so ive gotten my hands on the 8130 model. im attaching a couple of pics of the outside and a code pic.

features ive noticed off the bat
-mem card slot is on the side now('bout time)
-3.5m headphones(just like the 8300)
-voice notes is part of media now
-can record videos..sweet(but u need a mem card otherwise u cant do anything)
-holster is the same as the curve...so no clip.

ill keep you guys posted as to what i find.


*notes pics are not the best quality..im taking them up close on the 8300.

Can you MMS? or GPS?

I want 4.3 for the curve...nice improvements tho..i kno it has GPS but probably crippled by Verizon???

i will buy it off you right now, what is your price???

But Serious, how did you get your hands on it? Does this mean it may drop tomorrow???

p.s. great job, only gets us more excited...

I don't know if anyone noticed but I'm pretty sure there was one of these on the last episode of Desperate Housewives. It was a black one, though. It wasn't an 8100 because it had the silver earpiece at the top.

im on the phone with vz now and will let you know how about mms/gps and anything i find.

How did you get your hands on that bad boy??? Is it activated???

Talk about entering the Forum with a BANG!....

Excellent first post.

-simpson

so finally it is on the network.... and...... well im not impressed @ all. the bb mapping software personally i think has always sucked and it is no different here.google maps doesnt seem to work on 4.3(pic of the error is below). as far as i can tell no gps :( the bb maps doesnt say there is anything there. on the 8800 i could do all cool things with the gps. think verzion may have shafted us..BUT it is still to early to say for sure. the vz rep didnt have any ideas about plans or even basic info about this prod. the device can send mms but so far i have been unable to actually complete one. i think that has something to do with my features or maybe i never removed the block, lol. 4.3 has a nice interface as you can see in the pic below. beginning to look like something. as far as to how i got the device, well.. ( i manage a very large account).

-y

Nice job, can you send over some additional screen shots...

VZW say anything else about the rest of us and release dates???

ive included a couple of more pics to wet the appetite. my sources tell me it is hitting the 8th of nov( not sure about preorders, but scheduled @ the warehouse for shipping on that date). video quality is not bad, i made a 10sec clip and was impressed a bit.

What I am dying to know is, how much was it?

free but future purchases will be expected, lol.

Delete

I can't belive no one has asked you this. Take a snapshot of the GPS screen in Options with Location On. Also set that and go into BBMaps and tell us if it can find your location via built in GPS. This will tell us if GPS is truly unlocked.

He already posted the date he heard.

Be aware that many of the demo units from Verizon have had the GPS unlocked. I'll believe it when you can buy one from the Verizon store that is unlocked.

so lad's im @ the point of giving up on this gps. ive attached a couple of pics as to what the gps settings says under options and under the bb mapping software. the vznav says that it is coming soon but... not yet. to add to the despair, one of the reps told me they were not going to offer it on the 8130(though i cant vouch for his credibility) i think this device is goin to be popular with the ladies b/c on the lower right it has a little opening for a wristband strap.

sanchez, you are the Efffin MAN!!!!

FWIW, all the Pearls have the wrist strap (lanyard) attach point.

This isn't a demo unit (more then likely). This is a retail unit that was given (as insentive for future large purchases) to someone who works for a big company with a good/large business plan with VZW. The corporate rep has a good relationship with this client and more then likely is trying to sweeten something up by letting this one client have a new 8130 a week before the official release. It's not unheard of, but it's rare. At least this is what I gather from everything he's posted. Also, the DEMO units usually are not branded and have "Property of RIM" tags on the back. This one doesn't appear to have it.

That being said, the limited GPS options on the GPS screen leads me to belive that GPS in not unlocked on this unit. Lame... once again VZW rams us in the you know what.

I've read all the posts as well, thanks. There are unlocked Verizon branded units out there. So, all I was saying is that if it worked I would still want to see a regular purchased, GPS unlocked, device to be convinced that the GPS had, indeed, been unlocked by VZW.

here is the back pic . same thing as the tmobile curve i got in aug. property of research in motions....

You would think since the BlackBerry data plans are the same cost as the Premium Individual plans (which include VZ Navigator), that cost would not be the issue that GPS is not being allowed on the BlackBerries.

Does it include the new BB browser or the same old one?

You can pre-order on ver website. Description includes VZ NAV capabilities.