Crackberries for the Nations

[NatCh]

The 8830 smart phone will provide connections via voice and data in 60 countries

Unsatisfied with getting only Americans hooked on Blackberry, RIM and Verizon have teamed up to launch a new device that will provide the oh so addictive Blackberry functionality and connectivity throughout much more of the world.

In addition to accessing the Blackberry Internet service and Blackberry Enterprise Server, the new 8830 is designed to move between the EVDO and GSM/GPRS networks without so much as a bounce.

Starting May 14th, Verizon business customers (the 28th for those who just walk into a Verizon store) will be able to plunk down their $400 - 1¢ to pick one of these bad-boys up. There's a $100 rebate planned (for a locked device, I gather) and another $100 if you buy a data plan for those who don't already have enough access to MobileRead.com, and really feel they must also have it on their phones, I suppose. Follow the link at the bottom if you want more pricing info.

Now for the good stuff, some details on the hardware:

At 14 mm thick, the 8830 features a new trackball navigation system, a media player, expandable memory, Bluetooth capability and an instant messaging tool...

Okay, so not much on the details are they?

Apparently, Verizon is hoping this product will help them against AT&T and T-Mobile who have been moving more to GSM phones, which already work in most of the rest of the world.


Full article

[Chaos]

There's more details about the model itself on the Blackberry website.

Personally I can say that Blackberries are definitely some of the smoothest smartphones I've ever looked at or used. Their handling of mail is almost impeccable, and the overall PIM software is quite exceptional. The only minor thing I have against them is the lack of open synchronization protocols, meaning no real solution (yet) for syncing under, say, Linux.