If you've been holding out for Sprint to release the BlackBerry Curve 9350 as an alternative to the higher priced BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9860 we have some bad news for you -- it's been held back and instead, will arrive on Sprint in October. The reason, as noted by Sprint:
Due to unexpected circumstances, Sprint shifted the launch of the BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350 smartphone beyond the planned Sept. 9 availability date. It will now go on sale in October with a specific availability date shared at a later time.
Quite vague and rather weird to pull a device only a few hours before it was set to go live. We may never know the real reason for the pulling but it's certainly something we're curious about. Anyone have any ideas or care to speculate? If so, feel free to drop them in the comments.
Reader comments
Sprint BlackBerry Curve 9350 held back until October
Are any of the new BBs for Sprint going to have Direct Connect capability? Thats the only reason I have not bought a new BB yet. I need DC.
i believe the sales are strong in the bold one. why sell a cheaper phone when u can sell the more expensive one and cant keep them in stock (i went on sprint.com yesterday, "out of stock", and thats online.) i think sprint has to catch up, make some more $$.
Its really simple the way I see it. NO INVENTORY on the 9930 Bold right now, if the Curve was released it would pull some of the would be "hold outs" for the Bold, which would be smaller revenue margins for Sprint not to mention Sprint would be pulling sales away from its new flagship BB.
Waiting another month gives Sprint and BB time to take care of all the new Bold upgrades.
Not enough manufacturing capacity ....... I beleive the 9900/9930 is selling so well (sold out in some Best Buy stores over the weekend in the NE .. selling for $199 on a two year contract with Verizon) that they decided to use their manufacturing capacity to build more of these (higher margin) models than the new / cheaper Curve.
My contract was up, Verizon were able to snag me for another two years having the 9930 phone available.
So Sprint knows how to give estimated release dates even after delays, yet AT&T has yet to give us anything other than "Later this year" for the 9900...
It is quite simple. The curve is the entry level device however, Sprint still has a large amount of end of life devices on hand such as older model Bold, Curve and Style devices that they have to sell through which makes them the entry level devices. After they sell through them there will be the need for a new entry level device which will be the latest model Curve.
RIM has the best BlackBerry out there now, thier flagship Bold 9930...if it were me, spend the extra $150.00 and get the Bold 9930..but if you're on a budget, go for the 9350...800 mhz processor isn't bad at all.
I was more surprised that sprint was actually going to release the curve Sept 9th so close to the August launch of the new bolds. Last device release Sprint got the 9650 in may but it was not till Sept. 29th that the curve 9330 was released.
Sprint Normally does not release high end and low end models together or even close together in date. If the new curve arrives in Oct it is still a shorter span of time between the arrival of the Bold and the release of the curve than what happened last year.
They probably want to clear up the rest of the OS 6 inventory before launching this.
To Juiceair, more subscribers don't mean its better.
Tell that to my friends who have Sprint and can't get reception when Verizon does. You get what you pay for.
Decisions like this is why Sprint will always be #3 or lower when it comes to the top carrier in the US. They are great at taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Verizon just needs to acquire them and actually give Sprint customers nationwide service.
I was thinking about getting this Curve or the 9850 (why does this blog says 9860?). But now I think I'm getting the 9850 for sure. :)
Can't wait!
And 9850 is for CDMA carriers ...9860 and 9850 are basically the same phone and crackberry reviwed the 9860 so they have a link for that one only but don't quote me on this I'm a newbie myself =P
The 9850 is for both GSM and CDMA. It supports quadband GSM as well. You will get 3G on GSM even.
Hmmm... I also got the Bold and love it. However, this delay is not caused by RIMM so it may not be about the fact they can't keep the Bold in Stock but that there is something else. The Bold launch was typical low key for BB and still it is selling like crazy. So, a new device from a competitor would not steal its thunder.
If it is not the iP5 launch, droids are not so restrictive as to say "WE WONT LET YOU LAUNCH US WITH ANY OTHER DEVICE" like apple would so perhaps it is related to the allocation of marketing dollars.
Does anyone know if the Curve is selling with other carriers already?
I would never blame any carrier for changing a release date, only the manufacturer! I think they are delaying because RIM doesn't have the man power to build enough devices. With the new 7 devices released they are already behind and have to make up the ground somewhere. This makes perfect sense and timing to delay this device a month.
What sir.dangerfield and michiganroots said make the most sense to me. The unexpected high sells of the Bold 9930 caught them by surprise and now they want to move as many of these as possible. There might be a higher margin of profit selling Bolds rather than Curves as well. And even if that's not the case they prolly just wanna wait till everyone that can afford a 9930 gets one.
With a name like "Sprint" you would think they would be quick to the market. Might be time for a name change. Maybe "Walk" or "crawl", I can see the market slogan now, "what"s the rush?".
+1
Just Sprint bveing Sprint .... I left them a long time ago
I think the reason is that they did not receive the last approval for release from the senior management. Typical multi behavior.... nothing special. Of course, this reflects their organzation.
The new BlackBerry Devices are very cool. Its definitely worth wait.
~Pavan
The same time playbook OS2.0 and NFC should be out. Start advertising playbook/curve/NFC kombo
I agree with sir.dangerfield above... It has to be because of the sales of the Bold and Torch on OS7 that's holding Sprint back.
Moving from the Curve 8310 (AT&T) to my new 9930 on Sprint (Great to be back with you after 3 years), I too think that Sprint didn't expect such a turn-around of sales.
AT&T, I know you don't care, but you lost a customer...and don't let the critics fool ya. My Sprint Store in Henderson, NV was AMAZING with their Customer Service and Support. And get this....$199 In Store (Shhh...don't tell 'em I told you that..just order on Sprint.com and pick up your new OS7 at the store).
Keep this Bold & Torch train rollin' down the tracks. My 9930 will be with me for a few years. =)
This will sell more Bolds and Torch's. That's my guess as to what's behind this.
RIM is surprised by the number of sales of the high end OS7 phones and want to get as many of these in public hands as possible while the word is hot. I love my 9930, just a sick machine!
Wow Sprint.
Just. wow.
"4G"
I-phone.
You got it. Sprint wants the iPhone and muct cede control of the company to Apple.
To your point, Bloomberg news said today that iP5 is coming next month.
The strange thing is, the launch was for today. This should not steal thunder from AAPL but looks like a backroom deal where the sole purpose is to hurt RIMM by delaying their best selling phone.
Sprint just wants the iP5, which is a breakthrough for them but if this is true, is Apple's behavior anti-competition? Apple has done several things before and as their power grows they are becoming more bold.
1.The tried to restrict inter-phase use with app developers.
2.The simply chose to reject Flash on web (probably because they did not roll over for them).
3.They now demand a portion of content revenue from app developers.
I think Apple presented an image of being cool and different from the Microsoft corporate boardroom types, but as I see it, Apple is the new Microsoft of mobile. Since RIMM has a large market share in the U.S. and a huge market share of the world, they are a juicy target for anyone. Because of this, Google, Microsoft and Apple will do the least they can to help and in Apples case it seems actually seek to hurt RIMM with anti-competitive behavior.
Honestly, I don't have any proof, I just don't trust apple. I love my BB Bold and I am telling everyone that is looking for a smart phone about it.
+1 on this theory
I am with sprint and I would buy the curve since I have the 9330,but I am going Bold.
Yup. Sucks for the people that wants it for Sprint. Didn't PhoneArena leak this yesterday?