Join Our 3 MILLION+ Members Today! Register Here | Login
 
 
 
 
 
 
Home»BlackBerry News»News & Rumors

iDen BlackBerry 8350i to launch before Christmas!

by Kevin Michaluk on 9 Sep 2008 01:15 AM
22
 

BlackBerry 9350i Coming Before Christmas

BBNews.com just received word from a Sprint/Nextel Rep that the new iDen BlackBerry, the 8350i, is currently scheduled to launch on December 1, 2008. Sounds good. What sounds even better is the date dropped in the first comment following their blog post which suggests a November 2nd launch date. Either way, even with a buffer tacked on for the now-expected launch delays and this all means Sprint/Nextel users should have a shiny new iDen toy to play with by Xmas fo' sho!

Also in Sprint BlackBerry news, word has it that support for MMS will be coming to Sprint BlackBerry devices with Sprint's official release of OS4.5.

Filed Under: News & Rumors;
Send to a Friend
 
Login or Register to post comments

22 Comments

Posted by David Clifford Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008 1353 days ago

Great. It means I can expect someone would give me as my christmas gift :)

 
 
Posted by lamonicaj Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008 1353 days ago

I don't use the Push-to-Talk feature, but I am definitely excited about the possibility of MMS.

http://www.petitiononline.com/snmms/petition.html

 
 
Posted by mfeliciano Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008 1353 days ago

Yo Kev,

Any thoughts as to why all other carriers,(ATT,Verizon,Sprint etc)have the Curve priced at $99, but T-Mobil still has theirs for $199???? It's basically the same phone and they actually raised their price from $149. Been wanting to upgrade from the original Pearl 8100, but the wait for anything newer has been quite depressing... What gives!

 
 
Posted by TX Chuck Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008 1353 days ago

Word is from ATT that the Bold is to be released within the next 2 weeks. So they have dropped Curve pricing. Verizon is hoping to get the Storm out in late Oct or early Nov but they don't have any clue as to when yet. So they have dropped curve pricing. TMO SUCKS they get new devices crazy late. They may get the bold Jan of 2009 so they have no reason to drop the price on the curve as of yet. they have no plan for a new bb device.

 
 
Posted by SOUJAH345 Wednesday, Sep 10, 2008 1352 days ago

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE KICKSTART TO BE? TO ME ITS A NEW DEVICE AND TMOBILE RELEASED THE BOLD IN GERMANY WHICH IS WHERE THEY ARE BASED OUT OF. GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT

 
 
Posted by pmjohnson99 Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008 1353 days ago

What about finally having a curve with Wifi on Sprint!? I might considering purchasing just for that...I don't need PTT.

I wonder what "Optional" means on the camera feature? Do the phone will come with and without cameras. Or it can be disabled via software? I understand why they would do this...but just wonder if they would go through the trouble of making two devices for such a detail.

I also hope they alow EVDO Rev.A, or Rev.0 at least...I have a suspicion the Wifi might be making up the lack of High Speed Intranets.

 
 
Posted by Anonymous Monday, Oct 13, 2008 1319 days ago

Take it from a Sprint employee....optional means they are going to release one of these without a camera for the people who aren't allowed to have camera's in the workplace (yes there really is a big demand for that, that's why there was an i930 and an i920 same phone just one with a cam and one without). It's going to be a strictly iDEN phone so no EVDO anything....sorry guys.

 
 
Posted by june Wednesday, Oct 22, 2008 1310 days ago

could any sprint or nextel tell me if this blackberry 8350i will work in puerto rico? thanks

 
 
Posted by Anonymous Monday, Nov 17, 2008 1284 days ago

no the 8350i will not work in puerto rico.

 
 
Posted by popo341 Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008 1353 days ago

The iDen BlackBerry 8350i will mean nothing unless it is CDMA/IDen PTT. It has to be a Hybrid to be a hit. Sprint Cellular and IDen PTT is the key to success for this Curve.

 
 
Posted by danaliza31 Friday, Nov 14, 2008 1287 days ago

See the problem being that if you use nextel international PTT you are screwed. Nextel/Sprint sent me out the Renegade and it is hybrid and I could not talk to international Nextel....so no lets keep it all NEXTEL!

 
 
Posted by Steveve Friday, Nov 21, 2008 1280 days ago

I agree the Sprint / Nextel Hybrid phones suck. If your used to IDen PTT none of the others come close, however EVDO Rev A is far superior in respect to internet access, coverage and speed.

It would be cool if Sprint stopped screwing aorund and made a real hybrid that combined the best of both IDen and EVDO. Keep the international capibilites, high speed net, true PTT, etc, etc.

Sprint in my opinion was bad for Nextel, they failed to capitalize on the reasons Nextel has the highest (business) customer retention rate. If only Verizon had purchased Nextel...who knows for sure.

 
 
Posted by Smooth69Style Tuesday, Sep 09, 2008 1353 days ago

Finally some news I look forward to hearing. I have been waiting on this release date, this will be my birthday and Christmas present, all rolled into one. I will be happy with either release date, November or December. It's not that I don't love my 7100i blackberry, but it's just time for something new. After two years of loyal service with this one, it should definitely be retired in style. Thank you Sprint/Nextel, I look forward to my new BB toy.

 
 
Posted by mommiedearest Wednesday, Sep 10, 2008 1353 days ago

Does anyone have any idea what the price will be?

 
 
Posted by kermitgrn Thursday, Oct 23, 2008 1309 days ago

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/1348982/Sprint-to-Deliver-Industry-Leading-P...

 
 
Posted by Vazcom Tuesday, Nov 11, 2008 1290 days ago

I am an indirect dealer for Nextel/Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. I'm taking pre orders for the new Blackberries being released in the next few week. The Blackberry Bold(AT&T), Storm (Verizon)and Curve(Nextel). You can reach me at trampolla@vazcom.net to place your pre order. We service individuals and businesses. Additonal discounts will be available when purchasing through our company

Troy

 
 
Posted by Anonymous Sunday, Nov 23, 2008 1278 days ago

NEW RELEASE DATE! Sprint has moved back the release date to DECEMBER 15TH!

 
 
Posted by IDEN MAVEN Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008 1275 days ago

EVERYONE EXHALE:

According to RIM, the issue of the recessed trackball has not been rectified satisfactorily for mass production. The estimated time for redevelopment and availability for the 8350i is the week of January 25, 2009.

I am jumping ship to Verizon push and STORM! Only a fraction slower and way more goodies with the ptt service

 
 
Posted by Anonymous Friday, Dec 12, 2008 1259 days ago

you are an idiot. the 8350i will be released through direct ship only on the 15th and available in stores on the 11th of january, where do u hear this end of january crap?
i work for sprint, and have already ordered 50 of them so please dont try and argue it with me

 
 
Posted by Anonymous Monday, Dec 15, 2008 1256 days ago

Just thought I'd let people know my new blackberry will be here on the 16th. I ordered it Friday. Christmas came early.

 
 
Posted by John L. Shinn III Friday, Jan 16, 2009 1225 days ago

A week ago, I went to Sprint and got the Blackberry 8330. Sprint’s 3G network is blazingly fast. Then I saw a colleague with a Blackberry 8350i, so I went back to Sprint and exchanged the 8330 for the 8350i—since my job requires me to also have a walkie-talkie.
The Sprint salesperson did point out that the 8350i runs on the Nextel radio network, but failed to make it clear that Nextel’s network is slow and nowhere near Sprint’s 3G network. The store only had two 8350i’s and I was lucky enough to get one before they were put out a display models.
Now I’m stuck with the 8350i (since Sprint would only allow one return/exchange with 30 days of purchase) which takes 2, 3 or 4 times longer than the 8330 to open a website. Watching Youtube.com is a joke as Nextel’s network is rather slow.
If you love to surf the ‘net, don’t get the 8350i and stick with Sprint’s 8330 or other 8000 models running on the 3G network. But if you use the walkie-talkie more than you surf the ‘net, then get the 8350i.
I know I cannot have everything in one phone such as the 8350i. But considering that I have to now carry only one phone instead of three—more than outweighs the shortcomings of the 8350i running on Nextel’s network.
Overall, I’m still happy with the 8350i. I only wished that Nextel runs on the 3G network.

 
 
Posted by Anonymous Friday, Jan 16, 2009 1224 days ago

I have an iden question: Can I get ANY unlocked quadband blackberry and use it with an iden network? I do have a sim card in my current phone. I don't use the PTT feature ever and don't care whether I have it or not. Seems like the frequencies would work...please help!!