How Big Of A Hit Will Verizon’s BlackBerry Curve Be?

JC
#1. April 24th, 2008, at 9:07 AM.

Honestly, why is this curve so much better than ATTs?

Thought
#2. April 24th, 2008, at 9:11 AM.

I think the VZW BB Curve will indeed be a huge hit. How whether it will be their biggest selling BB ever…well, who knows?

But I do believe VZW will sell a ton of these new devices.

It’s interesting, because it speaks to what many have noted time and time again: that the market for CDMA BB’s in America is a huge one, and so maybe RIM should release CDMA BB’s more concurrently with their GSM versions.

On the other hand, though, if RIM can wait a year and still end up selling a ton on a carrier like VZW, then what is their motivation for changing their development cycle? In the end it will still sell incredibly well.

JohnnyHeff
#3. April 24th, 2008, at 10:31 AM.

…im not entirely sure it isnt that rim hasnt already developed the cdma versions, so much as its that the market will be oversaturated.

i think it is more a strategic move in that if the product is a success, then they now have the momentum behind them and the built in word of mouth promotion that has been spreading for the past year. add that to the anticipation that is building during that time and you get a highly motivated market.

I.M. Anxious
#5. April 24th, 2008, at 11:27 AM.

I hope the release is only a week or two away! I am sitting here with a cracked screen and a broken track wheel - I can’t wait much longer! Seems pointless to get a new 8703…

bluehorseshoe
#6. April 24th, 2008, at 11:41 AM.

Personally, I believe it will be a big seller because of the network it’s coming to. People make their choice based on one of two reasons…either the phone or the service. Because RIM’s most popular phone is finally coming to VZW, it’s going to be a winner for those that base their decision on the network as opposed to the phone. I personally am glad it’s coming and look forward to checking it out.

It certainly makes sense for RIM to launch the GSM versions first since GSM covers a much higher percentage of what’s out there, but the release for now on VZW will be a popular one. When VZW switches over to LTE, I think all of this will change going forward though…

REV
#7. April 24th, 2008, at 11:50 AM.

While I think the Vzw Curve will be a big seller, one has to wonder how long Verizon can keep lagging a year behind GSM carriers vis-a-vis BBs.

After all, that “How Long Will It Take…” post has been around for almost a year. The number of posts suggests there are a lot of Vzw subscribers who have been waiting a long time for this particular BB.

I, for one, jumped ship to AT&T, rather than wait another year for Vzw to get their Curve. I have to wonder how many other people did likewise.

Unless you live in BFE, the AT&T network isn’t that bad at all. After six months, I’ve yet to find it at all inferior to Vzw in terms of coverage or clarity. Personally, I don’t find “It’s the Network” to be all that compelling anymore.

JT
#8. April 24th, 2008, at 12:34 PM.

Rev- You may have switched networks and of course depending on where you live, there probably minimal differences between the to carriers, however you’re still surfing around the verizon oriented posts. However, I’m sure many have thought about switching networks, just as I have thought about crossing over but refrained.

Bluehorseshoe- What’s this LTE you speak of?

REV
#9. April 24th, 2008, at 2:10 PM.

JT - I’m not claiming that Vzw doesn’t still have better coast-to-coast coverage; I’m just speaking from personal experience.

I live in an exurb about 60 miles outside New Orleans. Not a top-tier market by any means, I suspect. Not only do I get great coverage out here in the sticks, but I’ve driven from my house, across all of Louisiana, across most of Texas, about half of New Mexico and straight up to Denver, and I never saw any difference in my wife’s Vzw service and my AT&T service.

Certainly not a definitive or exhaustive comparison, I know, but still kinda killed the “It’s the Network” hook for me.

bluehorseshoe
#11. April 24th, 2008, at 2:43 PM.

@ JT,

Here’s the article from VZW…

http://news.vzw.com/news/2007/11/pr2007-11-29.html

@ REV,

It makes a difference if you use the phone for tethering. EDGE doesn’t come close to REV.A. VZW beats everyone in that respect and has a larger coverage area in the US for 3G services. As for basic phone calls, browsing on the phone, etc., sure, not that much of a difference except for select areas. I reside in AT&T corporate land and the service sucks. Go figure. I just want whatever works best.

tyler
#12. April 24th, 2008, at 7:27 PM.

I can’t wait to get rid of my HTC 6800 and get the curve. Been putting off throwing this device out the window for awhile now. BTW, release date from RIM: B2B sector is April 25. Retail/Online is May 14. I will be calling my rep first thing in the morning tomorrow!

Bob
#13. April 24th, 2008, at 8:56 PM.

I’ve often thought about switching to AT&T. It’s just the fear of the unknown and the fact that the Verizon network works sooooo well for me. It’s always there and always clear as a bell.

AT&T may be just as good from a network perspective, and they certainly get the cool phones 1st. Just not willing to go through the hassle if the AT&T network became an issue.

All that being said, the impending release of the Curve is just about perfect timing to replace my 2 year old 8703, which has been a workhorse of a phone.

By the way, does anyone know if the new BB operating system I’ve been reading about will be included on the Verizon Curve.

beastmaster
#14. April 25th, 2008, at 2:47 AM.

I will buy the Verizon Curve as soon as it is released… but I keep thinking there is a 2nd Generation 3G iPhone coming soon, which I would prefer

JohnnyHeff
#15. April 25th, 2008, at 9:25 AM.

I can tell you this. VZW abosolutely, unequivically DOES have the lowest churn rate of all the carries… bar none. All you need to do is read the press releases and quarterly filings of all the different carries and you will see that VZW, every quarter, has the lowest churn rate (btw- its also in most trade publications following every quarterly reporting period).

That having been said, I doubt very much that most people choose a carrier based on phone selections. Not to say it isn’t done, but that population is not as large as you might think. If it was, you wouldn’t see VZW having the best churn rate in the industry. Its common knowledge that they have always been very lacking in the phone styling dept.

I still say its a marketing thing b/c most VZW customers will “gut it out” so to speak until the phones they want are released. You can’t beat their coverage. And trust me, anyone who says that ATT’s coverage is just as good as VZWs(e.g. the “I haven’t noticed a difference, and I’ve been to x, y and z”) is saying that to make themselves feel better. I’ve had both and it definately is not the same coverage.

JohnnyHeff
#16. April 25th, 2008, at 9:32 AM.

@ JT

LTE stands for Long Term Evolution. It is the OFDM next gen network technology that VZW has decided to adopt (over its current CDMA network).

mrmoe
#17. April 25th, 2008, at 10:11 AM.

In the past 5 years I have had ATT TMobile and Verizon phones. Verizons network is hands down better than the rest. Where I live ATT is the worst out of the 3.

REV
#18. April 25th, 2008, at 12:31 PM.

JohnnyHeff,

What, do you own Vzw stock or something? Sheesh.

I’m not sure what makes you think you’re such an authority on Vzw vs. AT&T, or why you think you know more about me and my cellular reception than I do.

Maybe Vzw works better where you live and you. Whatever. Once again, in my own personal experience, AT&T works just as well as Vzw everywhere I’ve been and everywhere I need it to.

But please, DO tell me more about how I’m deluding myself. I can’t wait to hear more.

JohnnyHeff
#19. April 25th, 2008, at 12:58 PM.

actually, i dont own stock. you cant. its a partnership entity, owned by Verizon (55%) and Vodafone PLC (45%).

as for being an authority on your cellular reception, i dont claim to be. but you, yourself, said that you didn’t do an exhaustive test on whether it really was the same or not. and, truthfully, neither have it. i do, however, know my experience using both. and, i have seen the technicall reports prepared by the technicians that show that vzw does, in fact, cover more area with stronger signals than att. and no, i cannot support that so its up to you to take my word on it.

i will, however, point out that its not suprising that you feel the coverage is the same where you are in louisianna. that is former bell south mobile country, which eventually became part of cingular, which in turn became part of the “new” att. it would seem somewhat silly if att could provided better coverage it what is essentially their own backyard.

and again, the churn rate for vzw is much lower than att. if atts coverage were near what they claimed it to be, then i would expect that more people would stay with them… no?

Funeralizer
#20. April 25th, 2008, at 1:30 PM.

Well I cant speak for anywhere else but here in Houston Verizon has better coverage than ATT. I tried both ended up coming back to Verizon and giving up my curve at least until it finally drops on The Big Red Machine!!!

REV
#21. April 25th, 2008, at 2:02 PM.

Verizon Communications, Inc., which includes the wireless division, is a publicly-traded corporation on the NYSE. Several of my mutual funds hold this stock, and I’ve bought many shares myself.

I don’t dispute your claim of a much lower churn rate, but let’s cut the condescending “I must be deluding myself” stuff, since you don’t have any better information than me, and I clearly disclaimed I was speaking only from personal experience.

And, yes, I’m in old Suncom/BellSouth/Cingular territory. But I also got fine reception with AT&T, on par with Vzw, in the ass-ends of TX, NM and CO.

All I’m saying is that in my experience - both at home and while traveling - Vzw’s “It’s the Network” really doesn’t have the same punch it used to for me.

JohnnyHeff
#22. April 25th, 2008, at 2:24 PM.

…actually, you asked if i owned stock in vzw, which is not the same as verizon (and no, i dont own stock in them, either).

and again, im not disputing your personal experience, nor was what i said condescending given that its my opinion. which, like you, i am allowed to have. what i originally said was not an attack on you or any other att customer. just my opinion as a former cingular customer who, when speaking to current cingular / att customers, is told that coverage is average at best.

however, the churn numbers seem to speak to the validity that vzw does, indeed, have the best coverage. lord knows its not the flashieness of the phones, the world-class customer service or the best-in-class pricing.

i don’t doubt that you have what appears to be equal coverage where you are (or go too). but bear in mind that “ass-ends tx, nm and co” are former pacific bell and nevada bell territories. pacbell and nevada bell were eventually bought up by sbc communications which is… att.

bluehorseshoe
#23. April 25th, 2008, at 2:25 PM.

I can tell you that AT&T sucks in San Antonio where they headquarter. My wife dropped them for VZW. Much better now. But it varies from where you go. In my experience along with being on the road, VZW wins out for phone coverage and 3G data services coverage.

REV
#24. April 25th, 2008, at 3:10 PM.

JohnnyHeff,

Really, it’s poor form to reference someone’s post and say that their opinion is baseless and nothing more than an attempt to make themselves feel better. Maybe I took that to be snider than you intended. I dunno.

But other than that, I don’t disagree with much of what you say. Is Vzw better coast-to-coast than AT&T? I agree it probably is, though I admit my opinion is based only on anecdotal information. I also admit that I may find myself in Tampa or Albany or Walla Walla tomorrow and discover that my AT&T coverage sucks balls.

For me, however, the difference between the two carriers is almost nil. For some, like bluehorse, the gulf between the two is very large. But I would guess that, overall, the coverage gap is shrinking, and eventually, “It’s the Network” won’t make as much hay as it used to.

In other words, as AT&T comes closer and closer to parity, will we see customers - particularly gadget geeks like us - start to feel less and less inclined to put up with Vzw’s somewhat lacking hardware offerings?

JohnnyHeff
#25. April 25th, 2008, at 3:30 PM.

…actually, i never claimed that your opinion is baseless. nor was i referencing you post. if you were to go back and read it, i never once singled you out.

in addition, i agree that the parity between the two, as far as network coverage is concerned, is growing smaller. it is an inevidable occurance. there is only so much room at the playground, so to speak.

REV
#26. April 25th, 2008, at 3:43 PM.

Dude, come on.

You never used my name, but parroted the language from my earlier post (“I haven’t noticed a difference, and I’ve been to x, y and z”) and stated that anyone saying that is only doing so “to make themselves feel better”.

JohnnyHeff
#27. April 25th, 2008, at 3:59 PM.

…dude. i was merely making a point about how i felt on a subject. and for the record, you dont have a monopoly on the “ive been to x, y and z” arguement. just about any arguement ive seen in support of att having as good as, if not better, a network than vzw uses that arguement. in fact, their commercials incorporate it. i think that maybe you might be just a little presumptuous to think that youre the only one to have ever had that opinion.

having said all that, i apologize if i may have stepped on your toes the wrong way. i wasnt trying to imply anything towards you in specific.

REV
#28. April 25th, 2008, at 4:25 PM.

I didn’t think I was being presumptuous, given that I used almost the exact same language 3 posts above your post in question.

I say: “I’ve driven from my house, across all of Louisiana, across most of Texas, about half of New Mexico and straight up to Denver, and I never saw any difference in my wife’s Vzw service and my AT&T service.”

Your next post says: “And trust me, anyone who says that ATT’s coverage is just as good as VZWs(e.g. the “I haven’t noticed a difference, and I’ve been to x, y and z”) is saying that to make themselves feel better.”

Purely coincidental? If you say so.

Reliable Source
#29. April 26th, 2008, at 3:15 AM.

I’m switching to AT&T. Not worth the wait anymore.

Earltnm
#30. April 26th, 2008, at 8:04 AM.

I have a VZW cell and an ATT 8300 and would love to switch to a single VZW Curve but can only do it when it has worldphone capabilities.. Anyone hear when that might be coming?

Cedric Bosch
#31. April 27th, 2008, at 7:50 PM.

cdma is end of life, RIM is doing the right thing by giving the most attention to the GSM market. verizon isn’t the only service provider dropping cdma and upgrading to gsm/lte.

Verizon dumps CDMA for GSM-based LTE in 4G networks
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/21/verizon-dumps-cdma-for-gsm-based-lte-in-4g-networks/

Leigh
#32. May 1st, 2008, at 11:04 AM.

Does anyone have a firm release date for the BB Curve yet?

Alex
#33. May 2nd, 2008, at 3:04 PM.

According to Verizon http://news.vzw.com/news/2008/03/pr2008-03-28g.html Sent an email to Brenda in Public relations the BB Curve will be out on May 9th for internet sales and May 12th in all Verizon Stores. Price is $269.99 after a $50 rebate with 2 year contract.

Lainie Moore
#34. May 2nd, 2008, at 6:02 PM.

Leigh & others,

Looks like the wait is almost over. According to this link the Curve is to be released on-line on May 9th, May 12th in stores.

Danno
#35. May 5th, 2008, at 11:06 AM.

Can anyone tell me if the the Curve will have some features crippled with Verizon branding? I love my Razr except for the fact that all of its features are a part of the Vcast system, to the point where I don’t even have a custom ringtone because I refuse to pay Verizon for features that should come for free with the phone. I’m worried that they’ll do this again with the Curve. Or are the Blackberries immune to this kind of firmware crippling?

roger
#36. May 11th, 2008, at 11:46 PM.

Haha this is funny as hell. Let’s all put our monster ego’s aside and quit wasting space with pointless chatter about who’s service is better where we live. Go test it if you really want to know. And let’s all be excited about the damn curve being released on verizon!