Jul 12

BlackBerry Tours, come and get ’em on Sprint and Verizon

Posted in: BlackBerry, RIM, Sprint, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

If you’ve had you eye on the Tour, we bet you didn’t forget they were going on sale today — but just in case you had, consider this your official reminder. Both carriers are now offering RIM’s latest and greatest CDMA BlackBerry for $199.99 on contract, so you’re probably not going to see a lot of defections between carriers this time around. Pardon us if we don’t shed a tear for the lack of exclusivity on this one.

Read – Sprint
Read – Verizon

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BlackBerry Tours, come and get ’em on Sprint and Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 09

Sprint mandating WiFi on future smartphones, WLAN-lovin’ BlackBerry Tour coming next year

Posted in: BlackBerry, cdma, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Sprint, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw, wi-fi, wifi

By the time Sprint gets around to releasing the 9630 Tour with WiFi, due out sometime early next year, we think most everyone’ll have moved on to any one of the numerous BlackBerry devices likely to hit in the interim. What’s more important in this FierceWireless report is that Sprint’s requiring WiFi “in all its major devices going forward” — which should mean pretty much every smartphone that lands in its CDMA-loving mitts. Verizon Wireless, who along with Sprint is also launching the WLAN-less Tour this Sunday, said that the company’s working with RIM to get WiFi into future BlackBerry, but didn’t oblige us with any hopeful descriptors that’d help us understand just how strong of a push was being made. Frankly, smartphones without WiFi at this point is downright criminal, and with CDMA phones trailing behind their GSM counterparts in this category, kudos to Sprint for taking the initiative.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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Sprint mandating WiFi on future smartphones, WLAN-lovin’ BlackBerry Tour coming next year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 01

Verizon BlackBerry Tour unboxing

Posted in: BlackBerry, Features, Today's Chili, unboxing, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

You might say that Verizon’s brand new BlackBerry Tour 9630… ahem, took a “tour” through our offices this morning, gracing us with its QWERTY-having, global-roaming, 8830-killing presence. There’s absolutely no question it’s the best-looking CDMA BlackBerry to date and we also think you’ll be able to stop Bold owners in their tracks as you flash this thing around town; we’d argue that the Curve 8900 is still a cuter handset when you take the company’s lineup as a whole, but then again, the 8900 lacks 3G, and the Tour’s keyboard might just be the best RIM’s ever crafted for a phone. Bottom line, owners of any BlackBerry on Verizon or Sprint should be salivating at the sight of this thing — and if they’re not, honestly, they need their salivary glands checked. Stay tuned for our full review, but in the meantime, enjoy an unboxing and a few quick shots of the Tour taking its first breaths!

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Verizon BlackBerry Tour unboxing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 29

Verizon’s BlackBerry Tour coming July 12th, pre-order page now live

Posted in: BlackBerry, Today's Chili, verizon, vzw

Looks like Verizon’s got a winner here. That leaked promotional graphic was right on the money, as the carrier’s just replaced its BlackBerry Tour teaser with a pre-order page and, lo and behold, it’s indeed coming July 12th for a penny under $200. We’re still waiting to see if Sprint’s whispered July 20th date pans out, but regardless, if you want a Tour before anyone else, looks like VZW’s the way to go.

[Thanks, Jeff]

Update: She’s official. The press release says so.

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Verizon’s BlackBerry Tour coming July 12th, pre-order page now live originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 27

How would you change Novatel’s MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router?

Posted in: HowWouldYouChange, HWYC, router, Sprint, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

Firms like Cradlepoint have been dishing out generic portable hotspots for years now, but it wasn’t until recently that US consumers had a carrier-branded option for creating their own WiFi zone via EV-DO. Novatel’s shockingly diminutive MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router has officially arrived on both Sprint and Verizon Wireless, and while GSM followers have been unfortunately left out for the moment, we’re still eager to hear how early CDMA adopters are faring. Are you pleased with the convenience factor here? Have you had any odd and unexpected connection issues? Are you kosher with that 5GB limit on monthly throughput? Let us know if you think this thing’s worth its asking price, and if not, what would make it so. And… go!

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How would you change Novatel’s MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 26

BlackBerry Tour hitting Verizon on July 12 for $199.99?

Posted in: BlackBerry, rumor, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

You know what’d sell like a cold glass of water in hell? A $199.99 BlackBerry Tour on Verizon, that’s what — and it looks like that might be what the carrier’s planning to unleash. Boy Genius Report has what seems to be a promotional graphic advertising the release of the Tour on July 12 — just over two weeks from today — which has the potential to make it the first Tour release anywhere, beating Telus’ July 15 date and Sprint’s nebulous “later this summer” window. Who’s camping out in line with us?

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BlackBerry Tour hitting Verizon on July 12 for $199.99? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 25

HTC Ozone comes to Verizon June 29 for under $50

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, HTC, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw, Windows Mobile, WindowsMobile, winmo

Is it cooler than Sprint’s Snap? That’s for you to judge, but whatever the case, Verizon has now announced its own version of HTC’s latest WinMo Standard handset. The so-called Ozone features WiFi, global roaming capability, VZ Navigator and visual voicemail support, a QWERTY keyboard (which feels great if it’s anything like its cousin’s), and a beefy 1500mAh battery that we’re betting will keep this thing going all day and then some. The best part, though, might be the price: it’ll be just $49.99 on contract after rebate when it launches online on June 29 and in stores on July 13.

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HTC Ozone comes to Verizon June 29 for under $50 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 23

FCC approves LTE / EV-DO hybrid gear from LG

Posted in: cdma, LG, lte, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

We’re not sure what the LG M13 is, exactly, but we can tell you one very important thing about the mysterious device: it’s awesome. We know this because the FCC has revealed some limited documentation about the recent approval, which is where we find out that it’s a “Cellular / PCS CDMA / EvDO and 700MHz LTE Device.” Translated, that means it’ll be able to play both on CDMA networks — take Verizon’s, for example — and also on LTE spectrum deployed in the 700MHz band, which Big Red just so happens to have recently purchased a whole lot of. This wouldn’t be the first time LTE-compatible stuff from LG has garnered FCC love, but it would be the first time we’ve seen a device that supports both LTE and CDMA — and considering that Verizon will have both networks operational for years (if not decades) to come, that’s a pretty important feature. Any creative guesses as to what this might be, then? A modem, perhaps?

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FCC approves LTE / EV-DO hybrid gear from LG originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 18

Verizon rolls out global laptop data with USB1000 stick

Posted in: Today's Chili, usb, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

The promise of global data is finally becoming a reality for modem users on Verizon today with the release of its Novatel-sourced USB1000, a USB stick (hence the “USB” in the name, we’re willing to bet) that features EV-DO Rev. A for domestic use plus triband HSPA when you’re roaming around the globe. The stick itself runs $149.99 on contract after a $50 rebate, while monthly global data plans run from $129.99 for 100MB of data in 31 countries to $219.99 for 200MB; both plans include 5GB for use in the US and Canada. It’ll be available online starting tomorrow.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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Verizon rolls out global laptop data with USB1000 stick originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

Verizon launches BlackBerry Tour teaser page

Posted in: BlackBerry, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Today's Chili, verizon, vzw

It’s hard to believe this is really the first official confirmation that BlackBerry Tour is bound for Verizon’s network, given what we’ve seen and heard so far, but that’s exactly what we’ve got. The self-proclaimed “America’s Best 3G Network” company has unveiled a teaser page for the smartphone. Not much else here other than a fancy product shot and a newsletter sign up, but more importantly, it looks like an official launch can’t be too far off now.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Verizon launches BlackBerry Tour teaser page originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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