Not to be left in the dark, shortly after the official Verizon Wireless announcement regarding the BlackBerry Curve 8530, Sprint came out with an announcement of its own. Though no firm date or price point have been established, the nation's third largest wireless carrier confirmed that it will launch in the future. My guess is that the price point will be somewhere in the $99.99 range after a $100 mail-in rebate, however with the Tour available at Best Buy for $99 (with an instant rebate), I'm hoping that the carrier offers it at an enticing price point.
The full press release is below. Sprint BlackBerry users, is it worth the upgrade?
BLACKBERRY CURVE 8530 SMARTPHONE COMING TO SPRINT FEATURING AMERICA?S MOST DEPENDABLE 3G NETWORK AND AFFORDABLE PRICE PLANS
Next generation of popular BlackBerry smartphone adds Wi-Fi, external multimedia buttons and BlackBerry App World; visit HYPERLINK "http://www.sprint.com/blackberrycurve8530" www.sprint.com/blackberrycurve8530'to pre-register for BlackBerry Curve 8530 from Sprint
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. ? Nov. 5, 2009 ? Sprint (NYSE: S) announced today it will add the new BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone to the wireless industry's best lineup of devices. Beginning today, customers can visit HYPERLINK "http://www.sprint.com/blackberrycurve8530" http://www.sprint.com/blackberrycurve8530 to pre-register for this next generation of the popular BlackBerry wireless device on America's most dependable 3G network1 with the affordability of Sprint's Everything Data plans featuring Any Mobile, AnytimeSM. Pricing and availability will be announced at a later date.
BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone makes it even easier to enjoy music on-the-go with dedicated keys to skip to the next song on a playlist, pause or play. It comes preloaded with several multimedia applications including BlackBerry Media Sync, Sprint Music Store™, Sprint TV™ and Pandora™. It also boasts dedicated applications for a smoothly integrated social networking experience with Facebook®, MySpace™ and Flicker™. BlackBerry Curve 8530 will be available in three color options ? Black, Royal Purple and Red.
?BlackBerry Curve 8330 has been a tremendous success for Sprint. BlackBerry Curve 8530 continues that legacy with the addition of several important features that make it a winner for both entertainment and productivity,? said Kevin Packingham, Sprint Senior Vice President of Product Development. ?This is one device that can really do it all with the email, calendar and contact synchronization BlackBerry is known for as well as the latest multimedia and social media features. We are anxious to bring it to our customers who also appreciate the strength of our network, the affordability of our rate plans and our Ready Now customer service experience.?
Sprint's BlackBerry Curve 8530 will offer BlackBerry App World™ for instant access to thousands of applications. Sprint has employed an open Internet approach, and the Sprint Application Developer Program has been providing tools for third-party developers, since Sprint first launched the Wireless Web on its phones in 2001.
