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Rumor: AT&T May Skip Past The BlackBerry Bold 9780 And Go Straight To The BlackBerry Dakota

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Many AT&T BlackBerry users have been wondering what the delay on the AT&T branded version of the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is seeing how the device has been available on T-Mobile since mid November of last year.  Rumor has it, however, that AT&T may skip over the BlackBerry Bold 9780 and go straight to the, yet to be officially announced, BlackBerry Dakota…

Fudzilla is reporting that its sources are stating that AT&T is move the last of it’s BlackBerry Bold 9700 inventory and that it has no intention on ordering more.

The new Bold, or Dakota if you will, is a bit closer than we were first led to believe. Apparently from the whispers we hear, AT&T could have the new member of the Bold family on the shelf for sale as soon as early or mid-spring, but significant quantity is likely not expected at the store and authorized reseller level till very early summer.

If the release scale for the BlackBerry Dakota, the first QWERTY BlackBerry with a fixed touchscreen, is accurate the rumor that AT&T may forgo the BlackBerry 9780 seems very plausible.  This seems to be the route that Verizon took with the BlackBerry Storm 9750, deciding to hold off on  the device possibly for the rumored BlackBerry Monaco.

Is A 3G BlackBerry PlayBook Coming To AT&T This Spring?

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We knew that a Wi-Fi only BlackBerry PlayBook is launching sometime in Q1 and that a 4G PlayBook will hit Sprint this summer.  What we didn’t know, however, is that there are credible rumors that a 3G BlackBerry PlayBook will hit AT&T early this Spring possibly followed shortly thereafter by an LTE variant.  CIO’s Al Sacco has a high-level BlackBerry administrator that works closely with Research in Motion as a source and has this to say…

My source says RIM is on track with its Q1 2011 release for the Wi-Fi only PlayBook, with business orders expected to commence in February for March shipping. And the source says a document from one of RIM’s carrier representatives who works with AT&T suggests that a 3G cellular version of the BlackBerry PlayBook, on AT&T, is expected to become available starting in late March or early April…

So many questions come to mind, but, the first one is that if an LTE variant of the BlackBerry PlayBook is coming relatively soon after the 3G version on AT&T, would it be branded to Verizon?  There is no question that I still want to get a PlayBook as soon as it comes out, however, a 4G variant on Verizon might be enough to make me wait…

[Via CIO]

How Long Before We Get A CDMA BlackBerry Torch? (Hopefully With Better Legs Than The GSM Variant)

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I know that all the news over on Verizon right now is about the iPhone 4 which will be hitting their network on Feb. 1oth, but, contrary to popular belief, most Verizon BlackBerry users won’t be switching over to iPhone (although quite a few might).   It has been a while since a high end CDMA BlackBerry device hit Verizon shelves and there a lot of BlackBerry Storm, Tour, Storm2, and even Bold 9650 users that are looking to move on to a higher end BlackBerry device.

It usually takes about 6 months or so before a CDMA variant of a device comes out after its GSM counterpart which means we should see a BlackBerry Torch ready for Sprint and Verizon sometime around the middle of next month.  Let’s hope that, like with the BlackBerry Bold 9650 over the Bold 9700, the CDMA BlackBerry Torch has a little more under the hood.  Just being on AT&T was enough to make me return my BlackBerry Torch, but, I wasn’t terribly impressed with the hardware either as the device just seemed under powered.

Both Verizon and Sprint are long over due for a higher end BlackBerry, and even though the Torch was a little less than expected when initially released, I’d  gladly use it seeing how I am one of those corporate BlackBerry users that will be on the BlackBerry platform for the foreseeable future…

RIMarkable Recap: Our Top Stories From The Week Of Dec. 6th

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Check out some of our top posts from last week, and, be sure to check out episode #48 of the SMRpodcast.  Chris’s theory on the ice in Chicago is hilarious…

BlackBerry 6 Soon To Be Released For Bold 9650 and Curve 9330: Simulators Now Available — Research in Motion released BlackBerry 6 simulators for both the BlackBerry Bold 9650 and the BlackBerry Curve 9330.

Consumer Reports — AT&T Is The Worst Wireless Carrier In United States… By Far — Consumer reports conducted a survey of its members on their thoughts of their wireless service provider and AT&T fared significantly worse than its competitors.

RIM Begins Roll-Out Of BlackBerry App World 2.1 With In-App Purchases

BlackBerry App World Now Accepting Apps For BlackBerry PlayBook — BlackBerry App World started accepting BlackBerry PlayBook app submissions. Any developer getting a tablet application accepted into App World gets a free BlackBerry PlayBook.

Video: Mike Lazaridis Demos The BlackBerry PlayBook At Dive Into Mobile Conference — Mike Lazaridis gave a 6 minute hands-on demo of the the BlackBerry PlayBook at All Things Digital’s Dive Into Mobile Conference.

RIM Renames WES To BlackBerry World Conference — To get a little more in line with all that is going on within the company, Research in Motion changed the named of WES, their biggest conference of the year, to BlackBerry World.

Best Buy Offering The BlackBerry Torch 9800 Free For The Remainder Of December

Verizon BlackBerry Sales Down 45% Since Last Year

Best Buy Offering The BlackBerry Torch 9800 Free For The Remainder Of December

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We just heard that, starting tomorrow, Best Buy will offer the BlackBerry Torch 9800 for free throughout the remainder of December. This isn’t the first free BlackBerry Torch that we’ve heard of, but, it is the first free BlackBerry Torch offered in a big retail store like Best Buy.  Needless to say, this is one heck of a deal for those in the market for a BlackBerry Torch…

If you want to get a BlackBerry Torch on the cheap, but, would like to stay out of the lines at Best Buy, check out the BlackBerry Torch for just one penny on Amazon.com…

[Via BGR]

Consumer Reports — AT&T Is The Worst Wireless Carrier In United States… By Far

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Consumer Reports has released findings from a member survey which, as we’ve been saying for years, ranks AT&T as the worst wireless provider in the country when it comes to voice, value, and data performance.  AT&T scored the lowest possible score in 8 of 9 total categories, only scoring the second to the worst score in texting.

Consumer Reports isn’t as popular as it once was, however, quite a few still value their opinion highly…  AT&T is just hoping that most of their customers are don’t…

We take this seriously and we continually look for new ways to improve the customer experience. The fact is wireless customers have choices and a record number of them chose AT&T in the third quarter, significantly more than our competitors. Hard data from independent drive tests confirms AT&T has the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network with our nearest competitor 20 percent slower on average nationwide and our largest competitor 60 percent slower on average nationwide.  And, our dropped call rate is within 1/10 of a percent – the equivalent of just one call in a thousand – of the industry leader.

The fact that AT&T can be rated this low, but, be the sole carrier of the highest rated device says a heck of a lot about the iPhone.  My guess is that carrier churn from iPhone users switching from AT&T over to Verizon once Verizon gets the iPhone will be unprecedented.

[Source]

AT&T And RIM Giving Two BlackBerry Torch Devices Away Every Day Through Dec. 24th!

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AT&T and Research in Motion are giving away two BlackBerry Torch 9800 devices per day away every day through Christmas Eve, Dec. 24th, and, there are two ways to win one.

  1. Facebook — Visit www.facebook.com/BlackBerryFromATT and add the page to your profile by clicking “like” on the page.  Then click the “$99.99 Torch” tab to access the Sweepstakes and follow the instructions to enter.
  2. Twitter — Visit www.twitter.com and send a tweet including the hashtag: #OMGTorch during the Sweepstakes period.

Head over to omgtorch.com to get the official contest rules…  Good Luck.

AT&T Branded BlackBerry Bold 9780 Spotted In The Wild

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Even though the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is available in the U.S. on  T-Mobile, many are still waiting for it to hit the nation’s largest GSM carrier, AT&T.  Something tells me that AT&T Is trying to sell as many BlackBerry Torch 9800 devices as they possibly can before releasing the their branded version of the Bold 9780,  however, the wait may not be too much longer.

This is a shot of the AT&T BlackBerry Bold 9780 taken in the wild.  We still don’t have a definitive release date, however, it usually isn’t too long after we start seeing photos of devices before the device itself hits the shelves.

[Via BerryCN]

AT&T, T-Mobile, And Verizon Join Forces And Launch ISIS Mobile Commerce Network

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Press Release

AT&T, T-MOBILE AND VERIZON WIRELESS ANNOUNCE JOINT VENTURE TO BUILD NATIONAL MOBILE COMMERCE NETWORK

Isis to Lead the U.S. Payments Industry from Cards to Mobile Phones; Available to All Merchants, Banks and Wireless Service Providers; Venture Led By Former GE Capital Financial Executive

New York – November 16, 2010 – AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless today announced the formation of a joint venture chartered with building ISIS™, a national mobile commerce network that aims to fundamentally transform how people shop, pay and save.

Isis’ initial focus will be on building a mobile payment network that utilizes mobile phones to make point-of-sale purchases. By utilizing smartphone and near-field communication (NFC) technology to modernize the payments process, Isis intends to deliver new levels of competition and value to consumers and merchants. Isis expects to introduce its service in key geographic markets during the next 18 months.

Michael Abbott has been named as Chief Executive Officer of Isis. Formerly with GE Capital, Abbott is a veteran financial services executive with extensive experience in the payment and technology industries.

“Our mobile commerce network, through relationships with merchants, will provide an enhanced, more convenient, more personalized shopping experience for consumers,” said Michael Abbott, Chief Executive Officer of Isis. “While mobile payments will be at the core of our offering, it is only the start. We plan to create a mobile wallet that ultimately eliminates the need for consumers to carry cash, credit and debit cards, reward cards, coupons, tickets and transit passes.”

Isis Brings Both Consumer and Merchant Scale

Founding members, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, collectively provide wireless services to more than 200 million consumers who will have access to the Isis service. Isis is working with Discover Financial Services’ payment network, currently accepted at more than seven million merchant locations nationwide, to develop an extensive mobile payment infrastructure for the joint venture.

Barclaycard US, part of Barclays PLC, is expected to be the first issuer on the network, offering multiple mobile payment products to meet the needs of every customer.

“We believe the venture will have the scope and scale necessary to introduce mobile commerce on a broad basis. In the beginning, we intend to fully utilize Discover’s national payment infrastructure as well as Barclaycard’s expertise in contactless and mobile payments,” said Abbott. “Moving forward, Isis will be available to all interested merchants, banks and mobile carriers.”

How It Works

The new venture will enable contactless mobile payment and commerce services using near-field communication technology. NFC uses short-range, high frequency wireless technology to enable the encrypted exchange of information between devices at a short distance. The new system is being designed and built to include strong security and privacy safeguards.

About Isis

The joint venture is between AT&T Mobility LLC, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless and is based in New York City.  The venture is chartered with building ISIS™, a national mobile commerce network that will fundamentally transform how people shop, pay and save.  The Isis mobile commerce network will be available to all merchants, banks and mobile carriers. ISIS is a trademark of JVL Ventures, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries.  Other logos, product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.