According to frequent Howard Forums poster roc a fella, the BlackBerry 8703e from Verizon will be released in a few weeks on August 28th.
We don’t have any confirmation of the release date, however, roc a fella has over 3600 posts on Howard Forums and according top RIMarkable commentator, Thought, roc a fella’s word is golden.
Even though I am a Verizon subscriber I may pass on the BlackBerry 8703e as I am more partial to the candybar style 71xx series devices. Rumor has it that it won’t take the usual year for the recently leaked BlackBerry 8100 to come to Verizon. Unless there is some significant functionality that I will be missing out on with my BlackBerry 7130e, I will wait for the CameraBerry.
I have been impressed about how Verizon has been so agressive in bringing new models to the market this year.
Verizon has gone from being known as the carrier with the best network but lackluster phones to being the one with the best network and the hottest phones.
This year they’ve been first with the Treo 700w, 700p, the Q, the Moto multimedia RAZR, the LG Chocolate phone, etc… I also remember how everyone thought that Sprint would get the 700p before everyone else, but Verizon officially released it at the same time, and even began shipping before Sprint.
So if any carrier can bring the new BB 8100 in CDMA version out quicker than expected, it is Verizon.
I would also think that it would be advantageous to RIM if they can pull it off. Certainly, here in the important US market Verizon has a ton of credibility with its network, not to mention many millions of customers, and so a launch on VZW would only make the device more popular. Plus, the ability to use EVDO in that multimedia device would add to its appeal. Really, if you have a multimedia phone, you need 3G service to fully appreciate it, and the GSM version won’t have that.
As for the credibility of roc a fella: last year he was the one who broke the news about the Windows Treo, the 700w…you can check the engadget blog, among others, and see his name mentioned with this story. He also broke the news about the CDMA RAZR, as well as virtually every other new model for Verizon that came out in the fall/winter season last year. I have yet to see him be wrong.
I haven’t seen him post much this year yet, so I was glad to see him return with some juicy news.
I don’t know if he knows as much about the other carriers, but when it comes to Verizon, roc is the one in the know.
Robb, I don’t know if the fact that you have this blog will carry extra credibility with roc, but if you want to know about any plans for the 8100 series on VZW he would be the one to contact.
More confirmation, this time from BoyGenius:
Link on HoFo
It seems that BoyGenius knows roc…who woulda thought? I guess the in-the-know people know each other!
Check out the post…the comment at the end is priceless!
I’m really looking forward to the 8703e. It will make a nice
upgrade from my 7250e. I need a full QWERTY keyboard. I
skipped on the 7130e because it didn’t have the full QWERTY
keyboard. Then I will hold on to the 8703e till a full QWERTY
keyboard, multimedia BlackBerry arrives for CDMA.
aug 28th ssounds great to me
Can’t wait. Nothing like a Blackberry. Hate the Keyboard on the 7130e.
well, its the 28th and NO 8703e, any new geusses???
yeh, I agree – I anxiously awaiting the 28th to rush to the Verizon store & finally get the 8700 like my Cingular friends have been enjoying for Months…
Joe,
Now it looks like the 8703e comes out on September 1st.
I just called the local Verizon Wireless store, because they get their weekly shipments on Wednesday, their only shipment day is that day.
On the manafests there is no mention of Blackberry 8703e, only other models of phones, so I don’t think September 1, 2006 is likely, either.
Got my 8703e from Verizon today – photos on
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbf/sets/72157594292694650/
amazing screen quality
Am thinking of getting the 8703e from Verizon. It is more important for me to have a great phone than the great BlackBerry serivce – but of course I want both. So what is the verdict – how good is the phone?
Verizon’s Blackberry service in regards to the phone is excellent. The speaker quality is great, so I have a much easier time hearing the person that I am having the conversation with. I haven’t dropped any calls and dont have a complaint at all. Also, i hear that Paul rules!