Does anyone know if it will be available for the Telus Mike iDEN network on December 1st. aswell?

I'll 2nd October as well. I also found out that Sprint/Nextel has changed their insurance policy that you can purchase as an additional fee to protect your phone. One of my friends at the fire department told me that he went to Sprint/Nextel Service Center to get his phone replaced and they told him that in a day or two, the insurance was changing to that it will not cover any "self-inflicted" repairs that are needed to a phone. So, if you break your phone or something goes wrong with it and they can prove that you are the cause of the damage, it will not be covered. The fee will only cover manufacturer defects in the phone. But, I though that was why the manufacturer provides a warranty when you buy a phone???

Anyone else hear of this???

This phone cannot come soon enough for me.

I have been following all the buzz on this one since I got my GF an 8830 back in July. I still have a few DC users in my contact list and it really is the best way to get in touch with them so I didn't want to totally abandon my Nextel just yet, however, if something better comes out before December, or this phone isn't all it is cracked up to be, I will be making the switch to straight Sprint and getting a new phone.

This device has been confirmed by RIM, here is the link to the press release
BlackBerry - Press Release

right on time, im so sick of the 7100i, the only reason i stuck around is cause of my business, i would of been jump ship, i guess that waiting paid off, im getting this for free

I'll 2nd that! I have had my 7100i for a while now. I have gone through 4 or 5 units just because they don't last durability wise or because they have just crapped out. I was seriously going to jump ship because I was tired of all the other companies having all the new technology and Nextel always falling short.

I hope this 8350i comes sooner than later. December is late. I'm hoping they can do something to get it out the door sooner.

I know in the earlier press release I posted from Boy Genius Report it said it was an iDen phone with wi-fi this new press release from RIM says the same.

Does that mean it won't be able to go online unless I am in a wi-fi area? I don't know all this info about these cell carrier networks. I know that T-Mobile is rolling out 3G and ATT and VZW have it already, will this new BB be 3G or will it be like my gf's BB and use that 1VEX or whatever it says up on her phone?

It's not 3G... there is no 3G on iDEN network. It will have the slow 1X data when you are on their network. You will be able to use the higher wi-fi speeds when connected to a wi-fi hot spot.

So I'll have the same speed that my gf's Sprint 8830 has? 1XEV I think it is...

1XEV is 3G for CDMA phones, IDEN will work in 1X only, that is 2G, so won't be same speed

I had the 7100i but got tired of the "not fully equiped" status that a usual blackberry has. My and my fiance totally loved the PTT feature but decided to give it up to get a newer/updated BB so we simply crossed the street to sprint. We both have curves and totally love them. If nextel is indeed coming out with a curve with PTT, you can bet I'm crossing back over to nextel.

I've never gotten staticky reception no matter where I was in the US and with sprint I experience often. 1x data isn't so bad and if the curve will have WIFI, its available almost everywhere nowadays.

It means I'll have to give up 3G...hmmm. Does anyone know if the 8350i will have the option for "phone as modem"?

Nextel -> Belch!

Why do people continue to hate Nextel??? I am a techno junkie, bought an iphone the week they came out on AT&T, all the while still had my Nextel 7100i thru work. Hated the iPhone, got a Curve, love it... but guess what? Everywhere I go, Nextel's service just blows away AT&T! The thought of a Curve on Nextel's network is absolutely great! Hurry up!!

it sucks that its not on 3g, but any new blackberry for iden/nextel is good for me PTT is still the best...

I 2nd that. I was with nextel for 6 1/2 years and I moved several times within California and can't remember ever having a dropped call, staticky service, or terrible customer service for that matter. I had the 7100i. Earlier this year I made the move to Nextels partner, Sprint, because I wanted a curve. Love the curve but I'm very unsatisfied with call reception as I get staticky service no matter where I go. Not trying to bash Sprint but Nextel just has better service. When th 8350i comes out, I am definitely going back to sprint. 3G is not as important to me as the call reception and PTT.

just seen this!!!

Featuring the BlackBerry® Curve 8350i

I had my hands on one of these from a RIM event, pretty cool. My sprint rep said I can't have one till 4th quarter

We are in the 4th quarter now. Any way to narrow it down sooner?

What calendar do you follow?
4th Quarter for most people is October 1-December 31.

yep, thats the date period I was thinking , lol

two more pieces of info for everyone who's waiting desperately for this phone, much like myself.... we have "one of those guys" who heard Oct. 18th, fwiw. 2nd, and even more amusing... just for s-n-g's, I called Sprint today to ask when it would be out... after repeating the model number to her 3 times, she put me on hold for about 10minutes, came back and said they don't even have any information about that phone. God I love Sprint.

November 14th is the date heard 'round the water cooler.

Bump up on the 8350i release date to Nov 14 | BlackBerryNews.com

Telus/Mike called me today to tell me i qualify for a free phone upgrade. I said Great! I'll take the BB 8350i. She didn't know what i was talking about. She put me on hold for about 2 minutes to ask someone about it. She said no one even heard about it.
From what i hear, its launching here in January 2009.

YAAAAWN!!!

Sorry, but the release of a new iDen QWERTY BlackBerry is 2-3 years overdue! Sprint lost my business 2 years ago when they REFUSED to release the 8702i that they had been beta testing on the Nextel network! My poor 7520 was 2 years old, beginning to fall apart, and Sprint/Nextel had NO replacement/upgrade that they could offer me for it!

Add on top of that the fact that Sprint has (by all accounts from people I know that are foolish enough to still be using the Nextel network) killed off WiDen (iDen's equivalent of EDGE data) and also killed plans to launch an iDen version of 3G, and it all amounts to 2 words: EPIC FAILURE!

If you want to use a Curve that limits you to the Nextel equivalent of GPRS data, by all means, go ahead and get one. I, for one, have no interest in returning to the bad old days of a mobile internet running at dial-up speeds.

Nextel | Done. ('cuz Sprint killed 'em DEAD! )

Hello all, I'm new to the boards and I'm actually a sprint/nextel account services representative. For all of you drooling over the nextel bb here is a direct link to all of the information that we have www sprint com / instantconnectBB. For some other tidbits it has a better battery than its sprint counterpart and more flash memory at 128 mbs. Other than that its all hush hush and we really dont know anything else. So expected realease date at this point.

Saw the 8350i's black faceplate housing on eBay yesterday, advertised for the 8330. Just the faceplate; no yellow trim, antenna cover, or batter cover.

Your points are well taken but this new bb is for the guys on the 7100I that are looking for an update. Speeds don't matter for business device in which you are typing out tons of email and texting each data. text data doesn't need 3g so this phone is for the business user that needs to get work done with 2way and email with basic PIM functions.

Hey ozzyg, thanks for chiming in on the additional features... and I'm not sure just how many are on here drooling for this, but I AM!!!! As I'm sure you're aware, alot of folks have jumped ship from the Nextel network, for whatever the reason... but for those of us loyalists (or company users!), we are ready!
Oh, and can you please run this up the company flagpole.... demand more details! Specifically a release date!! The phone is ready, your customers are ready, the only thing thats missing is the knowledge required for your CS reps to even remotely try and do their job and the release date!!! Is there a reason they are telling you they don't know? Or when we might see it? Is it a really big surprise for the holidays or something? I'm not in the consumer supply side, so I can't comment I guess, but one of the things Apple did w/the release of the iPhone was had a release date... and guess what? That date came, the phone was here.

I agree whole heartly. I had called sprint CS over a bill issue and they told me the date was October then moved to Dec and now its looking like a move up so they can get it out before the holiday shopping starts. My guess is middle of November thinking the holiday shopping season starts at Thanksgiving in the U.S.A.

So I guess this might work with a boost sim as well? I like my 7520 but an updated blackberry would be cool. I guess I would still have to jump through the same hoops as I did to get my BB to work on boost. It would be worth it. I'll definately keep an eye on this.

I'm not really sure why they are so tight lipped about devices, the only concrete info o have regarding thid phone is that hesse fully intends to have it out before christmas. I can almost guarantee we won't be looking at an october release, just not feasible, november to early december looks like the best guess of a release. Sorry I wish I had more info or even access to it but like I said its been pretty hush around here lately.

There is concrete proof this phone is coming out. Its listed on both RIM's website as well as Sprints website. The only thing that thats unknown is the release date.

anyone hear anything more??

Hate to be a buzzkill, but that's probably really just the black housing for Sprint's black 8330.

I too am wondering about this phone despite no connections to Nextel. The last that I read about it was here: Sprint Blackberry Curve 8350i sign-up page goes live : Boy Genius Report

Good news is (if it's true!) this has Wifi capabilities which can be very useful and practical for BB users everywhere.

Thats old news, it was WiFi right from the beginnning. Should be in stores before Christmas.

Just got an email from a supplier, He stated a Sprint/Nextel event for the dealers in my city and the public is invited. Nov 11th and release Dec 2.

I just received this email today. I’ve never owned a smart phone before but im looking forward to picking up my first BB.

Dear John,
Thank you for contacting Sprint. I am glad that you are interested in
our new Blackberry 8350. There is not an exact release date as of yet
as it is still in the final stages of testing before release. It is
slated to be released before the end of 2008. You can contact me at
757.223.3956 to check on the status of the release. Thank you again for
contacting Sprint.

Sincerely,
Milton H.
757.223.3956
Sprint

Yep, the concrete proof is I held one and played with one at a sprint event a little while ago. It's alright... at best. Should be available real soon.