Aug 20, 2008

Well, the title of this post isn’t really fair, as neither AT&T nor RIM have actually given a release date for the new Blackberry Bold.  BUT, according to sources over at Crackberry, its looking like an October release for the Bold on AT&T rather than the nebulous “end of summer” that has been floating around up until now.

AT&T has an exclusive on the phone in the States - whether the exlusive is a permanent thing or only until a certain date isn’t exactly clear.  Doesn’t really affect me either way, as I’m tied to AT&T for the forseeable future.

My reasons for wanting the Bold:

• GPS.  This was the one feature that I had been waiting for them to integrate into the Curve.  My patience ran out and I bought a Curve sans the GPS.  Literally, the day that my Curve arrived at my doorstep, RIM announced the Curve with the GPS.  I haven’t been quite sane since.
• 3G network.   Nice!  Internet speeds that make using a mobile device, well… useable.
• Wi-Fi.   Cool service.  Neat for a quick IMDB while being a couch potato.  I’d say it wasn’t necessary given the 3G network, but see my next comment for why it IS necessary.
• Cell service over Wi-Fi for when I’m in my office.  For those of you who haven’t heard me complain about this in the past, my office is otherwise known as the Bermuda Triangle of cellphone service.  One minute its there, the next minute its gone.  Five Bars!  No Bars!  Two Bars!  No Bars!  Not good for conducting buisness.
• Much faster processor means no waiting for Apps or email to open.
• New BB OS, with such “advanced” features as HTML email.
• The camera is supposed to be a bit better too.

Overall, its a very nice improvement from my current 1st generation Curve.  The Curve made a BlackBerry man out of me - I’d been loyal to my Treo for FAR too long.  I’m hoping the Bold continues the trend, if they ever release the darn thing.

Blackberry Bold, RIM