Will A CDMA BlackBerry Curve Be Announced Before WES?

by Robb Dunewood on January 22, 2008 · 104 comments

The largest BlackBerry show in the world, Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES), kicks off May 13th down in Orlando Florida. Word on the street is that a CDMA BlackBerry Curve could be announced before then.

That’s right, for all you Verizon subscribers that email RIMarkable everyday asking when the Verizon BlackBerry Curve will come, sometime in the next 4 months if the rumor is right.

CDMA versions of BlackBerry devices pretty consistently come out about a year after their GSM cousins. Will a CDMA BlackBerry Curve come out before WES? Possibly… The original BlackBerry Curve, however, didn’t come out until the end of May last year. I think that an official announcement of a CDMA BlackBerry Curve at WES, shortly followed by a launch on Verizon shortly thereafter is a bit more likely.

Rumor Mill

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  • Ben

    My what timing! My new-every-2 with Verizon is up in March and my contract is up in July! As long as it has GPS I’m sold…. hell even without GPS I’m sold!

  • http://blog.samuelfebres.com portorikan

    Maybe Sprint will scoop it up first, which would be nice.

  • bluehorseshoe

    Sweetness. If true, it will be a difficult decision as to keeping my Pearl or getting the Curve. Decisions, decisions, decisions…

  • Ben

    full QWERTY keyboard – FTW!

  • jason

    it’ll be ten times better on Sprint, V will just F*ck up all apps and take away GPS ha. cant wait to have all the features my pearl has but with a full board man im there

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  • Ben

    @Jason:
    Verizon leaves the BB OS alone for the most part (they use their own initial color scheme). And GPS is currently available on the Verizon Pearl so I don’t know why they wouldnt offer it on the Curve.

  • http://www.rimarkable.com Robb Dunewood

    GPS is free on the Sprint Pearl. Verizon makes you pay for it even though it is built into the device by default.

  • http://www.affiliatemarketing-mlc.blogspot.com Marcus

    I’m WAITING! I love the Curve. At least I love my SON’S Curve. He has had one for 6 months because he lives in an area that has AT&T Service and I don’t. I would have switched to get that phone but the only carrier in this area who has it is T-Mobile and I have suffered through T-Mobile lousy coverage before.

    Verizon wins the war on coverage. Loses the battles on phones. If they got both right it would be a great company. Maybe when they switch over in a few years to LTE the phone battles will be a moot point, the service areas will be a moot point and Cell companies will have to compete with CUSTOMER SERVICE…something none of them are strong on now.

    Marcus

  • hellno

    Ben, exactly as Jason and Robb pointed out verizon cripples the GPS and a few other functions and features from it’s branded BB’s to make you the customer pay more money to use those features which are already designed and built into your device by RIM. It’s another anti-consumer act from the verizon fat cats. Not sure whats worse verizon continuously screwing its customers or verizon customers which allow verizon to do so. Some are even so ignorant to the truth they even try to excuse and defend verizon for it’s anti-consumer actions. Ignorantia juris non excusat. Either way its a bad thing for consumers and a bad thing for RIM. Which brings on yet another wake up call for verizon customers which haven’t yet learn the TRUTH about verizon.

    Autonomous GPS receiver (the type which is in our BB’s with GPS) is receiver is able to calculate the handheld’s location relying solely on GPS satellites with no input from cellular towers. Like bluetooth (which is another favorite cripple target for verizon, Autonomous GPS has nothing to do with the cellular service they are paid to provide.

    Verizon Quietly Disables BlackBerry GPS
    http://www.usnews.com/blogs/daves-download/2007/8/22/verizon-quietly-disables-blackberry-gps.html

    Verizon gets me again with a disabled feature
    http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2007/07/verizon-gets-me.html

  • http://www.rimarkable.com Robb Dunewood

    Hellno,

    Unlike Apple with AT&T, RIM, in my opinion has given way too much power to the wireless providers and by doing so, have agreed to allow Verizon, or any other carrier to determine which features they will or will not allow to be enabled on their branded BlackBerry devices.

    Verizon isn’t anti-consumer because they feel their network is so superior to everyone else’s that they can charge for what everyone else allows for free. That is just capitalism.

    Customer’s are fickle, but, generally not stupid. If they feel that they are being screwed by their wireless company they will switch.

    As I write the post, I sit in my car connected to the the internet on my laptop via my BlackBerry 8130 being used as a broadband modem. According to speedtest.net, my connection is over 400 KB. My iPhone, on the other hand, is roaming and cannot find a signal.

    I know exactly what I am getting when I sign up for Verizon. A locked down BlackBerry that came out year later than it did on T-Mobile. I also know that I will be able to make phone calls, and post blog entries from just about anywhere.

    To me, the pros far outweigh the cons. I am not being misled. I am making an informed choice fully knowing Verizon has crippled native functionality in my device. I can live with out using GPS too slow to use while driving as compared to my Garmin so long as I can comment on my blog and make phone calls.

  • hellno

    Robb,

    I agree totally that RIM or any other manufacture letting verizon cripple their devices is wrong. Apple thank goodness broke the chain with the iPhone (as you brought up) Sure hope the manufactures in the future will be able to ride Apple’s coat tails when dealing with the “four orifices”.

    You can teather blackberry’s to your powerbook, but verizon’s got you that way too. When tethering verizon says “Consumers will need to purchase a $60 per month data plan that will allow unlimited high-speed internet connectivity using either the phone alone or tethered to the mobile PC.” http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2006/02/verizon_to_allo.html

    If you don’t purchase a data plan for tethering better watch out since verizon is watching your data usage since at verizon “unlimited” is not really unlimited. Expect a bill or worse verizon will cut you off like others before you have learned.
    Verizon Limits Its “Unlimited” Wireless Broadband Servicehttp://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/07/verizon_unlimited.html

    As there are also places you go where your verizon RIM BB is a paperweight and out of service when your Apple iPhone with at&t service has full service, thats just the nature of wireless technology. No provider has perfect coverage, to think verizon has any better coverage than the others is what verizon FUD is made up of.

    There is no reason why Autonomous GPS found on RIM’s products is being crippled by verizon. Perhaps RIM can make a end run around verizon and find a creative solution? Like Apple has done with “the amazing iPhone Maps application approximates your location using cell tower information and enabled local Wi-Fi networks. Drop a pin on a map, then move it to a specific location to get directions or find nearby points of interest. View Hybrid maps that display major street names over satellite imagery. Even check real-time traffic information. All with the remarkable, easy-to-use multi-touch interface on iPhone.”

    Sent from my iPhone

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  • sean76

    Please, too little to late! By the time this thing drops the BB 9000 series will be either getting ready to launch, or launched already on at&t! VZW is just to damm slow at getting a full keyboard camera Berry out! I gave up waiting already. Very happy with my business line being a Curve on at&t, and my personal line being a Venus on VZW. All there good for is voice anyway on VZW, and at&t is not that far behind! My emails used to take forever anyway with my 8800 on VZW! Like I said, too little to late for me.

  • beastmaster

    I agree with sean

    this is getting ridiculous… we wait and wait for Verizon to come out with the superior phone which is already available on the GSM carriers

    then, just when the Verizon model comes out, AT&T releases a new phone (iPhone, Curve). Now the model we have been waiting for so patiently is obsolete

    when will Verizon get their act together and release some decent phones to take marketshare away from AT&T. Verizon’s service wins hands down. Please stop giving away you’re competitive advantage to AT&T!!!!!!!!!!!!

    As for the other CDMA carrier, Sprint is officially finished…

    From the WSJ:

    Investors Run From Sprint
    Subscriber Defections
    And Gloomy Forecast
    Drive Down Stock 25%
    By AMOL SHARMA and ROGER CHENG
    January 19, 2008; Page A3

    Sprint Nextel Corp.’s shares plunged almost 25% as the wireless carrier reported worse-than-expected losses in cellphone subscribers and issued a gloomy outlook for 2008.

  • Greg B

    As a VZW customer, I too am frustrated beyond belief having to wait a year to get a cool BB that is already outdated by the time it’s for sale. You’ll get no argument from me there. However, I think the argument that any other phone company has overall U.S. coverage anywhere near the depth of VZW’s is just nonsense. And coverage is one thing, but quality of coverage is another. Once again, VZW is better when it comes to phone call quality and data speed compared with AT&T or T-Mobile. I’m not saying the other carriers are bad — just not as good. For many like myself, and I suspect Robb, that’s enough to keep me aboard.

  • Ben

    Robb and Greg you guys hit the nail on the head for me.

    I knew what I was getting into when I chose Verizon. It was my best option for my situation and I’ve been VERY pleased with the service/coverage I’ve recieved over the years. Yeah we may not get the coolest phones first, or some devices may be a little crippled, but for my particular situation the service/coverage I recieve makes up for it.

    I always tell people, when they ask what carrier they should use, to weigh the pros and cons. Yeah I prefer Verizon, but some people wouldnt benefit from the “IN” features because most of their friends/family are AT&T or T-Mobile. Verizon works for me because I have coverage EVERYWHERE I go and I use IN-txt and IN-calling A LOT.

    To be honest T-Mobile’s hot-Spot@home looks very appleaing, but it’s not worth making alllll my Verizon people having to waste text and minutes to contact me…. that and no 3G data… yet.

  • hellno

    For some you also need to weigh the that at&t is a pro union company, where verizon is constantly up on charges for union busting behavior. That coupled with verizon’s anti-consumer crippling behavior and it’s current wrong path using proprietary, closed, qualcomm technology are more than enough reasons for going with decent, standard, open. global GSM/EDGE technology provided by at&t or t-mo which have coverage on par with vzw.

    Union-Busting Verizon Wireless is the WalMart of TeleCom
    http://littlemind.wordpress.com/2006/07/09/union-busting-verizon-wireless-is-the-walmart-of-telecom/

    Stop Verizon Union Busting, New York to California
    http://www.unionvoice.org/lacountyfed/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=7449339

    Diary of a Union-Busting Campaign
    http://www.freechoiceatverizon.com/diary/

    Labor Stands United Against Union Busting at Verizon
    http://www.workinglife.org/wiki/Labor+Stands+United+Against+Union+Busting+at+Verizon+(Jun.+27,+2001)

  • http://www.rimarkable.com Robb Dunewood

    How in the world did the discussion turn to union busting? At the end of the day, hellno, most consumers really care about 3 things when it comes to wireless providers. Good coverage, good prices, and cool phones.

    The order of these three things varies greatly depending on what consumers value most.

    I am sure that you feel that Verizon is anti consumer and I know that you aren’t alone. I too am tired of getting new BlackBerrys a year later than the GSM carriers and will seriously consider switching to someone else just as soon as someone else fires up a network with the coverage, call quality, and speed as Verizon.

    That day is definitely coming, however, that day, my friend, is not today…

  • Ben

    Robb Dunewood FTW!

  • hellno

    When the thread starts talking about choice a smart consumer is a good consumer. It sure seems at least some vzw customers are completely out of touch when it come to knowledge of the company they chose to pay to provide them with service. Service is a good word since IMO a company removing functions and features and crippling others on customers devices is NOT a company which is providing good service. When talking about vzw service along with the FUD everyone needs to learn the truth.

    For a simple example of this comments like:
    “Verizon leaves the BB OS alone for the most part (they use their own initial color scheme). And GPS is currently available on the Verizon Pearl so I don’t know why they wouldnt offer it on the Curve.”
    Comments which are not only incorrect but show how mcwireless has brainwashed yet another consumer with their endless FUD. To some not knowing the truth, confusing the truth, accepting vzw lies, greed and arrogance, or worse blindly defending vzw’s anti-consumer actions might be ok, but to others especially those who pay special attention to RIM and it’s Blackberry devices a carrier who fouls RIM’s designs, making things harder on customers makes that provider not a choice at all. When speaking about choice the TRUTH about verizon needs to be part of that talk, not only are they screwing the device manufactures, customers, verizon is also proven to be union-busting. It’s one thing to be non-union, it’s a whole new level when a greedy, arrogant, anti-consumer service providing company is proven to be guilty of union-busting, this along with all of the other TRUTHS about verizon makes them a provider which is not a choice at all. The other communication service providers are as good if not better than vzw, there is no reason to wait years for blackberry devices to be released and to put up with verizon’s anti-consumer actions.

    A smart consumer is a good consumer. vzw customers using FUD worlds like “best” to describe verizon are just more examples of consumers which need to wake up and learn the TRUTH about companies before sending them a check every month to make things difficult for you.

    There is a good reason why cdma RIM Blackberry devices are few and far between, there is a very good reason why RIM Blackberry devices come out years after their standard, open global GSM counterparts… that reason is verizon. Nothing makes RIM and it’s customer more pleased than learning functions and features have been crippled by a greedy and arrogant verizon.

  • Ben

    @hellno:

    This is not new information to me… I just don’t care.

    Verizon works for me. I’m sorry they don’t work for you and that they get your panties in a wad with their corporate decisions.

    P.S. – also proudly and happily shop at Wal-Mart.

  • hellno

    Ben,

    So “This is not new information to me… I just don’t care.”? Then why would you make a false post on RIMarkable and try to mislead and FUD Jason’s correct statement? No reason to feel bad, your not the first and certainly won’t be the last to be suckered into verizon’s lies.

    A smart consumer is a good consumer.

  • BB

    hellno….did vzw rub you the way?

  • hellno

    the TRUTH is what matters….

  • BB

    Well the TRUTH is that verizon service is the best hands down. Consumer report says it,cnet says it….and i have seen it. my brother in law has the curve for at&t and my son has it on t-mobile and they both complain about the service and coverage…meanwhile i have my 2 yr old 7130e and have no problem at all. Also the service is not $60 i have it for 45.00 and for business enterprise users it is 30.

    Now lets talk about why your probably pissed and bringing up a whole lot of stuff that some consumers dont care about. You probably were on verizon wanted the iphone switched and now realized it sucks. too many clitches and AT&T does not service it so you have to go to Apple directly who is slow as a turtle on repairs and updates. Thats why verizon didnt take that phone, they wouldnt release the insurance and verizon wasnt going to let apple mess with their clientle like AT&T did, since they dont care about their consumers.OHHHH WAIT they do care about union busting, just dont care how good the phone is when they release it.

  • http://blog.samuelfebres.com portorikan

    Wow, someone jealous they don’t have an iphone?

    Those Apple accusations are pretty dumb.

    Anyway, Sprint wins hands down when it comes to service. You’d have to be a fool to think otherwise. On cost and service, Sprint is the champion.

  • BB

    Dude……Dude……DUDE…. ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS….SPRINT is the worst in costumer service and service….they are the best as far as cost cause they cant charge too much for crappy service. Sprint is losing more customers than anyother carrier. You would have looked smarter saying virgin mobile was a better carrier.

    Ohh and the iphone is crap, i do have one….when they have a real keyboard it will be the best phone. but not now……

  • HC

    I for one HATE unions, this is why I chose Verizon as my wirless carrier.

  • hellno

    Keep on dreaming up all the FUD BB, including words like “best” to describe a service provider. You and HC only prove the point made above that many verizon customers are ignorant about the TRUTH about verizon, never mind ignorant to the TRUTH about the REAL WORLD too. Verizon crippling and removing features and functions is nothing but anti-consumer, no spin can be made to make those actions OK. verizon is proven guilty time and time again of being union busting, no spin can be made to make those actions OK either, yet the sheep just keep on believing verizon’s FUD.

    Oh by the way verizon never had a chance with the iPhone there was no way Apple was going to make a phone for a few thousand customers running on closed, proprietary qualcomm cdma technology which is on it’s way out. There would be no sense for Apple to make the revolutionary iPhone for a service provider which would cripple and remove features and functions from it like verizon does to all its phones including it’s RIM devices. There is no spin which can be made to make verizon’s crippling functions and features from it’s customers RIM blackberrys a OK thing.

    Sorry verizon defenders there is nothing that can be said to defend verizon on anti consumer, and verizon’s union busting ways. Everything else “best this” “best that” is nothing but FUD.

    Willful ignorance. Learn the TRUTH.

  • Ben

    Ignorance is bliss.

    Thanks hellno, you have had me and my buddies in the office laughing all week with your rants. This is a freakin cellphone blog dude – chill out.

  • bluehorseshoe

    For the record…Apple approached Verizon first regarding the iPhone.

  • hellno

    Ben, smooth as glass here, just so sad to see the ignorance and the FUD passed around.

  • http://www.affiliatemarketing-mlc.blogspot.com Marcus

    I think hellno is an AT&T employee paid to post on these blogs to bash Verizon! :)

    How can he sit here and tell me who provides the best service in my area? I KNOW who provides the best service in my area and it is VERIZON by a million miles.

    I’m not going to tell him who has the better service in HIS area because I don’t know. So hellno…leave me alone and stop lying about service issues…VERIZON IS THE BEST IN MY AREA!

    As for union busting…even though I’m in favor of union busting, it in no way would influence what I thought was the best company to provide me cellular service. Same with a car company…I’ll buy what I THINK is the best car and could care less who makes it. If they can do it with union workers fine. If not…fine. NON-ISSUE hellno…forget it.

    Verizon obviously has the right to market phones anyway they want. If you don’t want one of their phones…get one some where else. Why are you here pissing and moaning about it all the time.

    I want Verizon to come out with the CURVE. They haven’t, so I wait. I’m getting great service from Verizon so I won’t switch to inferior coverage just to get a few bells and whistles that I want. After all, what good are the bells and whistles if all you get is dead air and dropped calls?

    Hellno…I don’t understand why you are here. What exactly is your agenda?

    Marcus

  • hellno

    bluehorseshoe,

    For the record you need to PROVE your statement with FACTS, and not FUD statements from verizon trying to desperately excuse themselves for not getting the iPhone. Apple talked to all the service providers, if your statement has any merit it makes verizon look even more ignorant and anti-consumer for not getting the revolutionary iPhone. Remember IF is the word since the time lines and stories don’t match up. Apple had started meeting with Cingular back in February 2005.

    http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/magazine/16-02/ff_iphone

    “And some other carrier was sure to sign with Jobs if Cingular turned him down — Jobs made it clear that he would shop his idea to anyone who would listen. But no carrier had ever given anyone the flexibility and control that Jobs wanted, and Sigman knew he’d have trouble persuading his fellow executives and board members to approve a deal like the one Jobs proposed.
    Sigman was right. The negotiations would take more than a year, with Sigman and his team repeatedly wondering if they were ceding too much ground. At one point, Jobs met with some executives from Verizon, who promptly turned him down.”

    Those same executives are having their ass handed to them on a daily basis thanks to Apple and the iPhone. But even verizon customers should thank the iPhone and Apple… for pushing Voda to make verizon’s upgrade path to standard, open, global GSM/LTE once and for all.

    Apple’s iPhone and the (Lack of) Future of Qualcomm
    http://seekingalpha.com/article/35109-apple-s-iphone-and-the-future-of-qualcomm

  • bluehorseshoe

    Is a national newspaper good enough for you regarding proof?

    http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-01-28-verizon-iphone_x.htm

  • hellno

    Marcus,

    You mean the same way verizon customers feel they can FUD about verizon being “the best”? Going as far as lies? (or ignorance?) like Ben did above when posting about verizon crippling GPS?

    No agenda but the TRUTH about verizon which is completely lacking from some ignorant verizon customers here.

    Don’t work for at&t but I also understand how important union’s are for America. There is ignorance about the importance of union’s and the importance of a smart consumer being a good consumer. those having the smarts to pay a company for goods and services which is doing the right thing for both it’s customers AND for it’s workers. verizon has been proven to fail on both counts.

  • bluehorseshoe
  • bluehorseshoe
  • bluehorseshoe
  • hellno

    bluehorseshoe
    #36. January 25th, 2008, at 3:34 PM.

    Is a national newspaper good enough for you regarding proof?

    NOPE since it seems the time line does not jive. verizon might have been stupid enough to turn down Apple on the iPhone but verizon sure didn’t have the first and only shot at the iPhone. Think about it, Apple wouldn’t make the iPhone for thousands of customers on a soon to be replaced network technology when the iPhone could be made for billions of customers on a standard, open, global network technology. Sorry spinning isn’t gonna make your latest grandstanding comment true. “bluehorseshoe #32. January 25th, 2008, at 2:27 PM.
    For the record…Apple approached Verizon first regarding the iPhone.

  • hellno

    bluehorseshoe,

    In your haste to grandstand FUD you missed a important part….

    “For the record you need to PROVE your statement with FACTS, and not FUD statements from verizon trying to desperately excuse themselves for not getting the iPhone.”

    NOT FUD statements from verizon trying to desperately excuse themselves for not getting the iPhone.

  • bluehorseshoe

    So you’re saying a national newspaper has lied to it’s readers and falsified news that has been published/printed. Is that what you’re saying then?

  • doc

    I just want the Verizon curve now. Once the others have 3G with wide coverage, I may dump verizon. But not today.

  • bluehorseshoe

    Ditto here doc…buy until then…

  • hellno

    bluehorseshoe,

    Thanks for that last link… It alone prove the USAtoday article as FUD.

    “Verizon told the USA Today” SORRY….. Not acceptable either… verizon has been proven too many time to count as liar’s.

    But even the FUD you point out about verizon and the iPhone prove it’s all about verizon and CONTROL over it’s customers and their customers actions. It also shows the complete failure of verizon’s greed and arrogance to get a revolutionary device for it’s customers. Since when was consumer communications about control? Way to go bluehorseshoe thanks for again proving the TRUTH though your desperate attempt to grandstand your FUD

  • bluehorseshoe

    Please, tell me what your thoughts are regarding the deal that Apple struck with AT&T? I’d be very interested to hear. Considering the fact that businesses are in it for money, I’d be disappointed if they weren’t (especially as an investor). And talk about greed, what is Apple taking away from AT&T? I could have sworn I saw Steve Jobs running around their offices in San Antonio…

  • hellno

    Which to bring things back to the thread is WHY verizon DOES NOT get RIM blackberry devices at the same rate and quantity as GSM providers. All the above are reasons why. As a RIM customer I not only understand but applaud RIM’s half ass support for failing cdma which is losing customers and service providers to GSM. As RIM supporters you are only fooling yourselves if you think RIM focusing business on cdma or verizon is a smart business move. Hence the year wait and the lack of RIM blackberry cdma gear. The crippling of devices (and verizon lies, blaming the manufacture) is enough to make any top tier device manufacture think twice before dealing with qualcomm cdma and verizon. Again think about it, RIM wouldn’t make a Blackberry for thousands of customers on a soon to be replaced network technology when the Blackberry could be made for billions of customers on a standard, open, global network technology.

    FACTS before fiction, TRUTH before fud.

  • hellno

    “bluehorseshoe #47. January 25th, 2008, at 4:03 PM.
    Please, tell me what your thoughts are regarding the deal that Apple struck with AT&T?”

    Are you showing us all that you are that ignorant to not see that Apple’s deal with at&t has not only been proven good for Apple and at&t?

    Are you showing us all that you are that ignorant to not see that Apple’s deal with at&t has not only been proven good for consumers AND other top tier device manufactures?

    Do you not understand the revolutionary iPhone, and Apple’s contract with at&t have not made Apple AND at&t bundles of money but even more important than that has made both media darlings (which bring in even more money long term) Have you been reading and understanding anything? Oh thats right you feel upgrading from proprietary cdma technology to a standard, open, global technology is a bad thing. Even verizon disagree’s with you since they are being forced to open up and upgrade to GSM/LTE. (Even though it took you pages and pages of links to PROVE the TRUTH of verizon’s upgrading to GSM/LTE with it’s dumping cdma.

    RIM has even commented that the iPhone has helped RIM. bluehorseshoe one of these days you might just figure it out, but then again you probably won’t.

    Willful ignorance. Learn the TRUTH.

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