[BigA]

Nope no luv for the GSM ladies. The GSM folk get Bold. While the CDMA crew gets the THUNDA!!!!! Seems like Verizon gets to play the exclusivity game just like the rest of the AT&T iPhone crowd.

[netPOSER]

Originally Posted by Dawg

I know you think I am a fanboy and thats fine if you want to say that.

Fanyboy? you sound like you work in their PR department.

[Girion]

People accuse me of working for Verizon all the time at work, because I'm always talking to people about my Pearl. And basically how I love BB in general...but you know, my phone WORKS. My service just plain works. For where I live, Verizon's service is the best. I've tried Nextel, Cingular/ATT, and Verizon beat them all.

As for my love of smartphones/Berrys, well that just comes from having it, using it, and knowing what it can do. The Pearl (for my money) is hands down the best mix of consumer friendly features and business/email functionality. Personal preference and YMMV. But if you love something (anything) don't you talk about it all the time to people you know? If you love your car, don't you talk it up? If you dig your new TV, don't you tell everyone how cool you think it is?

Why would your phone/service be any different?

[rorozco]

Touch is cool and is great for navigation but not that great to type on. You can type on it for short messages but try using it for longer messages and it is really limited.


Why can't anyone try a fold out keyboard and a full touch screen together?

[wgimenes]

Originally Posted by rorozco

<snip>

Why can't anyone try a fold out keyboard and a full touch screen together?

Vodafone UK has the LG F800. Absolute dire, if you ask me. The touch is clumsy, the keyboard too flat (no feel). It tries to be both and it is neither touch nor keyboard.

I suppose a RIM device would be much more refined but I can't see what advantage that a touch screen brings instead of a good function menu.

[kmccarthy]

wow this is such a shame that RIM jumped on the iphone bandwagon. ill stick with my pearl

[kwsmithphoto]

Well if Verizon is good enough for critical US government work (they just won a huge Blackberry contract), it's good enough for me. There's got to be a reason for that and I doubt they were just cheaper. In my personal experience, reaching people on ATT phones in the eastern seaboard and rural areas anywhere from the west coast has been a real problem for me. Much fewer problems if they have Verizon though. That's calling from a land line, BTW.

I suspect that this "Thunder" thing (what a stupid name) has been in development for quite a long time, and they're holding out to see what Apple does next to make it even more competitive. I've tinkered with some iPhones and HTC's and don't have too much trouble typing on them, and if anybody can get it to work even better, it's probably RIM.

As for WiFi...why? I honestly don't see the point in having it on a mobile phone or PDA these days. Almost everybody knows how to secure their networks now and "hotspots" cost money, so it's not a very compelling feature, IMO. I work from home and have a DSL account but also have a calling plan attached to it that's competitive with any of the VOIP companies, so a WiFi handset is pretty much useless to me. It also creates a security problem...

Well maybe it's useful to ATT users but Verizon's broadband footprint is much bigger while ATT is -still- building there's out. While ATT is busy catching up, Verizon is building out their LTE network and will likely hit the ground running with it long before ATT does. Just a guess, but an logical one, IMO.

So, you've got the most coverage and subscribers with Verizon already after the Alltel buyout, 3G speeds in more places for a much longer time, with LTE well underway. A Verizon-exclusive device to RIM clearly made sense since they already carry more Blackberry's than anyone else, and will instantly have a huge Euro presence via Vodaphone, which Apple has been struggling with (assuming you don't count cracked phones - they've sold a lot more iPhones than ATT is servicing).

Besides, being a photographer, I love the big screens on touch phones to show people my work. It would also be nice if RIM comes out with a proper browser that can use all that screen real estate, run Flash, etc. as well as the iPhone's do. That much remains to be seen but everything else about the Thunder sounds pretty good so far...especially if it's LTE ready!

[orich]

Verizon = deal killer. Oh well...

[newtonjack]

It is imperative that RIMM announces the Thunder and maybe have Verizon do some pre-launch ads to let the world know there is an answer to the iPhone on a network other than ATT.

Remember the 1st iPhone annopuncment? It was 6 months before the actuall launch date.

[kwsmithphoto]

Originally Posted by newtonjack

It is imperative that RIMM announces the Thunder and maybe have Verizon do some pre-launch ads to let the world know there is an answer to the iPhone on a network other than ATT.

Remember the 1st iPhone annopuncment? It was 6 months before the actuall launch date.

They've announced it, but my guess is that it isn't complete enough to actually advertise yet, that's why so little is actually known about it.

You also have to consider that Steve Jobs and their ad agency could sell snow to Eskimo's. They'll need more than the "Can you hear me now?" guy to get much attention with this thing.

[Sith_Apprentice]

you are going to see more advertising for the 9500 than any other single BlackBerry to date. possible all recent ones combined. VZW/Voda have an amazing target to hit with this one if they want to keep it.

[kwsmithphoto]

Good point.

[classact]

Originally Posted by BigA

Nope no luv for the GSM ladies. The GSM folk get Bold. While the CDMA crew gets the THUNDA!!!!! Seems like Verizon gets to play the exclusivity game just like the rest of the AT&T iPhone crowd.

If the Thunder is "real" then it will also be GSM because the exclusivity claimed is for Verizon and Vodafone; the later is GSM but just not in the USA.

[newtonjack]

Wish they would hurry, this will be my first Blakberry. Have a Treo 700P for almost 2 years and that contract runs out soon.

[Berrymedic20]

Originally Posted by Dawg

Name something other than GPS that is locked out of BB devices? And technically its not locked you can use it you just have to pay for it.

Tethering service. Done. (Yeah, you can pay for it, but other services don't require that you pay extra).

[michael12005]

Stop buying new BB's and i phones until such time as the manufacturers offer them WITH ANY CARRIER YOU CHOOSE. It will take but a couple of months of NO SALES and everything will change to our benefit!

[kwsmithphoto]

Originally Posted by classact

If the Thunder is "real" then it will also be GSM because the exclusivity claimed is for Verizon and Vodafone; the later is GSM but just not in the USA.

It's a given that it'll do GSM, but will it do it on the US frequencies? Probably not because Verizon has no use for that.

Qualcomm is developing a chipset that will do both CDMA and LTE but it won't arrive in time for the Thunder (or the Bold).

[Demon]

Originally Posted by michael12005

Stop buying new BB's and i phones until such time as the manufacturers offer them WITH ANY CARRIER YOU CHOOSE. It will take but a couple of months of NO SALES and everything will change to our benefit!

That's not going to happen.