"First Ever" with WiFi and Group Connect

First push-to-talk BlackBerry smartphone with built-in Wi-Fi and Group Connect demonstrates Sprint's firm commitment to the Nextel National Network

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & WATERLOO, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 15, 2008--Responding to the requests of Nextel Direct Connect customers, Sprint (NYSE: S) today launched the BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 8350i smartphone. Developed by Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM), the new BlackBerry Curve 8350i is the most advanced push-to-talk BlackBerry smartphone ever.

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone utilizes iDEN technology on the Nextel National Network. It offers Nextel Direct Connect, the only national push-to-talk service in the industry to offer sub-second call set up to the world's largest push-to-talk community with millions of users.

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i is the first push-to-talk BlackBerry smartphone to offer:

-- Built-in Wi-Fi(R) support, allowing customers to browse the Internet and
download email attachments quickly and easily wherever they have Wi-Fi
access, and they can also send and receive emails or browse the Internet
while talking on the phone.
-- Group Connect, enabling customers to instantly set up group
conversations with up to 20 participants.


Additionally, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone supports:

-- Integrated business solutions, including a large selection of
GPS-enabled solutions and access to thousands of other third-party
mobile applications for jobs such as dispatch operations and fleet and
workforce management.
-- International Direct Connect, whichenables instant connections between
the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.
-- Talkgroup, which connects groups of up to 200 people at once within the
same local market and in the same fleet.


"Because of its unique combination of push-to-talk capabilities and several other advanced features, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is likely to appeal to both individual consumers and business customers," said David Chamberlain, principal analyst with analyst firm In-Stat. "The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone can also address the needs of several industries such as construction, field services, transportation and manufacturing."

"The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is the most recent example of our solid commitment to iDEN technology and our Nextel Direct Connect customers," said Danny Bowman, president of Nextel Direct Connect. "The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is designed for customers who require instant convenient push-to-talk services to communicate with friends and family as well as with employees, customers and suppliers. The BlackBerry Curve 8350i is a premium smartphone that strikes a perfect balance between performance and usability."

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is slim with a sleek black exterior, a full QWERTY keyboard, a convenient trackball with intuitive navigation and an internal antenna for a smooth, clean design. Other key features include:

-- BlackBerry Device Software v4.6 for a simple and easy user experience
with an updated interface, new shortcuts, an enhanced HTML web browser,
support for free/busy calendar lookups and more.
-- BlackBerry "push" email for easy and efficient delivery of corporate and
personal email.
-- Robust messaging capabilities with support for popular instant
messaging, multimedia messaging (MMS) and text messaging services.
-- Integrated GPS for step-by-step directions, navigation and local search
as well as support for other location-based applications and services.
-- Advanced media player for listening to music, watching videos and
viewing pictures.
-- 2 megapixel digital camera with digital zoom, flash and video
recording*.
-- DataViz(R)Documents To Go(R)preinstalled for editing Microsoft(R) Word,
Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the smartphone.
-- Speakerphonethat provides exceptional sound quality.
-- Expandable memory of up to 16GB through its microSD/SDHC memory card
slot, providing plenty of storage for pictures, videos, music and
documents.
-- Bluetooth(R)2.0 support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits,
stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals.
-- Support for thousands of applications, including business, lifestyle and
entertainment titles.
-- Stereo headset jack for calls, push-to-talk conversations, music and
other audio.
-- Removable/rechargeable 1400 mAH battery.


"The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is ideal for customers who want the benefit of the popular Nextel Direct Connect service together with the power of the BlackBerry platform," said Mark Guibert, vice president of corporate marketing at RIM. "We think Nextel Direct Connect customers will be very pleased with its range of new features and stylish design, and we are very excited to be launching the BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone today with Sprint."

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is available beginning today at www.sprint.com or 1-800-SPRINT-1 or from a Sprint business sales representative. It is available for as low as $149.99 with a two-year service agreement, an $80 instant savings credit and a $100 mail-in rebate. On January 11, it will be available in Sprint retail stores nationwide.

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone measures 4.4" x 2.4" x .7" and weighs 4.7 ounces. For more information about the BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone, visit: www.sprint.com. For more information about Nextel Direct Connect, visit www.sprint.com/nextel.

* Video recording requires a microSD card, sold separately.

Dave,

I would guess that the reason that handoff is not symmetric is by design. If the Airaves took hand offs from regular cells then someone driving by on the street would potentially hand off to the Airave and then immediately need to hand off again to the regular cell. I bet that this could be a real problem. I don't know what the possible penetration of these devices is but you could expect that they would be geographically clustered (places at the edge of regular network coverage). You could imagine a situation where someone walking by or in a car might have a couple bars, but the homes on the street have 1 or less bars coverage. If there were 3 or 4 Airaves on the street it could really mess up coverage if cellphones handed off to these Airaves every time you go by.

I have the Airave. It is great. I have also had Verizon and T Mobile service from this house. All three (four if you count Nextel's iDen network) have marginal network service at our house. Having one of the two carriers that offer an in-home coverage solution that is affordable is great.

I would, like everyone else that is posting on this topic, like to get this service for free. I would also like to get my cell service for free and lots of other things, but the price is reasonable, and no other carrier has offered a better overall solution for my situation.

By the way, here is my analysis of the difference in pricing between T-mobile and Sprint. Sprint chose a femto-cell CDMA solution to allow any CDMA phone to work. GPS is required as part of the CDMA network requirements and possibly to ensure compliance with spectrum licensing considerations. The femto cell device is produced in MUCH smaller quantities than WiFi routers with VoIP so the cost is probably 5 to 10 times ($50 vs $250-$300) as much to produce as those routers. Sprint purchases a lot of these, but waaaay less than what is needed to really bring the costs down. So they decide to subsidize them in a similar way to how they offer phones. This is why I think there is a $5 per month charge. The unlimited charge is probably just based on some competitive analysis of substitution of a wired phone line.

I think that I read that the Airave actually costs Sprint more than $100. Not sure where I saw it, but I think it may have been in the $200-$400 range. This might make sense when you compare to signal boosters. I would guess that Sprint is charging $100 + $5/mo to subsidize the cost of the Airave.

Is there a contract associated with the Airave? If not then the $5 per month is good and bad. You can stop Airave service whenever you want, but the fees continue indefinitely. An option to buy outright at even something like $300 might make some people happier.

I would guess that the reason there is a monthly fee even if you are using plan minutes is that they are subsidizing the Airave box. The cheapest WiFi routers are manufactured in valumes that range into the tens, possibly hundreds, of millions and they cost $50+ per unit. I would guess that the unit volumes for the Airaves are pretty low at this point so the unit costs would be much higher than for a WiFi router.

jawbone headset

Count me in.

I like the Fusic