[Coach Lon]

@ TheBigNewt

Good post-very informative!

[MajSingh]

Originally Posted by TheBigNewt

Here's hoping that Tmob does better with the 8900 when it comes out in a couple weeks.

Did you hear something about an earlier than Q1-09 release? I heard rumors of black friday, but nothing solid enough to convince me of that timeframe.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by TheBigNewt

Yeah, the option of turning it off would be good. The Rogers Bold has that but the ATT Bold does not, and from what I gather it's not a firmware/OS issue either, it's a brand issue(?).

I have used them both over the course of a few days, my personal device being a Rogers Bold, and the ability to set it to 2G only, or 3G only is a major benefit to battery life. At the end of a day I was seeing anywhere from 15% to 25% more battery life on the Rogers Bold. The biggest difference came on days when I would be traveling through areas that did not have 3G coverage. The AT&T Bold would do whatever it was doing, while I set the Rogers model to 2G only until I returned to a 3G area, and knew I would be there for a length of time. To make matters worse, I was using the Rogers Bold for the majority of my tasks, while the AT&T Bold sat idle chewing on its battery.

You are correct, BigNewt, this is a vendor SIM Lock, with no way to get around it.

[TheBigNewt]

Originally Posted by MajSingh

Did you hear something about an earlier than Q1-09 release? I heard rumors of black friday, but nothing solid enough to convince me of that timeframe.

I just heard the same BoyGenius rumor of the Black Friday release by Tmob. That's what I'm hoping for, to make a decision between the 8900 and Storm sometime before the end of the year. The price of the Storm ($200 for Vzn customers eligible for an upgrad) should drop soon after release via 3rd party online vendors as did the ATT Bold. I figure the 8900 will be even cheaper. I'd like to try the Storm wrt typing and features and see how much the bigger screen makes webpages look.

[Jason Mark]

Originally Posted by TheBigNewt

I just heard the same BoyGenius rumor of the Black Friday release by Tmob. That's what I'm hoping for, to make a decision between the 8900 and Storm sometime before the end of the year. The price of the Storm ($200 for Vzn customers eligible for an upgrad) should drop soon after release via 3rd party online vendors as did the ATT Bold. I figure the 8900 will be even cheaper. I'd like to try the Storm wrt typing and features and see how much the bigger screen makes webpages look.

Like happens more than people realize, BGR is incorrect. The 8900 will not release on T-Mobile on black friday. Moreover, they'll be quite lucky if they release it this year.

[ricpac]

Originally Posted by TheBigNewt

Yeah, the option of turning it off would be good. The Rogers Bold has that but the ATT Bold does not, and from what I gather it's not a firmware/OS issue either, it's a brand issue(?)

Is this confirmed? Not even an OS upgrade can fix? I really just want to know, seriously.

[j0j0]

ok well enough of the `BS, when the Javelin Coming out anyway???? i want it.

[MajSingh]

i just have a feeling TMO might wait to release it in 09 as a way to boost sales early in the year

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by ricpac

Is this confirmed? Not even an OS upgrade can fix? I really just want to know, seriously.

It is confirmed. This is not an OS based restriction, but set in the firmware of the device.

[ricpac]

Thanks Shaun!

[Silversmok3]

Allow me to offer my .02 cents ,both as a Curve owner and a cell phone sales rep.

For every person that wants a blackberry with the cutting edge of the kitchen sink,there's 20 who want a Blackberry with,in this order, a big keypad,large screen,and huge-super-long lasting battery life.These are the masses that pay RIM's bills.

For these people 3G, 262K screens and wifi are a foreign language.They just want to make calls and get their emails.

And the ' Javelin' will do those things quite well,and do it with style.After all, RIM and other companies make new phones primarily to add/attract new customers,not to impress the old customers.

And on a side note,after playing with a Bold at work today I can't say that 3G is all that.AT&T's 3G foorprint is still hit and miss,and this is in the Chicago area at that.The poor Bold kept bouncing back and forth from edge to 3G,mostly using edge.
Which is weak performance given the price you'll pay in battery life and the equipment cost of having the option.And that's on ATT.
Tmobile's 3G is still being built.

I'm willing to stake that a majority of Javelin customers will be quite happy that they DIDN'T get a phone that was state of the art.

[caneau]

Silversmok3, I wish you luck in selling Curves but I think after the initial hype dies down and more 3G smartphones inevitably come to market, they'll be one of the slower selling models. The only thing that might save this phone if it comes to T-Mobiles and they plays protectionist by not offering a 3G BB. I think with AT&T, the Bold is going to out-sell it by a significant margin since other than 3G and the slightly larger screen on the Curve, there are few differences. At least with the Curve vs. the 8820 you got a much better keyboard, smaller form factor, and cheaper phone without losing much performance. AT&T already has the top selling consumer smartphone in the country, it'll take a more lot for BB to dethrone that device.

[Silversmok3]

The problem with 3G is that any phone equpped as such is gonna take a hit with battery life .

The iPhone 3G is getting a minor backlash from customers wondering why their brand new iPhone is dying in the middle of the workday.

After using/owning 3 3G devices(Samsung Blacjack 2,HTC Mogul/6800 and a horrible RAZR V3m)
,the ironic fault of almost every 3G phone today is that if you try to take advantage of the speed by surfing the web the battery won't last long enough to let you.

I am shocked to even type this,but I'm glad my Curve isn't 3G.While EDGE isn't fast,I can surf the web and listen to my music library for hours.

After 5 hours of internet surfing and music playing my Curve still had 8 hours of standby time .All the 3G phones above went from charge to flat in 4 hours.My old Mogul actually ran dead before my bluetooth did one day.


And since the Curve is more casual user oriented than the headline phones like the Bold and the Storm,RIM can put what's tried and true in the Javelin and leave the cutting edge features to different phones.

Yes,LG and Samsung will likely roll out newer 3G smartphones,but until they make 3G phones that don't need 2 batteries in the box 2G will still sell out the cages.
.

[SLR2005]

Originally Posted by caneau

I have a BB8800 on T-Mobile right now. My phone's getting a bit long in tooth as I got my 8800 the week it hit T-Mo stores, but it still works reasonably well. If all the rumors are true that the Javelin will be an EDGE-only device, apart from the larger screen, slightly faster processor, and a bit more memory, why upgrade? Why spend $200 or $300 on a phone that provides almost identical functionality as a Curve or an 8820?

Look at the history...7200 to 7100 - big jump with the color screen, Suretype, etc. 7100 to the 8700 and then Pearl, again a substantial jump in screen size, processor speed, and size. 8700 to 8800/8820, added the GPS, trackball, and eventually WiFi, plus a smaller form factor. The Curve took the internals of the 8800 series, made them smaller, and added the 3.5mm jack an camera. That again made sense, 8800 was more business oriented while the 8300 was more consumer oriented. With each step, RIM tried to push the technology envelope and pack more things into a smartphone.

I bought my 8800 when it was the pinnacle of smartphone technology. It had the nicest screen, a fast processor, GPS, and of course BB's great email integration. As expected, other phones over the last two years have caught up. Screens have gotten sharper, processors faster, now almost every phone has GPS and WiFi, and even Gmail integration rivals push.

And now we get to today. There's just nothing really new that the 8900 has to offer that most users will notice apart from the nicer screen. There's no sexy iPhone or Storm-like touchscreen interface. There's no 3G. There's no open source software or internal compass like the G1. In fact, RIM went away from the global standard Mini-USB and replaced it with a Micro-USB that very few devices use. All in all, it looks to be a mediocre phone with a nice screen.

I like T-Mobile. I like BlackBerry. Their combined offerings though are underwhelming and I'm starting to really feel the pull of Verizon and the Storm or staying with T-Mobile and getting the G1. With either of those phones, I know I'll have a device that will be respectable a year or two especially as US 3G networks expand. The same can't be said for the 8900. It's a phone that will undoubtedly be out-classed six months after its release.

if u really wanna know why u should buy it, ask this guy that paid $17100+shipping on eBay

crazy stuff happens i guess...lol

here is a link to it....i think it is total bs but oh well, funny too....

http://www.technologyowl.com/i117844-c134-rss

[ssb16]

I'm going to take a stab in the dark that the new Javelin will come in different versions like the Curve 8300,8310,8320, 8330.

I know the reason for the different versions e.g. GPS, CDMA vs GSM etc but somehow I feel that this is a device that will get upgraded eventually with something else like 3g or whatever is missing on the first run.

Personally I have the 8300. It is the first device I ever got and honestly other than the storm I think this is the line I would like to stay with whether there will be 3g or not. The curve has been the perfect balance for me so far. I love the bold but its a little to big for my liking at the moment.

[TheBigNewt]

BG review the Storm and his got horrible battery life. Didn't make it through the day That's without using voice hardly at all. I was bummed to read that. I just refuse to charge my BB every night. Heck, some Bold people have to charge theirs during the workday. I don't care if they are "power users". That's a joke. Any phone battery should make it through a day unless you're making hourlong calls.

[BR14]

"Any phone battery should make it through a day unless you're making hourlong calls"

Fact is that battery technology progress is way slower than device technology. Any 3G device with video, music and GPS is going to have battery death quickly.

Which is why the 8900 is such a good deal. It's not meant to compete with the Storm or Bold, but rather as a replacement for the Curve.

My guess is RIM is targeting the 8900 at Corporate customers that don't actually want their employees surfing the net all day long downloading video, and are therefore quite happy for them to use non-3G devices that work perfectly well updating the odd web page over the air.

And given the device has wi-fi you should be fine to browse the net while you're having a coffee.

If you want more than that buy the Bold.

[caneau]

If the "Curve 2.0" was supposed to be corporate, it would come in a non-camera version, not with a higher resolution camera than the Bold.

Take what BGR says with a grain of salt, something tells me pre-release models are pre-release models for a reason...they still have bugs. One out of control process or a GPS that doesn't turn off can drain the battery.

If this device starts at the $149 price point and drops to $99 after a few months, it might do OK. There are way too many devices around the $200 mark (either out right now or soon to be released) that are half a generation ahead.

[impalass96]

Because the Bold is not on the NA T-Mobile network.......

[blackbandit18]

when is the Javelin comming out?