http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/ Engadget Mobile Comments for BlackBerry 8830 hitting Sprint next month? http://mobile.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://mobile.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/Jun 8th 2007 1:10PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/Jun 8th 2007 1:16PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/Jun 8th 2007 3:15PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/Jun 8th 2007 3:06PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/Jun 8th 2007 3:15PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/Jun 8th 2007 3:18PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2007/06/08/deets-on-the-upcoming-sprint-blackberry-8830/]]>Jun 8th 2007 3:29PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/
You mean the 8800, which has been out for several months now?]]>Jun 8th 2007 9:08PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/
The gps is not restricted in any way, and works with both google maps and the bb maps program (which was already installed on mine). The bb maps program actually gives real time directions, location and speed/direction info, but the device isn't the speediest at picking up satellites. Also, it doesn't announce directions.

Battery life has always been a plus for bbs but this one seems to be even better. I sent it to the UK and the battery went 2 days under heavy phone and email use before it needed a charge. I'm getting the same life here in the US on the CDMA side.

Something else is that it has a Sprint software store app that I never remembered seeing on their bbs before.

Finally, it has a World Mode that automatically chooses CDMA or GSM. All previous Sprint intl phones made you switch manually. This is important when you give them to execs that could care less about learning how and why to switch.

Overall, I give it an 8 out of 10 for the poor keyboard and poor gps pickup. It's the best bb on Sprint ever, but it's still a bb. ]]>Jun 9th 2007 10:11PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/Jul 8th 2007 1:47AMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/
I did a google search and came up with this from: evdoinfo.com/content/view/2051/64/ and last updated 15 August 2007.

Quoting: “Q – Does GPS work internationally?
A – No, the GPS chipset on the 8830 is disabled when the device is in GSM/GPRS mode due to Qualcomm requirement.”

The only mention of a tie between GPS and CDMA in Blackberry’s own user manual is:

Quoting: “About assisted GPS support
Your BlackBerry® device is designed to support assisted GPS when your device is connected to a CDMA network. If you make an emergency call or your device is in Emergency Callback Mode, an emergency operator might be able to use assisted GPS technology to estimate your location.”

I have been unable to find any info on Blackberry’s website or their user manual that the 8830’s GPS will not work in Europe. In point of fact, in a phone conversation with a local Alltel/Blackberry salesperson he indicated that he too believed that the 8830 GPS would work in Europe. Seems like a deceptive business practise on Blackberry’s part to me.

Hardly a "World Edition" GPS-wise.

Travelers beware.]]>Sep 28th 2007 4:43PMhttp://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/http://mobile.engadget.com/2007/06/08/blackberry-8830-hitting-sprint-next-month/obtained from the cell network helps get a quick
and accurate fix. Google "assisted gps".

I was in Europe last month with my Sprint World Edition
8830. Public pay phones are few and far between. You
need a cell phone to call tech support!

I bought the Sprint 8830 after the store manager assured
me the GPS would work world wide as would unlimited data
(if you care to call 1/2 dial-up speed unlimited). The day
before the trip I stopped by the Hillsboro store to have
the international service activated.

I arrive in Dublin the next day and dutifully set the
phone to GSM mode. It picks up strong signals but
refuses to work, displaying SOS in red letters where
it should show 1X, GPRS, or some such.

I had to buy a prepaid phone from Vodaphone to
contact the store manager to complain about the
8830 not working in Europe. Eventually the
phone started working for voice and data, just
as the minutes on the Vodaphone ran out.

But the GPS still did not work. Hours of
sending messages and tech support calls
were not able to get it working. Meanwhile
I pass a number of Vodaphone ads featuring
GPS apps on the Vodaphone Blackberry which
looks just like mine. Tech support suggested
I call them on another phone, oblivious to the fact
that in Spain there is no other phone to call from.
Tech support suggests I "reprovision" the phone
but that always fails with an error message.

After all that trouble, the gps just starts
working after I return to the states.

Apparently we are dealing with a prototype system.

]]>Nov 1st 2007 11:48AM