thunder, which Boy Genius tells us is a dual mode (EV-DO Rev. C and GSM HSPA for international travel) touchscreen BlackBerry coming exclusively to Verizon Q3 of this year. Although it’s a mock-up, BG wouldn’t post it unless it was legit. Also, surprise surpise, it looks exactly like the one BG furnished when he originally broke the story during WES — it’s almost like he knew.
Post a comment and tell us what you think of the words touchscreen and BlackBerry being wrapped together in one nice, neat little package.
(via BoyGenius Report)
Posted on April 4, 2008, at 11:44 AM .
CTIA started off with a bang this year, announcing the BlackBerry 8330 across three carriers, the latest CDMA BlackBerry since the 8130 over Christmas. The majority of BlackBerrys (and handsets in general) run on GSM networks, but with these devices toting EV-DO capabilities for blazing data transfer, and with enhancements to voice service on the way, CDMA is a solid choice for carriers. Of course, a big part of the impetus is on manufacturers like RIM to make devices which support the underdog technology, without which service providers have nothing to show customers. What do you think? Is RIM showing CDMA enough love? The Curve’s been out since early last summer, and only now, on the brink of a new generation of 3GSM BlackBerrys, are the likes of Verizon, Telus and Sprint getting their hands on it. Maybe we’re lucky that CDMA is getting a bone thrown their way at all, but would it be that hard to squeeze out a Wi-Fi BlackBerry for CDMA users, or would it not even be worth RIM’s trouble? Give us your take on the CDMA/GSM debate and win three BlackBerry skins of your choice from DecalGirl, and the recently-launched Guitar Hero 3 Mobile!
Last week’s winner behind the jump!
Posted on January 29, 2008, at 12:38 PM .
Vodafone has announced its release of the GPS Pearl, including support for Sat Nav, which offers traffic reports, points of interest and directions. As ever, Brits will be enjoying some great prices, as the BlackBerry 8110 will be available for free if you sign up for any £25 plan over 18 months, or £34 over a year. This release follows a steady line stemming from Spain, but rumors continue to trickle in of seeing this GSM device in North America soon. If you’re looking to pick one up, head on over to Vodafone’s online store.
Posted on January 16, 2008, at 8:36 AM .
Not too long ago we posted on a data traffic monitor called MiniMoni, which has now finished off its beta run and gone live. Luckily, the program is still free and still offering a lot of help to us poor saps with a limited data plan. Keep in mind that MiniMoni is only for GSM BlackBerrys right now, but I bet if you guys give some support, a CDMA version might follow in good time.
Posted on January 8, 2008, at 7:17 AM .
Another gem from the leaked Voda slides: the BlackBerry 8110, due out by the end of January on Vodafone. CDMA carriers got a bit of a heads up with the 8130 for the holidays, and the 8110 would bring GSM providers up to speed, if it weren’t for the lack of 3G. Still, a GPS Pearl is nothing to sneeze at, and should bring some joy to the folks who have salivating for the 8130 for the last few months but were locked into GSM service.
