The Verizon BlackBerry Curve Is Officially Here!
CITA Wireless starts up in Las Vegas tomorrow and Verizon was first in line to make one of several pre-show handset announcements.
You’ve got to give it to Verizon on this one. They pretty much kept the release of the BlackBerry Curve 8330 under wraps. Most people thought that it would come out announce before the Sprint version, however, only few thought that it would come out be announced in March.
The announcement of the BlackBerry Curve 8330 will, unless RIM announces a BlackBerry with a touch-screen, will dominate the BlackBerry news until WES. I am going to try to hold off until then on getting one of these, hoping that that Verizon will announce it in black. I don’t know, however, if I am going to be able to wait that long.
Read the full press release here…
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Thank God!!! Finally!!!!
Well this will make many people happy. Good things come to those who wait, as long as it’s not forever. Guess the black Verizon was a nice hoax.
still no date?!
I read over the press release and saw nothing about a date?
ok nevermind.
If you go to the Image Library mentioned in the link it says:
“BlackBerry Curve 8330 – Available to Verizon Wireless Customers in May”
The folks at Engadget say the phone is dropping in sometime in May. I’m just shocked that Verizon has the cajones to charge $270 for a phone that’s almost a year old. . .especially given that the 9xxxx will (hopefully) hit later this year.
I’m still switching to AT&T in 19 days and will probably pay about $100 for my Curve.
Unbelievable. . .
Holy Blackberry Batman!
Ok so it’s good to have an announcement, but I’m still not too thrilled to have to wait another month plus some to buy it.
Of course Verizon made it look like crap. oh well, take what you can get right?
I wouldn’t say they beat sprint , this article should be changed as it deciving to say release in march when you can’t get it till May.
So my contact was off by a month… who cares, it’s finally official!!! NICE!
Now I am wondering if Sprint will announce in April or release in April. I still have a hard time believing that they could come out with the 8330 before Verizon.
Robb,
You must be getting mad traffic today. I just did a search on google for Verizon BlackBerry Curve and your site ranked number 1 and 2. That one post has almost a thousand comments.
@ Tritan,
Agreed… Although the post title said that the 8830 was “announced”, I did say “come out” a couple of times in the middle of the post that could be misinterpreted. Thus, I have updated the post…
@ Kells,
Not as much as you would think. I may be forced to write about the BlackBerry 9000.
Keats -
You think the picture of the curve posted above looks like crap? I don’t know, I think it looks great. Beggars can’t be choosers…
No way Sprint gets this first – RIM press release only mentions VZW.
The silver goes nice with my MacBook Pro.
If it was black, then I guess it would go nice with my T61. The silver isn’t all that bad, I actually like it.
Isn’t it RIM that determines what the VZ Curve will look like? I think it looks fine… as long as it’s not a funky color, who the heck cares.
Haha Singlus, I know. With the comments people make about the color, you’d think they were releasing a curve in colors like “puke green” and “turd brown”. There are options…switch carriers, get it custom painted, paint it yourself, or my personal favorite: Get Over It.
At least it’s not that cheesy gold color that T-Mo offers. Yuck.
Its about freakin time.
check out BGR for all the details on all the 8330 releases… sweet pics…
well for those of you that haven’t checked out blackberry.com yet… go to: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/device-detail.jsp?navId=H0,C221,P883
when you click on where to get it… it only lists Verizon. So I’m guessing that’s pretty official… that VZW will get it before Sprint. I’m still laughing at how many of you thought the fake picture of the Black VZW Curve was real! haha… sorry… but it’s kinda funny… it was clearly a fake.
Some information about the release date:
It’s been said that the Curve will be available through Direct Fulfillment only starting the last week of April. It will then be a few weeks later until retail stores will stock the phone.
On HoFo LP said that Direct Fulfillment is VZW’s way of saying that it can be ordered but that it isn’t available in stores or online.
I heard from a source close to the inside that the VZW will be in matte black, it seems VZW likes to surpise-who would have thunkit!
So through Direct Fulfillment how many days into May are we talking . . .
Still the date of release is not confirmed when’s the expected date for release with sprint/verizon? I’m about to jump on the 8830 when it drops for sprint. It is worth waiting for the 8330?
Boris – It’s not going to be black… It’s going to be silver. Here’s a link to a picture from CTIS: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2377/2378841482_b125fe559d.jpg
BB-less – We don’t know how many days yet it will take. You’ll first have to find a VZW rep that just doesn’t care and will actually order you one before they’re out in stores. You’ll likely get it the day or week that it’s released in stores if you order it DF. I’m thinking that the only advantage to DF, if you can even get a VZW rep to do it for you, is that you won’t be SOL come release day and your VZ store is already out of stock.
SKhan – I wouldn’t jump on the 8830 just yet. If you really want the CameraBerry I would hold out a little longer. Sprint release dates are usually two weeks or so behind VZW.
@ GBVZ
If you order it, it means you will get it shipped Fed Ex 2 days from the day you order it. It’s not a pre-order. It means they are literally sending you out the phone.
Yeah, I like the color as it is… it’s not shiny silver, but it’s still classy and business-like.
Blackberry Curve 8330:
http://www.blackberrycurve.com/beauty/downloads/desktop_four_1024.jsp
Our office cell phone lady told me that her Verizon rep said that the BB Curve did not pass Verizon’s in-house tests and would be delayed until mid May 2008. Anyone else hear this?
Verizon Sucks!
“Sprint’s 8330 announcement comes right behind Verizon ’s announcement on the same model. Like Verizon’s model, the Sprint 8330 has a 2-megapixel camera with video recording, music and video players, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, GPS, support for 8GB MicroSD memory cards, and high-speed EVDO Rev 0 Internet access. It also has the usual BlackBerry speed, reliability, and push e-mail.
However, Sprint’s never one to let Verizon show them up. The company put its own range of data services on the Curve, including the downloadable Sprint Music Store, streaming Sprint TV service, and Handmark Pocket Express news and information application. Sprint’s GPS capability is also unlocked to work with third-party GPS applications including the free BlackBerry Maps. In addition, the smartphone works as a modem for your laptop, with download speeds around 500 to 700 kbits/sec.
Sprint’s Blackberry Curve 8330 will be available in April for $179.99 with a two-year service agreement and $100 rebate, according to the company.”
@ LP
Oh thanks! More and more info about DF everyday! haha… I didn’t see you say that over at HoFo and didn’t want to bring up the topic again. Just figured I’d post that info here since I hadn’t seen it here yet. (And Robb fixed my account so I’m not blocked by the spam filter here anymore!)
@ Keats
Thanks for that link! It’s beautiful!
Keats,
I actually heard something about it being “pushed back” yesterday. They didn’t say why or when the new release date would be, but I was also told that the release was “pushed back”. Their exact words.
I really can’t wait for this phone. The delayed release is killing me. Verizon – give us this phone already!
@ JT
I will admit… it looks like Sprint FINALLY beat VZW to the punch with the 8330. You are right that your Curve will be cheaper than mine… and you are right that you’ll have more features. Honestly though… and I’m not just saying this to back up VZW… I could care less about having TV on my phone. I can’t watch TV w/out TiVo now. I would never download music from a Sprint store or a VZW store… I buy all my songs on my computer and then transfer them to my device manually. I don’t like the settings and the per song prices that both VZW and Sprint charge you for music. A news service would be nice… I’ll give you that… but a GPS system… I’ve always been one for actually knowing where I am… and not relying on a computer to tell me how to get to the grocery store.
Your only comment I really truely disagree with is when you said that Sprint is never one to let VZW show them up. That sounds a little too cocky and very misinformed to me. Keep in mind that will be the first BB that Sprint has released before VZW since the wheel was invented. Not to mention our superior coverage (built in entourage), and the fact that we’re not the company that’s loosing literally thousands of customers every quarter!
Why cant we get black…i was wainting for titanium or black…verizon just had to agree to the ugliest color….im just gonna get the red 8830
if you really want a different color go to this website…
http://cnn.cn/shop/blackberry-8330-c-200_468.html
you can order OEM housings and swap them out yourself. there are instructional YouTube videos on there. That’s what I would do… you’ll start to see parts and accessories for the 8330 listed once it’s out.
Hey does anyone know if the BB software support Mac OS? Sorry first time poster but long time reader.
Thanks!
the BB curve isn’t out for VZ in PA yet. i checked 3-4 stores ‘nd the ppl’ i talk to said they go to weekly meetings ‘nd they haven’t announced it there yet.
What…no posts with new info on the VZW Curve? One of you techno-geeks must have some inside information! I am going crazy! When is the release date!?! AHHHH!
According to Phonearena.com http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/Verizon-carrier-c_17_3.html
It will be available on April 30th. Also, if it the first time you buy a Blackberry with Verizon you get a $100 credit (in addition to your new every-two credit if you are eligible). I almost bought the World Edition blackberry the other day and the salesperson urged me to wait for the Curve.
Blackberry “virgin” here, just wondering what the difference is between the VZW 8830 world phone and the 8830 curve(other than camera,headphone jack)??
Hey GBVZ,
Thanks for the website. As soon as I get a reply about the compatibility of the housing for the Verizon, I will order one for me and my hubby. I don’t care for silver, so I’m ordering red for me and titanium for him! It doesn’t matter if the phone has the AT&T brand on the front! It won’t be silver!
Here is Verizon’s official release info:
Picture of Verizon Curve:
The article says it will be available in “May” and that’s all my rep can tell me too…looks like we have to wait a bit longer. =(
MAY 5th ONLINE, MAY 19th IN STORES.
There it is. Enjoy that.
says who??
Hi jtfromthebay,
I am a Mac user as well. I’m not sure if Bb is compatible with the Mac OS, but if you are concerned about integration with with iCal, I actually tie my current Bb to Google calendar (which is nice because it gives me calendar access from any computer obviously).
Says a reliable source from HoFo that received that information from an official Verizon launch package. I’m just passing on the info, so take it for what’s it’s worth if you want.
I’m not here to try to convince anyone of anything, but those dates are pretty much set in stone at this point. I’ll have my curve on the 5th. So Happy Cinco de Mayo to me!
NV,
Question – how will you have your Curve on the 5th? You can order it from your Rep, but I don’t see how you’ll have it on that date. If you know how to pull that off, please let me know. I am very interested!
Thanks,
Jay C.
Sorry Jay C. I meant I will have it ordered by then…so to correct myself “My curve will be on it’s way on the 5th”. Which basically means it’s mine. Sorry for the confusion. I meant that figuratively, it would be mine.