Travel Technology - Blackberry Bold USA Release

Any word on when T-Mobile and AT&T will offer the Bold? I won't consider the iPhone until it has a real keyboard.

I called T-Mobile and they said apparently the reason why Bold has not yet been released is due to the launch of 3G. Chicago is slated to get 3G by mid-October. Expect the Bold from T-Mobile in Q4.

I called T-Mobile and they said apparently the reason why Bold has not yet been released is due to the launch of 3G. Chicago is slated to get 3G by mid-October. Expect the Bold from T-Mobile in Q4.

Sweet Thanks! My curve is nice, but Tmo better get their 3G up and running, my signal has been going haywire lately, from EDGE, to GSM to edge to no signal to EDGE...

T-mobile will be focusing on the Google Andoid phone first, and I suspect AT&T will have the bold first anyway.

My guess is that we won't see the Bold on T-mobile till January.

My corp BB guys have been told mid October for Bold on AT&T. They've got 3 eval units in house.

I'm hearing 2nd week October and it looks like ATT is going to be the first to get it. They've pushed the release back twice already due to problems (battery, firmware issues). Rodgers (Canada) launched a couple weeks ago; and results up there have been promising... we'll see what happens in a couple of weeks.

AT&T should get it in mid-October (though I've also heard 2 Oct). T-mobile will probably get it in January sometime.

I was perusing another bulletin board (not sure that I am alowed to post its name due to TOS) and came across a link to the Globe and Mail about a potential reason why the BOLD has been delayed for release in the USA twice.

According to the article (I am not sure if I am alowed to psot the link, again, due to TOS) the iPHONE is a DATA hog and does not use the DATA compression that RIM employs with its Blackberry service. Apparently at&t Mobility relied heavily on Blackberry and was caught with its pants down with regards to backhauls and network capacity to deal with the iPHONE.

Dan

Im waiting for it on Tmobile. I can buy it now for about 300-400GBP

Which means we might see it for CDMA in another 2 years. :rolleyes:

Which means we might see it for CDMA in another 2 years. :rolleyes:

CDMA carriers (Verizon) are getting the Blackberry Storm before any other GSM network :)

I was perusing another bulletin board (not sure that I am alowed to post its name due to TOS) and came across a link to the Globe and Mail about a potential reason why the BOLD has been delayed for release in the USA twice.

According to the article (I am not sure if I am alowed to psot the link, again, due to TOS) the iPHONE is a DATA hog and does not use the DATA compression that RIM employs with its Blackberry service. Apparently at&t Mobility relied heavily on Blackberry and was caught with its pants down with regards to backhauls and network capacity to deal with the iPHONE.

Dan
No problem with the ToS here if you want to post a link to another forum/article. Please do, as the reading would be quite interesting I'm sure.

No problem with the ToS here if you want to post a link to another forum/article. Please do, as the reading would be quite interesting I'm sure.

Here is the LINK (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080917.wgtbold17/BNStory/Technology) to the article in the Globe and Mail.

Frankly, I am not really shocked by any of the article, the at&t Mobility UMTS (3G) network was adequate before the introduction of the iPHONE 3G and went downhill fairly quickly after its introduction. Only about a week ago has the average network speed increased to 600Kbps -1100Kbps regularly from 400Kbps to 500Kbps soon after the devices launch. Before the iPHONE 3G, I was seeing speeds in the range of 1000Kbps to 1700Kbps consistently wherever I traveled.

Dan

Here is the LINK (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080917.wgtbold17/BNStory/Technology) to the article in the Globe and Mail.

From that article:
"We believe that AT&T is now realizing that it can have up to 20 BlackBerrys for every iPhone on its network," :eek:

From that article:
:eek:

While I give Apple tons of credit for a truly excellent OS (its ability to render HTML websites almost perfectly on a handheld device is amazing in of itself), the device is a DATA hog of the first order.

Dan

My normal source this weekend told me that the Bold is getting pushed back to Nov. (they think the 14th, but not confirmed yet). I'm getting closer and closer to pulling the trigger on an iPhone.

No offense intended...But I have been following the threads about the bold over at blackberryforums.com, and the short answer is nobody really knows. There have been so many false semi "confirmed" dates by well meaning people that until we actually see something on att.com I would not take anything from a source in the know as anything more than speculation.

While I give Apple tons of credit for a truly excellent OS (its ability to render HTML websites almost perfectly on a handheld device is amazing in of itself), the device is a DATA hog of the first order.

To be fair to the iPhone (which I'm not, often enough), the reason the phone is a data hog is pretty much because of its amazing ability to render HTML...

According to this site (http://coverage.t-mobile.com/?MapType=Data&WT.mc_n=3GData_coveragerighttout2WT.mc_t=OnsiteAd) : T-Mobile 3G is now available in the following markets:

Atlanta
Austin
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Miami
Minneapolis
New York
Orlando
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle

Friday October 3, 4:13 pm ET

By Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer

AT&T still testing delayed high-end BlackBerry to avoid iPhone-like problems, RIM says

NEW YORK (AP) -- A delayed top-of-the-line BlackBerry phone from Research in Motion Ltd. is still undergoing testing by AT&T Inc., and RIM's co-CEO implied that the carrier wants to avoid the chorus of complaints about performance that greeted the new iPhone this summer.

AT&T and RIM said in May that the BlackBerry Bold 9000 would go on sale in the U.S. this summer, but it's not available, and no date has been announced. It is on sale in some foreign markets.

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said Thursday that the phone is still undergoing the certification process in which AT&T tests all new handsets to make sure they work well on its wireless network.

"There's great scrutiny, as you might know, on that network and a certain device. So I guess everyone wants to be sure on every last test," Lazaridis told The Associated Press.

Apple Inc.'s iPhone 3G went on sale in July, with AT&T as the sole U.S. carrier. Customers soon started complaining of slow data downloads and dropped calls on some units. AT&T and Apple have not directly acknowledged a problem, but Apple has released a software update that was supposed to improve performance. The majority of iPhones appear to be working well.

Lazaridis appeared confident that the Bold would not be subject to the iPhone's problems.

"We're very meticulous about what our product does," he said.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel would not confirm that the Bold was still in testing and said only that it would come out this year.

The delay of the Bold has weighed on RIM's stock. Because of the postponement, the company now will be launching several new phones at once in the coming months. Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM said last week that expenses from those rollouts would eat into short-term profits.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel would not confirm that the Bold was still in testing and said only that it would come out this year.


I hope "this year" is before my contract with the current provider expires on November 26.

It's too bad if the Bold is yet again delayed. It's frustrating to no end that these new phone are carrier-specific. I'd love a new bold, but I'm a t-mobile person. I really don't want to have to wait for another 6 months, or whenever t-mobile gets it.

It has been released here already.
A friend of mine got one, and I played around with it.

Honestly ... I am speechless.

Honestly ... I am speechless.

That bad, huh?? :D :p

at&t Mobility and T-Mobile operate on different frequencies when it comes to UMTS (3G) and RIM has not announced an AWS spectrum (T-Mobile's spectrum for 3G) Blackberry at the moment. Even if the BOLD was released in the USA today it would not work in its current form on T-Mobile's 3G network.

Frankly, I am not shocked that at&t Mobility is taking its sweet time testing this device, Business customers are the most profitable customers and they tend to uses Blackberries more than their consumer cousins. Thus, after the iPHONE 3G debacle, they are not going to have another device plagued with network issues affecting their core customer base, who can easily transfer to VZW or SPRINT and have a 3G (albeit EVDO) Blackberry that works reliable.

Dan

I am going to pass on the Bold. Friends have it already it and have played with one. Fills to big and too heavy in comparison to my Tmo curve. I think it is probably closer to the weight and size of the 8800 series. I am probably going to go for the Javelin which will be closer to the size of the curve but will have the new look of the bold.

Does anyone know whether any of TMobile's new smart devices will support UMA?

Does anyone know whether any of TMobile's new smart devices will support UMA?

I'm going to guess the new Blackberry devices will. I don't think we'll be seeing a UMA WinMo or Android device any time soon.

I'm going to guess the new Blackberry devices will. I don't think we'll be seeing a UMA WinMo or Android device any time soon.

I would tend to agree with ScottC, T-Mobile has to date not released any WinMo UMA devices nor is the G1 (Android) supporting UMA initially (that does not mean in the future it may not be available).

There are scattered reports that some people have been able to configure their WinMo devices to work with T-Mobile's UMA implementation, but I have not personally seen any of these configured devises.

However, T-Mobile has enabled UMA on their Curve and it is not a far cry to imagine that they will enable UMA on their future Blackberry devices.

Dan

I think it is probably closer to the weight and size of the 8800 series.

Almost exactly like the 8800 (from Blackberry website)

Bold
4.48 x 2.6 x 0.59 inches (LxWxD)
114 x 66 x 15 mm
4.8 oz/136g (with battery)

8800
4.49 x 2.60 x 0.55 inches (LxWxD)
114 x 66 x 14 mm
4.73 oz / 134 g (with battery)

Curve
4.2 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches (LxWxD)
107 x 60 x 15.5 mm
3.9 oz/111 g (with battery)

I'm in Europe for the rest of the week and highly tempted to get a Bold. It should work with my AT&T SIM card in the states, only in EDGE mode (not in UMTS).

I am in Japan the first week of December and I do not like carrying two devices, nor do I like being out of BlackBerry "touch"... the Bold with UMTS fits the exact niche I need filled.

Has anyone with an AT&T account picked up a Bold in Europe/Canada and used it successfully in the states?

Cheers,

-Andrew

Orange UK stopped selling/marketing the Bold due to "software issues."

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/blackberry-bold.html

I'm in Europe for the rest of the week and highly tempted to get a Bold. It should work with my AT&T SIM card in the states, only in EDGE mode (not in UMTS).

The Blackberry Bold is Tri-Band UMTS, thus it will work on any 850/1900/2100Mhz UMTS network as long as it is unlocked.

I am in Japan the first week of December and I do not like carrying two devices, nor do I like being out of BlackBerry "touch"... the Bold with UMTS fits the exact niche I need filled.

Has anyone with an AT&T account picked up a Bold in Europe/Canada and used it successfully in the states?

Cheers,

-Andrew

I have played with a Rogers device (that was unlocked and now working on the at&t Mobility network) and it worked flawlessly with my friend's BES account, downloading email while he was on the phone. One of the biggest advantages to the UMTS network is that it can support Voice and DATA at the same time.

Dan

The Blackberry Bold is Tri-Band UMTS, thus it will work on any 850/1900/2100Mhz UMTS network as long as it is unlocked.

Oh sweet nothings...


I have played with a Rogers device (that was unlocked and now working on the at&t Mobility network) and it worked flawlessly with my friend's BES account, downloading email while he was on the phone. One of the biggest advantages to the UMTS network is that it can support Voice and DATA at the same time.

Dan

I think my brain my fuse together. Talk on the Bluetooth, on a concall, while doing email? Oh my me...

Cheers,

-Andrew

According to PCWorld, the Bold is set to debut on November 4th with AT&T.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/152648/move_over_android_here_comes_blackberry_bold.html

According to PCWorld, the Bold is set to debut on November 4th with AT&T.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/152648/move_over_android_here_comes_blackberry_bold.html

Yep.. ATT confirmed it. 299 w/ 2 yr contract, 549 no contract..

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry8700c: BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/120)

I bought a vodafone one on ebay and it is AMAZING. By far my best blackberry ever (after the prior 5 versions). Highly recommend.

Yep.. ATT confirmed it. 299 w/ 2 yr contract, 549 no contract..

Any idea if stores will have it on the 4th or online only?

Any word on when T-Mobile will release their version?

Any word on when T-Mobile will release their version?

My contract comes up 24 November and I need a new Blackberry before my trip to Europe in December; if Bold's not out, I'm going with another model on a one-year contract with T-Mobile.

My contract comes up 24 November and I need a new Blackberry before my trip to Europe in December; if Bold's not out, I'm going with another model on a one-year contract with T-Mobile.
I'm borrowing a friend's smart phone but don't want to keep it for too long - was waiting for the bold but I'm getting impatient.

Would it be possible to purchase the Bold from AT&T at the full price, have them unlock it, and use it at Tmobile?

Would it be possible to purchase the Bold from AT&T at the full price, have them unlock it, and use it at Tmobile?

T-Mobile has different 3G frequencies from AT&T, so be careful what you ask for.

i think ive heard tmo will have the bold a few months after the att release.

Set up a friend's new AT&T Blackberry Bold this afternoon (will work for beer), and it was a pleasant experience with the most thoughtfully designed Blackberry I have yet seen. Very snappy and the 3G Internet was a pleasure.

I made he switch. I am having trouble knowing what I have gained. THe browswer still sucks (in Edge or 3G). It renders the page in html but is still little better than the 8800. Haven't fully exploited the WIFI yet but, again, given the screen size/shape.....

Its an email monster, calling it anything else is putting lipstick on a moose. Much easier to slip down to the Starbucks using my ipod touch for browsing.

If iphone ever gets a keyboard and voice dailing (that works, BB is awful at least on my voice), I'm gone. Email every 5 minutes will be just fine.

Longtime 8700 user, then 8310 Curve user, but I have had to use an 8707 (similar form factor to the 8700c but seems FAR slower perhaps due to the CPU) for Japan. I was very much looking forward to ditching the second device once the 3G Bold came out.

I got a bold last week, and for the first few days I thought I might have made a mistake. It's considerably heavier than the Curve. Larger too. But then I noticed my RSS reader could suck down feeds almost instantly. Web sites (usually the FT WAP site, or the mobile versions of the NYTimes or WashingtonPost or Politico) are VERY fast over 3g as well. The screen is great, and I notice the keyboard is much easier to use than that of the Curve. I feared the battery life would be short but after a a good day and a half of use with lots of web and email usage and maybe 30 minutes of talk time I still have about 50-60% left.

I have looked longingly at the Storm, but I'm on ATT as the international roaming is cheaper and I'm in a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' situation. Plus I'm not sure about the faux keyboard.

I have played around with the WiFi a bit, but I have to confess I don't really understand the need for it. The 3G is fast enough for me (now), though I supposed if I worked in a basement or data center with limited coverage I'd find it handier. My plan is unlimited for data -- even for international data roaming in most cases, so there's no cost savings from using WiFi.

I recommend this device if you are an email junkie (not read-only but actually type a lot on your device) and use the web for mobile-designed pages. The music player is fine, the Camera is ok (not as good as the Storm's 3.2 MP) and it takes a 16Gb microSD card ($80 at Amazon!).

Worth it for me, YMMV.

-C

Any recent reviews of the Bold?

Every one of my PDA's have been by Handspring/Palm. I don't like the Pre. I don't like anything with a sliding keyboard and it's on Sprint. :td: I hate the iphone as I want/need a physical keyboard to type.

I've been researching the Bold and I like it a lot although the contact management doesn't have as many built in fields as windows, I can make due.

I'm wondering how those who have the bold like it? I'm particularly interested in hearing from those that use a mac. Also, I need to sync to Entourage.

Thanks!