We know, according to the rumors, that the BlackBerry 8800 could be released as early as this month on T-Mobile and / or Cingular. Although many believe, myself included, that Verizon may release the BlackBerry 8800 much sooner than expected, possibly by Q1 according to some predictions, the norm for the carrier with undoubtedly the nations best network is to release CDMA versions of new BlackBerry devices 9 to 12 months after their GSM counterparts.
If Verizon sticks to business as usual and doesn’t plan to release the BlackBerry 8800 on their network until sometime after Thanksgiving to possibly a year from now, will you switch carriers to get the BlackBerry 8800?
Nope, because then it would just be a fancy, expensive, paperweight. Verizon provides me with the best service of all the carriers, so I use them. Up here Cingular would be probably be fine, but T-Mobile would literally be a paperweight (I had a 7230 from them before I got a 7250 with Verizon.)
You pick your carrier based on the service they provide, not based on the devices they have, because the best device on the worst carrier is still useless.
I think a lot of people feel as you do Aviationwiz.
Nope…even if I have to wait a bit longer, I would not leave Verizon simply because I value connectivity over the latest devices.
For instance, my in-laws live in the mountains of North Carolina, and we visit them frequently to check up on them, as they are getting up there in years. The only carrier that works is VZW.
I live in Florida, and I like the idea that if another wave of hurricanes hit the state, that my carrier, VZW, is the one most likely to keep working.
If I were really hungry for getting an 8800 that early, and had to wait that long for a VZW 8800, I would simply add another line with Cingular and have another device.
I am not sure if I will or am going to leae, but I will say it is tempting. I have been with Sprint, T-Mobile, and now Verizon, and although Verizon has the best coverage, I do not know if they are the best value. I am willing to pay a little more with any service as long as I feel I get what I pay for. In this case I do overpay for coverage and data plan to get a somewhat extended service, so why do Verizon customers not get the latest and greatest devices?
I know the song and dance about CDMA and the whole process, but I am tired of excuses. I only hope VZW keeps an eye on forums such as this so they really know how their customers feel. Just because you offer a somewhat better coverage doesn’t mean you can drag your feet on devices and phones.
Actually, Verizon doesn’t lag behind in release of new equipment any longer, except with BlackBerry’s.
They were the first with the newer 700 series of Palm Treos, they were first with the Q, they were the first with the LG Chocolate, they were the first with the multimedia playing version of the RAZR, etc…
In reality, VZW has gotten very good with releasing new equipment…just not with BlackBerry’s yet. However, there is no reason why RIM cannot step up in releasing their CDMA versions of BB’s, just like other manufacturers have.
Thought – You are wrong about Verizon releasing the models of the phones you listed other than the Treo 700. (Which the 700w is nothing to brag about being first) All of the other phones are just CDMA versions of GSM phones that were out LONG before Verizon released their (crippled) CDMA versions of the device.
Evilhomer is right: Though Verizon is usually first with the CDMA version of blackberry (and other) devices (e.g., for blackberry, 7130e and 8703), but those devices lag their GSM counterparts by months if not years. As much as I’d like to blame Verizon, it’s a RIM issue: they make most of their money from GSM devices and concentrate on those.
To answer the question posed in the post, as much as I’d like to quit VZW to get an 8800, their network goes places in the US where the GSM carriers don’t, so I can’t do it.
Evilhomer: you are correct in that with the devices like the LG Chocolate and RAZR multimedia phone, that they were released in GSM version first, only outside of the US.
Therefore, what I should have stated was that these devices hit the US market first in CDMA version.
Not switching carriers for the 8800. As tempting as the 8800 looks and sounds, frankly, the service on Cingular and T-Mobile here in the SF Bay Area is awful. What good is a smartphone if you can’t use it?! And, my guess is that the 8800 will have its share of bugs initially so why take on the extra work of hacking it…unless that’s what you’re into.
Nobody is saying they are necessarily leaving, it was just a question. This is just a way people are venting frustration with an aspect of their VZW service. I also wouldn’t say everybody posting here is an 18 year old girl, no more so than a person that calls himself a “stud.”
have 5 corporate lines and i am gonna switch to cingular over verizon… because verizon seems to be lagging behind on the phones which makes me wonder where else they are laggin behind. Been with verizon for 5 years and hate to leave but they need to do a better job on launching new and better products.
70% of the nation which lives in major cities and the dif in coverage of cingular vs. verizon is minimal so for the majority of people there is no diference
I’ve been burned by ATT Wireless/Cingular/new ATT/whatever before so I won’t be returning to them.
My biggest gripe with Verizon is that they crippled the GPS on my 7130e. Other than that, the service and the Blackberry has been great.
I *do* crave the CDMA/GSM phone though. I just wish it was here already. I traveled to France 4 times last year and had to buy a cheapo phone from mobal.com.