This week at CTIA Fall 2008 has been interesting so far for RIM. Early this morning start with the launch of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 and now RIM is proud to announce the much needed iDEN BlackBerry Curve 8350i. Finally his brings a upgrade to iDEN users on Sprint-Nextel’s aging iDEN network. This new Curve will sport both Wi-Fi and GPS along with a 2.0 megapixel camera, MicroSD memory card slot and stereo Bluetooth. This new Curve will also be the first Curve to operate on RIM’s new OS 4.6 as seen in the Pearl Flip and Bold.

Pricing has been announced yet, but you can expect to find out more within the next few months…

Press Release:

Sprint to Deliver Industry-Leading Push-to-Talk Services on New BlackBerry Smartphone

Operating on the fastest national push-to-talk network, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be the first from Sprint to offer built-in Wi-Fi capabilities and Group Connect, allowing instant group conversations with up to 21 people nationwide

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. and Waterloo, ON – Sprint customers seeking the benefits of industry-leading push-to-talk services and the power of BlackBerry® smartphones will have a new version of the coveted combo available later this year. Sprint (NYSE: S) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced plans to deliver the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8350i – the newest Nextel Direct Connect-capable BlackBerry smartphone – by the end of 2008.

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be the latest BlackBerry smartphone to utilize iDEN technology and feature Nextel Direct Connect, the only national push-to-talk service in the industry to offer sub-second call setup and connection to the world’s largest push-to-talk community with millions of users and integrated business solutions, including one of the largest selections of GPS-enabled solutions. With Nationwide and International Direct Connect, Sprint customers will be able to instantly connect within the US and to users in other eligible countries including Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. The BlackBerry Curve 8350i will also be the first BlackBerry smartphone from Sprint to offer Group Connect, allowing customers to instantly set up group conversations with up to 20 other participants.

“Smart phones in general, and BlackBerry products in particular, have become more important to both business people and consumers lately,” said David Chamberlain, Principal Analyst with analyst firm In-Stat. “The BlackBerry Curve 8350i with PTT capability rounds out Sprint’s options to fill communications needs of many industries particularly those in the blue-collar segment of construction, field services, transportation and manufacturing.”

“Sprint is the undisputed leader in push-to-talk services, and with the launch of the new BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone, we are keeping our promise of expanding the Nextel Direct Connect capabilities and options for our customers,” said Danny Bowman, president of Nextel Direct Connect. “The BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be very attractive for business customers who need instant, convenient push-to-talk services to communicate now with employees, customers and suppliers but also want the capabilities of a high-end smartphone.”

In addition to delivering the unmatched push email and messaging capabilities of the BlackBerry solution, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i will provide rich multimedia, organizer and Internet browsing capabilities, as well as access to thousands of other mobile applications. The smartphone will also include built-in Wi-Fi® capabilities, allowing customers to browse the Internet and download email attachments quickly and easily. When connected to a Wi-Fi network, customers will also be able to send and receive emails or surf the Internet while talking on the phone.

Other key features include:

• Integrated GPS – Built-in capabilities for assisted autonomous GPS capabilities
• 2 Megapixel Digital Camera – with 5x digital zoom, flash and video recording*
• DataViz® Documents to Go® – preloaded software makes it easy to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents directly on the smartphone
• Internal Antenna – improves design appeal and durability
• Speakerphone – optimized for exceptional sound quality with Direct Connect
• Advanced Media Player – great for listening to music, watching videos and showing pictures
• Removable/Rechargeable 1400 mAH Battery – provides exceptional battery life
• Expandable Memory – microSD memory card slot allows plenty of storage for pictures, videos, music and documents
• Bluetooth® – version 2.0 with support for (A2DP) stereo Bluetooth and more
• Additional Messaging Capabilities – support for instant messaging and multimedia messaging including audio, pictures and text to email addresses and capable phones

“The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone will offer customers an exceptional communications and multimedia experience together with the power and convenience of the popular Nextel Direct Connect service,” said Mark Guibert, vice president of corporate marketing at RIM. “We are pleased to build on our successful relationship with Sprint to bring this powerful new smartphone to Sprint’s customers.”

Customers can find more information on the BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone and sign up to be notified of commercial availability from Sprint at www.sprint.com/instantconnectbb. Pricing, service plan details and an exact availability date will be announced at a later date.

Nationally, the Nextel National Network continues to operate at best-ever performance levels based on internal metrics. Internal performance metrics show double-digit percent improvement year-over-year (i.e., March 2007 to March 2008) for drops (i.e., where a customer’s voice connection fails or drops during a call) and blocks (i.e., where a customer is unable to make a voice connection) for the Nextel National Network. Customer issues related to dropped and blocked calls, and voice quality combined, have decreased more than 60 percent year-over-year (i.e., March 2007 to March 2008). This level of improvement translates to a more reliable calling experience for our customers. Customer calls on the Nextel National Network are successfully connected and maintained better than 99 out of 100 times.

For more information about Nextel Direct connect, please visit www.sprint.com/nextel.

Just when you thought Nextel’s iDEN network was close to dead. RIM will be bringing life to it again with the BlackBerry Curve 8350i, which we talked about before. This BGR got their hands on some launch details on Sprint’s Q4/Q1 handset roadmap. Nextel’s BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be packing an internal antenna, 2.0 megapixel, Wi-Fi, microSD slot, and of course Nextel Direct Connect. Not only thatbut it will be powered by OS 4.6.

Just when everyone thought iDEN was close to death maybe just maybe RIM will save them. Jibi is reporting that RIM will be modeling this new iDEN model the BlackBerry Curve 8350. Lots of reports have been floating around that Sprint-Nextel would be launching the iDEN Curve either late 2008 or early 2009 and that it would be packing Wi-Fi. For now we will just hope this news is true… 

We just received a mailer from a Sprint tipster. Looks like Sprint's BlackBerry Curve 8330 will be launching on Friday! Sprint's Curve will be running you $179 with a two year contract after rebates.  

Thanks Mike! 

Sprint has been advertising their BlackBerry Curve 8330 in a lot of American newspapers on Sunday. It's showing the Curve "coming soon" for $179.99 with contract after rebates. One interesting bit about this ad is that it shows two colors available (Titanium and Red). So most likely we will see Sprint's Curve available this week.

[Source] 

Sprint has confirmed that their BlackBerry Curve 8330, in dark grey will be available sometime this month (not May or June as previously reported). Engadget took a look into it and confirmed it with Sprint. 

Robb Dunewood from RIMarkable says he has been hearing rumors of a delayed BlackBerry Curve 8330 for Sprint. According to Robb the Curve may in fact be delayed until May. So who's going to be first Verizon or Sprint? 

Apparently Sprint-Nextel’s CEO Dan Hesse announced at CTIA 2008 that Nextel will gain a Wi-Fi iDen BlackBerry. This new BlackBerry will replace Nextel’s old school BlackBerry 7100i. Unfortunately thats all we know but hopefully RIM pulls something tough out.

[Source]

Sprint has also announced the upcoming launch of the BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphone. Starting later this month Sprint customers will be also be pickup the Curve 8330 for $179.99 with two year contract, after rebates (take that Verizon and your $270). Sprint will be launching their Curve in a dark grey color. Click on over for the press release.

Sprint Bolsters Industry-Leading BlackBerry Portfolio with Addition of the BlackBerry Curve 8330

Operating on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, the BlackBerry Curve 8330 is the smallest BlackBerry smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard and supports exclusive multimedia content via Sprint Music Store and Sprint TV

Las Vegas, NV - Sprint (NYSE:S) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM) announced today that Sprint has further energized its BlackBerry portfolio with the addition of the new BlackBerry® Curve™ 8330 smartphone.

The BlackBerry Curve 8330 is the smallest BlackBerry smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard and strikes an attractive balance between functionality, design and usability, giving users access to phone, personal and corporate email, contacts, calendar, tasks, camera, multimedia content, GPS navigation, enhanced Web browsing and other capabilities. Whether customers are interested in advanced capabilities for personal or professional use, the BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphone delivers innovative features including a two megapixel camera with video recording*, advanced media player for music, videos and photos, 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth with support for stereo headsets and car kits, microSD/SDHC card slot for expandable memory (8 GB memory cards are available today), voice-activated dialing, voice notes recorder and the ability to be used as a modem with a laptop. Customers can also take advantage of exclusive Sprint services like**:

• Sprint Music Store – Download stereo-quality tracks instantly over the air. Choose songs from thousands of artists in virtually every genre.

• Sprint TV® – Watch live TV or video-on-demand with full-motion video and vivid sound or catch the latest news, sports, weather, entertainment and movie trailers on the go. Choose from more than 50 live television channels.

• Sprint Navigation – As the first carrier to have offered a GPS-enabled BlackBerry smartphone, Sprint continues this innovation with the addition of Sprint Navigation, which delivers voice-guided and on-screen turn-by-turn GPS-enabled driving directions, 3-D moving maps similar to an in-car navigation system or personal navigation device, as well as more than 10 million local listings and real-time intelligent traffic alerts with one-click rerouting, anywhere on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network.

“Powerful core organizational capabilities, sleek and attractive form factors, exclusive multimedia content, flexible international service options and industry-leading push-to-talk service are combined factors that give Sprint one of the most attractive BlackBerry smartphone portfolios in the industry,” said Danny Bowman, vice president of customer equipment for Sprint. “The addition of the BlackBerry Curve 8330 to our lineup gives our customers access to information now, with no compromises.”

“The BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphone offers a unique blend of functionality, design and usability that hits a real sweet spot for both personal and professional use,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. “It’s as adept at keeping people productive at work as it is with helping them stay connected to friends or entertained and informed with Sprint’s music, video and navigation services.”

The Sprint Difference
Sprint provides true value for its BlackBerry customers with several industry differentiating areas:

• BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8130 smartphone – includes support for the largest range of exclusive Sprint content including Sprint TV, Sprint Music Store and Sprint Navigation.

• BlackBerry® 8830 World Edition smartphone – equipped with international voice and data roaming capabilities offered by Sprint as well as an unlocked SIM card slot for voice and data services. Customers can sign up for competitive international roaming service plans directly from Sprint or take advantage of service from local providers in other countries.

• BlackBerry® 7100i smartphone – equipped with Nextel Direct Connect®, the industry’s largest and fastest push-to-talk service, allowing instant, efficient and economical means to communicate across the nation and in and between six international locations: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Peru.

For a full line-up of BlackBerry smartphones from Sprint, including pricing, visit www.sprint.com.

Network Strength:
Customers who use BlackBerry smartphones from Sprint and subscribe to national calling plans, can make voice calls (with no additional roaming charges) in more places. Sprint provides the largest voice calling area, reaching more than 299 million people in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. These same customers receive unbeatable value for data services as well. The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network (inclusive of data roaming) reaches more than 234 million people, 13,453 cities and 1,321 airports.

Sprint offers BlackBerry users the convenience of instant push-to-talk communication on the world’s largest push-to-talk network and largest community of users. With Nextel, BlackBerry smartphone users can connect coast-to-coast and country-to-country in under a second with anyone from the world’s largest community of push-to-talk users. The Nextel National Network continues to operate at best-ever status with internal metrics showing double-digit percent improvement year-over-year.

Simply Everything Pricing:
Regardless of whether Sprint customers are using their BlackBerry smartphones with a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server or with BlackBerry® Internet Service, they can receive great value with Sprint’s new Simply Everything pricing plan. For a flat rate of $99.99 per month the Simply Everything plan offers BlackBerry Internet Service customers unlimited voice and data. Pricing complexity and concerns about overage charges are virtually eliminated letting customers think more about how they can use their wireless device for work and play and less about their bill. BlackBerry Enterprise Server users can subscribe to the same plan and receive access to their corporate email, calendar, contacts and firewall protection for an additional $20 per month.

BlackBerry Curve Pricing and Availability
The BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphone will be available later this month online at www.sprint.com, through Sprint Telesales, Sprint business sales channels and retail locations for as low as $179.99 with a two-year service agreement, a $170 instant savings credit and $100 mail-in-rebate.

For more information on the BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphone, visit www.blackberrycurve.com. Customers can sign up to be notified of commercial availability from Sprint at www.sprint.com/curve.

It looks like Sprint may be in fact ready to launch their BlackBerry Curve 8330 real soon. According to a picture and post over at BBGeeks, Sprint will launch the Curve starting April 15 and making it widely available on April 20th. This Curve looks slightly different the Curve we displayed last week with Sprint branding.