As I look back over the year, one of the questions that was asked quite often by RIMarkable readers was when is the BlackBerry xxxx coming to Nextel? The last Nextel BlackBerry to hit the street was the BlackBerry 7100i over a year ago back in Q4 and many sources say that Sprint / Nextel have no intention of releasing another Nextel BlackBerry running on the iDEN network.
One thing that I have learned over the passed two years of blogging about BlackBerrys is that the only people that love their devices more then die-hard BlackBerry users are die-hard Nextel BlackBerry users. The number of Nextel BlackBerry users that have no intention of moving to another carrier or even over to the Sprint side of the house until Sprint forces them to move while kicking and screaming is impressive to say the least.
I am a Verizon BlackBerry user so I kind of know how Nextel BlackBerry users feel. With Verizon, however, you know that there is light at the end of the tunnel because new devices will eventually come out a year or so later. Nextel BlackBerry users, on the other hand, have no light. At least none has been rumored that we know of.
I think the big issue for many Nextel BlackBerry subscribers is that they are business users and their companies have built a lot of process around Nextel’s nationwide walkie-talkie service. Taking this feature away from many users is like taking their mobile device all together.
One rumor that we have heard is that Sprint may be working on a BlackBerry that supports both CDMA and iDEN, however, we don’t believe that the walkie-talkie feature works inter-network. I think if Sprint came out with a CDMA BlackBerry that supported walkie-talkie communication with users still on the iDEN network, Nextel BlackBerry users would start switching in droves; not so much because Nextel BlackBerry users want to switch to Sprint, but because they know that they will eventually have no choice and those that didn’t move to the SureType BlackBerry 7100i, are working on devices over 2-4 years old.
For what it’s worth, my Sprint source tells me that they’ll be rolling out a PTT app (called QChat, I think) that WILL support cross-network communications. Allegedly, it’ll be available sometim in Q3 2007.
I remember reading about a year ago that Sprint would eventually have the the ability to roll out QChat which I believe is the Qualcomm version of PTT, however, I wasn’t aware that it could bridge CDMA and iDEN networks. If your Sprint source is correct, this is indeed good news.
From what I have heard, QChat rivals the speed of Nextel’s 2-way walkie-talkie. I think one of the main reasons Nextel subscribers are so reluctant to move over in addition to not being able to work with Nextel users that haven’t switched yet is becasue the PTT that Sprint offers is very slow compared to Nextel.
I can confirm my rep told me the same about QChat and it being a bridge between CDMA and iDEN PTTs. The BB model is supposed to be a variant of the “Papa Bear” model that EDGE networks will be releasing this spring…except it won’t be out until Fall of 2007. It will also have Wi-Fi. My rep said that they have been told by the govt to get off iDEN by 2012 as the govt will be taking control of it then.
Actually the government has not ordered Nextel off of IDEN, it has reorganized the spectrum of frequency that the IDEN network currently resides on.
It’s really works for me.Thanks dude.
This is Great News indeed!! I have been with nextel since they first became Available,and my business revolves around the walkie.I cant afford to ditch the walkie,and have tryed other types of carriers with walkies,but they always fall short.I really would love the Idea of say the world edition,maybe even the Curve or pearl 2 with the abilty to bridge that gap.Currently i have to use both nextel (walkie)and sprint(Mobile Broadband) for my needs,because i lack the desire for either nextel BB currently available..Having my contact list maxed out now i am Over Ready for the next generation of Nextel Blackberry
Build it and Im there,along with likely most of my associates and Droves of other nextel subscribers..Did someone flick a bic at the end of the tunnel or was that a flicker of lite…
I just spoke with account services today. The only thing I can do to keep from having to move from another carrier is their word that Q1 08 there will be a blackberry device. The sooner the better. This would be a GREAT Christmas selling device. They need to get a move on!
They could or would not elaborate more. My wife is ready to switch to AT&T and if they take too long, then maybe I will need to as well.
That stinks because they have really waited too long to give new life to the Iden blackberry and they could do so well with it as a Curve or Hybrid or something like that with the dual technology, walkie talkie and such.
I guess all we can do is keep our fingers crossed. If I were Sprint, I would be screaming to the mountaintops to give hope to those that want to stay on.
Cingualr or AT&T already has a BB with PTT. I dont really care that its not as good as Nextel/Sprint but that its no additional cost to use 🙂
Lets keep our fingers crossed.
Hey everyone, I use the 7520 as I refused to switch my company to the 7100 series as we write to many emails on the go for that… I heard that RIM is going to be coming out with a rough and tough new model for the 7520.. as I have to continually replace the companies phones roughly every year b/c my ppl are so rough on them… Which is becoming a huge pain in the ass and expensive.. thank god for Ebay.. 🙂
Willthe Blackberry Curve be available for nextel users in walkie talkie and when?
Thank You
I just talked to the rep at the nextel repair shop and he told me that at the last meeting that he had, that motorola was going to license out their PTT technology to 3rd parties. And that their will be a new nextel blackberry this summer. He also said that nextel phones will be made by lg,samsung,nokia,etc.
I just asked Sprint customer support and the following was the answer:
“We do have a new Blackberry phone coming out this summer but we don’t have the specific information.”