I agree, I could give a rat a... what color it is, I will definatly be getting one!!

Goatspike - here's my situation - I work in a dept in a hospital that is next to the radiology dept, because of this, our walls are heavily sheilded to prevent radiation from getting in. It therefore, also blocks out all cellular signals. We do have full WIFI inside there though. Can u confirn that if/when the cellular service is off and you are only working off of WIFI, are u able to get ure emails pushed to the BB like normal or will the WIFI only be used for browsing and H@H service?

MajSingh - I believe it will have to. The idea/concept behind H@H is to be a complete hand-off from cellular to WiFi so that people can use their phone places where they don't get good reception at all. If only placing a phone call and browsing web pages worked on WiFi then that would pretty much mean that BB e-mail would be useless during that time period.

Even further than that, they say in order to utilize the WiFi option, you MUST have the Blackberry Data plan due to the fact that it shuts off the cellular radio to preserve battery life. I think your pretty safe assuming that all BB functionality will work perfectly over WiFi if that is the case!

--Kidd

Good reasoning. I'm really hoping that's the way it turns out, it would be very dissappointing to know i wanted for this long for no reason. This WIFI function is my driving force for this BB over everything else. 18 days and counting....

This website is selling OEM replacement faceplates for the 8320 already...

Here's a good pic of the color for all u "color-concerned"

BlackBerry 8320 Curve OEM gold faceplate w/ lens

"Goldspike?" Ha! Clever.

This is exactly what T-Mobile says about the service on their website. Essentially, you'll have all the same services, but your phone will simply be connecting via a WiFi router instead of a GPRS tower.

According to their documentation, if you use the WiFi router that they provide (either a tweaked DLink or Linksys), it will provide priority (via QoS setting I'm guessing?) for the phone signal over other signals, and will provide enough of a boost so that the phone battery will drain more slowly. If you're using UMA with the phone in a public hotspot (e.g., the hospital WiFi WLAN), it should work, but you may wind up draining the battery faster. I'm sure we'll learn a lot more about this once the device is finally on the market.

Maybe I should change my name

The @Home service simply encapsulates a normal GSM/GPRS packet into an ethernet packet over wifi. All normal phone functions will work over the @Home connection.

@Home works over TMO HotSpots (StarBucks, etc), @Home routers, open wifi, and WEP/WPA networks where you know the key/passphrase.

wonderful, very glad to know. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

So when is the actual release date for the curve with t-mobile??

9/24 as far as I know!

Monday the 24th. Even if you don't like the color it is a nice device.

So is the non-contract price still ~$450? If so, I may wait a little while until the price drops.

Tmobile was selling the cameraless 8800 for 549.99 without a contract. Which still till this day dont understand.. If its over 500. Then its a no go for me.

T-Mobile has the best service (reception and customer) of all the carriers we've used (and we have used every one available in our area and were disappointed with their service and reception) and we have been very happy with T-Mo (especially since we travel a lot around the US and have had very good reception everywhere).

We have been very happy with our Pearls too except for the SureType vs Qwerty keyboard along with the minor issues that are resolved with the CURVE so I will be getting my new CURVE on the 24th no matter what color it is although I would really really PREFER it in titanium or black .

I wanted to say THANKS to goatspike for the info and photos. And I wanted to say THANKS to bpritch as well for sharing the info she received from her husband who works at T-Mo. And THANKS to the mods for keeping order and providing direction and to everyone else who has shared info on this board.

Earlier this year, I was told by my friendly T-Mo store that the Curve "might" come out around July but they weren't sure because it wasn't official. Well, I didn't post anything here because it was an unofficial guesstimate, but they did know that it was coming out sometime in the summer. Then, they told me that T-Mo was trying to release it in August (just as bpritch said) but were finalizing the H@H feature so it wasn't 100%.

Well, now they have been "officially" authorized to release info that the Curve is going to be available on the 24th. My point is (and bpritch's) that this forum is a place for us to learn how to use our blackberries to their fullest potential and do our part to post comments and questions and especially to share info that we truly believe to be correct and useful to others. Also, we all know that info shared on this board is *subject to change* and should be used *at one's own risk and discretion* and people shouldn't be flamed for sharing and honestly trying to help out.

That being said, I for one have received information that I could not have gotten anywhere else (T-Mo CSR's included) such as step-by-step blackberry as modem how-to's (a lifesaver, BTW), access to OTA themes and software, how to take my Pearl out of case that seemed to be sealed shut, color trackball, where to get a Krusell case, etc., and I just wanted to say how grateful I am to have such a great resource and invaluable tool as the blackberry forums.

THANKS EVERYONE.

I have a good friend who is a T-Mobile BB Rep.

He has confirmed that they are being released on 9/24.

The 8320 will come in gold or platinum.

It will have HS@H for data and voice.

It will be able to connect to the RIM relay over wifi and a BES over a corporate wireless LAN.

You will be able to tether it and provide connectivity to your laptop as previous BBs allowed.

MyFaves will be supported

It will come preloaded with IM clients for all of the IM services, including Google Talk. They will all utilize data instead of sms.

Battery life has been impressive, even with wifi turned on all of the time.

No pricing info yet.

From a customer support email:

Release date 9/24/07

Here are the Key Features of the BlackBerry Curve:
• Wi-Fi and Mobile Calling
• High Speed Internet
• Personal and Work E-mail
• myFaves
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Email
• Wi-Fi/GPRS/EDGE data connectivity
• 2 MP camera with flash
• Voice activated dialing
• Bluetooth
• Speakerphone
• Address book
• Calendar
• Sync with PC
• Instant messaging
• Picture messaging
• Text messaging
• Web browsing
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Trackball for 4-way navigation
• Micro SD expandable memory slot
• Multimedia player

RIM's IM clients AIM and MSN as well ...?

PLATINUM!!! That would make me do the happy dance!!!!! Thanks for sharing.
I wish it was the 24th already!!!

Hello Everyone. This is my first posting, so be gentle.

I dont even own a BB, but after extensive research, I have concluded that I will be going with a Curve. I have been follwing for quite some time since there was rumors of the new Curve coming to T-Mobile.

My questions are..for those who are nice enough to respond..

1. Other than Wifi and UMA, there really isnt much difference between this and the previous Curve correct? Has the 3.2 with zoom lens been verififed?

2. Even though it comes in Wifi, it doesent necessarily mean that you can use Wifi access points wherever you are, unless you are a subscriber or pay for that particular WAP. We all know Wifi is great, but Wifi could be worse than the actually standard wireless capabilities of the BB network/data plan depending on signal strength.

3. Will the new Curve be complaint to the soon to arrive 802.11n standard? I know that I have already seen equipment makers produce compatible products based on the arriving 802.11n standard already.

4. Anybody know what the initial price offering will be with a new T-Mobile contract? Verizon was selling their new World Edition phone for 199.00 with a two year contract when it first came out...

5. Finally, if I get the BIS data package, can I access corporate email using just the BB Enterprise server in my organizations Data Center? I know that I can use the bb email and have corporate emails forwarded there, but as a first time BB user, I dont see why when getting a standard Data Package, that Corporate emails will not get pushed. Oh yea, with BIS data package, waht 10 email address options do I have (yahoo, gmail, my own company?).

Sorry for these long inquiries, but any assitance would be appreciated.

Tony

1. The camera is supposed to be the same.
2. You still have EDGE, so there is no disadvantage to having WiFi support. I'll probably never use WiFi on it outside of my home or work myself. But it's worth doing so in those locations because it is much faster.
3. No idea but I assume any n stuff will be backwards compatible with g and b. It would pretty much have to be if they want anybody to buy it.
4. Don't know, but I've seen $449 mentioned as a MSRP. I'm expecting it to be around $250 with a 2-yr contract.
5. Don't think so. If you want to use BES I'm pretty sure you have to pay the extra $10 a month (T-Mobile). If you could get your work email through SMTP, you could get that through BIS.

No, the camera on the new model will be the same 2.0 megapixel version from the previous model.

Wifi will always be faster than EDGE, but be aware that WiFi capabilities are shut off entirely unless you pay for the Hotspot@Home package from T-Mobile, otherwise it's completely useless to you. You will always be on EDGE. This is not a big deal on a Blackberry though. The only thing that ever really uses any serious amount of bandwidth is either: 1) Tethered to a laptop computer (in which case you probably already have a WiFi NIC and could use the internal one OR no WiFi is available and you would need to use EDGE anyway) 2) Doing an OTA (Over-The-Air) software install. Getting bent out of shape over 1 or 2 minutes to download a Java JAR is just silly, so you won't lose out there either.

I believe 802.11n is backward compatible with b/g devices, so the WiFi berry should connect without any problems. Again, the amount of data you will need to transfer over any wireless connection will be so low that you're unlikely to notice any difference the 802.11n speed would give. In fact, I'm sure the bandwidth of a standard 802.11b access point would provide (11Mbps) would completely and totally overwelm the Intel XScale CPU, so even if it had the ultra fast 802.11n radio, the performance would be completely wasted.

Not a clue. This fact-oid seems to have eluded everyone so far. Keep watching the forums, I'm sure someone will finally get some sales material from T-Mobile that shows the price soon enough.

BIS access allows access to the big guys (ie: Yahoo, Gmail, etc.) as well as ANY mailbox that is internet accessible by a POP3 or IMAP mail server.

BES access allows access to regular mailboxes just like BIS, but also gives access to your company's corporate BES server. The main reason BES costs more is that they are fully expecting you to transfer quite a bit more data across the wireless network due to the fact you are able to syncronize mail folders, contacts, calendar data, etc. all over the wireless connection. Regular BIS users need to use their USB cables to sync anything other than their mailboxes.

By the way, if your corporate office uses Exchange server with Outlook Web Access, you can still use the BIS data plan and they will poll and push your corporate mail that way, but the mail is not BES pushed. That means that arriving mail could be between 1 and 15 minutes delayed because they have to poll the server for new messages. BES push means that the e-mail is on your Blackberry the very second it arrives on your mail server at the corpoate office 24 hours a day. If this is not important to you, then save the $10 and go with BIS.

Welcome to Berry land, you're in for a treat.

--Kidd

This is the first time I've seen anybody say this. You will need to have an active data plan, sure. But I've never seen any indication that you need H@H to make any use of WiFi for data transmission. It is my understanding that you should be able to do anything other than make calls over WiFi without H@H.

I see. I really appreciate the responses.

In a nutshell, unless I have Tmobile@home wifi is absolutely useless because it will not be enabled?

Also, the point I was making earlier was that just because you have wifi, doesnet mean you have access to wifi networks/wap.where you would use them.

Interesting..

WiFi is not shut off without H@H. H@H is for VoIP - internet calling - using WiFi, but is not at all related to enabling the device's WiFi capabilities. [insert Verizon jab here]

Two different Wi-Fi's here.
VoIP (voice over internet protocol) and wireless networking (as in many coffee shops, airports and libraries).
Question: Do I need the VoIP (Hotspot@Home package) to be able to use the 8320 in my favorite coffee shop via Wi-Fi wireless?

Im anxious to get my hands on one of these! Anyone found a way to clear the default ringers and images from it yet?

No you don't.

You may need to pay the coffee shop, however, to use the wireless.

We're spinning off topic here. Let's keep it tight.

That's easier than sin, dirty.

I've to agree with the 2 above posters. The $9.99 H@H plan is for VoIP only. As for wifi data transfer, browsing, etc is a whole new ball game. Tmo might release a new blackberry plan that included wifi data plan to go with the curve or we'll just have to shell out and get total internet plan to be able to use wifi like dash and wing users.

From T-Mobile's website:

How is data charged with T-Mobile HotSpot @Home?

All charges for data services such as text messages, picture messages, Web browsing, downloads, and ringtones are the same while using Wi-Fi as they are on the T-Mobile GSM network. In addition, all services available through GPRS are also available through Wi-Fi, including:

* Picture messaging
* t-zones and Web browsing
* Content downloads
* BlackBerry® services

Link: T-Mobile HotSpot @Home – General Information

[quote=theBorg;665074]No you don't.

You may need to pay the coffee shop, however, to use the wireless.



I live in a city which by January will be totally wifi. So basically, i will be able to use the BB anywhere?

That's my understanding.
And although we veered off the topic at hand, as theBorg suggested, the 8320 is a Wi-Fi phone and as such it generates interest in this field. So staying off curse is OK in my book

Thanks for the info vinmontRD maybe I was wrong about the H@H service, I stopped by t-mo store last week and asked them about wifi data plan they said the H@H is for VoiP only and they pulled up this page Wireless Internet Access - T-Mobile HotSpots for me about wifi data plan.

Hmn maybe I should sign up for the $9.99 H@H promo if it really includes wifi data transfer at any tmo hotspot.

It is shut off because the WiFi service book isn't downloaded without it which keeps it turned off. I got the details from John Clark in a different thread. Perhaps he could chime in and confirm one way or the other?

--Kidd

Wifi will work either way, as long as you have a data plan.

You will not be able to make or receive calls over wifi unless you have the HS@H.

Current text messages, IMs etc use SMS and are counted or billed as messages, depending on what your plan allows.

The 8320 will use new clients for these and will count it all as data, so a data plan is required, with or without wifi.

From the post vinmontRD mentioned I thought people can just get H@H hotspot w/o data plan and will still be able browse the net, downloading stuff, etc through wifi connection.

Where could I find a sleeve, cover, or other form of body that isn't gold and super ugly? Anyone got any suggestions? Do you think the faceplate from the 8310 would work? bb-8310-01 BlackBerry 8310 Curve OEM grey faceplate w/ lens- 3G, Samsung, BlackBerry, Sony, Tools, BenQ-Siemens, Accessories Store, Acer, Son

You WILL be able to use the wifi for calling and for voip (calling over wifi) without paying for H@H. All you need for the web browsing is a data plan. If you DONT have a H@H plan then the minutes you use while on the phone COME OFF OF YOUR MONTHLY PLAN MINUTES. If you DO have a H@H plan then you have UNLIMITED minutes on ANY wifi network, any time of day. Now granted some places you have to pay to use the wifi, so there you will have to pay too. But if you walk into a building that advertises free wifi, you WILL be able to hop on and call WITH OR WITHOUT H@H and BROWSE the internet.