BlackBerry 8350i launches on Sprint, features walkie-talkie-like push-to-talk
The BlackBerry Curve 8350i is finally available on Sprint, and its features should prove very useful to certain kinds of organizations but not especially enticing to most consumers. The phone is a standard BlackBerry business phone at its core, but it has a few unusual options. First off, you've got push-to-talk, which enables walkie-talkie-like instant communication with other phones using the same technology. The Curve 8350i also supports Group Connect and Talkgroup, which allow you to form large networks of people who can instantly communicate by pushing-to-talk.
Those features are useful to organizations that need to rapidly coordinate a lot of people across a very wide area without making countless redundant phone calls, but if you're not part of one of those organizations, your business needs will likely be met by another, less specialized model like the BlackBerry Curve 8330. If you think this would be useful to you, though, you can get it from Sprint for around $330 and a two-year contract — less with $180 worth of credits and rebates.
This story around the web:
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Sprint finally Gets the BlackBerry 8350i [Ubergizmo]
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Sprint rolls out BlackBerry Curve 8350i… [Coolest Gadgets]
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Sprint, RIM Roll Out New Push-To-Talk… [NewsFactor Network]
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Sprint Launches BlackBerry Curve 8350i [CrackBerry]
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Sprint Launches BlackBerry Curve 8350i for… [Sprint Nextel Corporation News Release]
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Sprint launches BlackBerry Curve 8350i: first… [Engadget]
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Sprint launches BlackBerry Curve 8350i: first… [Engadget Mobile]
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Sprint now offering BlackBerry 8350i… [MobileBurn.com]
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Sprint’s BlackBerry 8350i with Nextel… [Gear Diary]
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The BlackBerry 8350i officially official from… [CrunchGear]
Get more information on topics relating to this story:
- Related company news:
- Sprint, Sprint Nextel, Research In Motion
- Related brand news:
- RIM BlackBerry Curve
- Related devices and services:
- RIM BlackBerry Curve 8350i, RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330
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Comments (1)
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John L. Shinn III (1:01 AM on Fri Jan 16, 2009)
A week ago, I went to Sprint and got the Blackberry 8330. Sprint’s 3G network is blazingly fast. Then I saw a colleague with a Blackberry 8350i, so I went back to Sprint and exchanged the 8330 for the 8350i—since my job requires me to also have a walkie-talkie.
The Sprint salesperson did point out that the 8350i runs on the Nextel radio network, but failed to make it clear that Nextel’s network is slow and nowhere near Sprint’s 3G network. The store only had two 8350i’s and I was lucky enough to get one before they were put out as display models.
Now I’m stuck with the 8350i (since Sprint would only allow one return/exchange within 30 days of purchase) which takes 2, 3 or 4 times longer than the 8330 to open a website. Watching Youtube.com is a joke as Nextel’s network is rather slow.
If you love to surf the ‘net, don’t get the 8350i and stick with Sprint’s 8330 or other 8000 models running on the 3G network. But if you use the walkie-talkie more than you surf the ‘net, then get the 8350i.
I know I cannot have everything in one phone such as the 8350i. But considering that I have to now carry only one phone instead of three (and capable of using a 16gig MicroSD compared to the 8330's 2 gig capacity) —more than outweighs the shortcomings of the 8350i running on Nextel’s network.
Overall, I’m still happy with the 8350i. I only wished that Nextel runs on the 3G network.