Comments on: Laptop Magazine Q&A with Research in Motion’s Mike Lazaridis

By: St215

St215 — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:56:53 +0000

Okay, I don’t have a comment but I do have a question and since I’m a fledgling looking to buy a BB and you all seem quite knowledgable, I want to ask you all to make sure I get the right one. The 8830 is a CDMA/GSM phone so when they talk about porting the BB Curve over to CDMA for Verizon, does that mean they will get rid of the GSM feature altogether? I like the silhouette and the camera feature of the curve but I’d also like a GSM phone and since I’m on Verizon, I was wondering if I should wait for them to come out with the curve or should I switch carriers.

By: Verizon Needs To Release a CameraBerry Now! | RIMarkable | The official, unofficial BlackBerry Weblog

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:42:59 +0000

[...] and co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, the java based nature of the BlackBerry allows it to be “quickly ported over” to CDMA hardware. If it is easy to do, the only reason I can see that you don’t is [...]

By: Pismotam

Pismotam — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:06:58 +0000

Yep, I dumped Verizon for Cingular a loooong time ago because their stinkin’ phones wouldn’t work in Europe. ML has nothing to offer but weasel words to apease the CDMA masses.

By: steir

steir — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:53:19 +0000

Let’s all just accept the fact that it really doesn’t take an extra year to port RIM technology to CDMA. Exclusivity with a carrier amounts to big bucks for the handset guys and is evident everywhere in the business. Remember the initial roll out of the 7100? Hottest item out from RIM in years yet it was only available from T-Mobile initially.

Look, folks usually stick with Verizon for the technology and support. It’s far superior to anything out there and Verizon knows it. By not paying for exclusivity, they’re able to put more $$$ into infrastructure and for that I am grateful. However, I’m with Cingular right now because I couldn’t wait for the 7130. Even though I’ll be back after being in Cingular hell for two years, I was willing to make the jump in order to get the phone I wanted when it was available. There’s got to be some business justification Verizon management can make in order to spend a few bucks on an initial introduction of new handset technology when it makes sense and I think it makes sense to protect the loyal Verizon BB customer base.

By: Robb Dunewood

Robb Dunewood — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 17:54:22 +0000

Well Ned,

It really depends on how bad you want to stay with Verizon. They will eventually come out with Pearl like device but I am sure that it will cost more than a penny. At least initially.

By: Ned

Ned — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:16:07 +0000

So does that mean I should not take advantage of Amazon.com’s sale of Blackberry Pearl’s for $.01 b/c I will be able to get one from VZ sometime soon? I need a BB and want the Pearl (I like the size and don’t have a preference for the QWERTY keyboard). I like VZ but don’t want to wait for nothing.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 20:23:43 +0000

I would agree with the above concerns. Does anyone have any more recent information on when Verizon will present the 8800 on their shelves. I can afford to wait a bit to change over to them but only to a point.

Where did you hear the rumor about Verizon having the 8800 in May or June?

By: Rick Mahn

Rick Mahn — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 03:31:58 +0000

Robb, you are justified in your frustration. When a company exec comes out and outlines how simple it is to do something, you have to question why it takes so long for it to actually happen.

I’ll take your gripe one step further - if its so simple, why not bring GSM and CDMA devices along in parallel? Obviously because one of the carriers will pay extra to have exclusive rights to a device for a period of time. But that still doesn’t answer why they usually wait until a GSM device is being shipped before turning their attention to a CDMA device (or vice-versa).

By: Thought

Thought — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 02:25:22 +0000

Robb: as more often than not, I totally agree with you.

It would be fascinating to know the real reasons behind the time lag from GSM to CDMA release for any given BB device.

One good thing: if the rumors are true, the CDMA BB 88xx will be out in May or June, “only” 3 or 4 months after the GSM release, instead of about a year. That is a huge improvement.

By: ceebz

ceebz — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 23:22:17 +0000

You act as though the delay is all RIM’s fault. The carriers need to test and debug firmware’s, negotiate pricing, etc.

Honestly, if CDMA users are so upset that they get products a year late, move to a GSM carrier.