It looks as if Verizon Wireless will not be the only provider to carry the BlackBerry 9670. The crew over at BGR has “independently confirmed” that Sprint will also be offering the clamshell BlackBerry in the months to come. Sources have confirmed that they already have a Sprint branded version of the  BlackBerry 9670 in their possession. While a release date has not been officially announced, this should give Sprint users a smile on their face that are looking foward to the 9670 being released on their network.

Are any of you looking forward to getting your hands on the BlackBerry 9670? Do you like the clamshell form factor or not? Let us know in the comment section below.

via: BGR

I know this is a little late, considering the device launched nearly a month ago, but they always say better late than never. Upon opening the packaging for the Bold 9650 on Sprint, it’s all very under-stimulating. There is only one noticeable change between the Bold 9650 and the Tour 9630 at first glance, and that’s the optical trackpad. As all of you probably know, I’m impartial to both. I’ve had both optical trackpad and trackball, and either one is fine with me. I never really had any issues with the trackball when I had my Pearl, Curve, Tour (minus the manufacture error on the batch of Tours), etc. As a recurring BlackBerry user (more like fiend), this device in no way provoked me to tinker or play. I remember back when I got my first, and even when I got my second and third BlackBerrys. I played with it and tinkered throughout the night, adding applications, tweaking settings, etc. When I pulled the Bold 9650 out of the box, I made the first change I always make on my BlackBerry, disable dialing from home screen, and pocketed it. The only application I put on it was SocialScope, and I have yet to even load my contacts onto it.

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I want to personally apologize for the past three days, as BberryDog and the rest of the PhoneDog Media network sites have been experiencing some instability lately, due to heavy amounts of traffic. We have now switched servers and all is well. In an attempt to make it up to you all and help kick off your World Cup parties, I will tell you about two different ways of how you can watch FIFA World Cup 2010 from your BlackBerry. Unfortunately, this only applies if you’re on Sprint, here in the US, or on Rogers in Canada.

If you’re on an Everything Data plan with Sprint, I’m sure you know of Sprint TV. Well, for the duration of the World Cup, Sprint has a partnership with ESPN Mobile TV. This can be found within the Sprint TV service. So if you’re out and want to stay current on the World Cup, whip out your Sprint BlackBerry and just watch the game live.

The other option is only available if you’re on Rogers, up in Canada. This is only available to you if you’re a Rogers on Demand Mobile subscriber, which is a $5 per month charge. In order to watch the World Cup, you will need to pay the one-time $10 fee for World Cup access. It’s a little bit of a setback, but if you plan on watching the South Africa tournament and you’re always on the go, this is a tiny price to pay. I guess it just depends on whether you can justify the $10 fee to your wallet, or your spouse, depending on who’s in charge.

via: BGR

Here we are, another week has passed, and quite a few OS’s have been leaked along with the few official releases. If you’re one of the lucky few that received an official update, what are you waiting for? You now know how to backup all of your data in case something goes wrong during the update, and you know how to update your OS! For the daring, if you did not receive and update and you (somehow) have a 9300, let us know how that goes for you. Oh, send us some pictures of it as well. All the links are after the jump.

(Remember: Downloading and installing non-official builds is done at your own risk!)

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In a somewhat unexpected turn of events, reports are coming in that the Sprint BlackBerry Bold 9650 is arriving factory unlocked. While we haven’t personally verified this news, it means you can pop in an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM right out of the box, with no codes, hacks, or tweaks required. The 9650 supports the following frequency bands:

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks: 850/900/1800/1900MHz

Single-band: 2100 MHz UMTS®/HSPA networks

Those bands translate to EDGE speeds on either AT&T or T-Mobile, but unfortunately no 3G services outside of Europe. If you’re a GSM die-hard hankering for a Bold 9650, and you don’t mind EDGE speeds, the Sprint Bold could be for you! Verizon fans, I wouldn’t get your hopes up, as the odds of Big Red following suit are about the same as my Rockies winning the World Series this year (which is to say, not great). If you’ve tried this, let us know how things are working out!

via Crackberry

So it definitely shows that Sprint is a strong believer in the early bird getting the worm. It seems as if they have decided to offer the new Bold 9650 on their website for the expected price of $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. This is a week earlier than the projected release date of May 23rd, and I’m sure Verizon is throwing their hands up and looking for a flag from the ref. Sorry Verizon, no disqualifications or penalties for being faster in the cellphone industry.

So who is going to get in on some of this trackpad loveliness? (I’ve alway been pro-96xx series design.) I have yet to decide whether I want to buy this phone yet. I may wait until BlackBerry 6 drops so I can get in on that love. Right now, I don’t think throwing a trackpad, Wi-Fi, and a little more memory will win me over until I can really enjoy it. But hey, I’ve been known to be an impulse buyer…

via: PhoneDog

Good news! We’re one step closer to seeing our famed Bold 9650 hit the market as it just passed through the FCC yesterday. The phone has already been announced by Sprint to hit the market on the 23rd of this month, but not yet officially announced by Verizon yet. The 9650 will ship with OS 5.0, a trackpad, and a plentiful 512MB of internal memory, and is meant to replace the 9630. I personally like this phone better than its GSM counterpart, the 9700, due to the more bold feel to it (squared but rounded edges).

Here are some of the specs for the Bold 9650 on Sprint:

• 480×360 HVGA+ screen
• 3.2MP camera with flash and autofocus
• 512MB flash memory
• 2GB microSD included, capacity to 32GB
• Wi-Fi b/g
• GPS
• Bluetooth 2.1
• 1400mAh battery
• Full QWERTY keyboard with trackpad navigation

Now it’s just a waiting game to see when Verizon will make it official. I know a lot of people who are ready to get their Bold for Sprint soon, who’s going to get their’s on the 23rd? I know you premier customers that got their Tour last year are wanting that trackpad goodness. I’m definitely looking into it. (Even though I told Aaron I wouldn’t. He knows me too well.)

via: PhoneDog

Are you on Sprint and looking at buying a new BlackBerry Curve 8530 but not really digging plum or black? Well rumor has it that a red version of the 8530 is coming to Sprint in the very near future. The red 8330 was one of the coolest BlackBerry’s of its day, and I know I always wanted to get my hands on one. I’m sure many people are going to feel the same way about this one. The plum is a very bold color, and the black can be bland at times. Red will be the perfect addition to the 8530 series on Sprint to fill that in-between void. No official release date has been posted, but GizmoFusion is claiming as soon as March 14. Sit tight pups, we’ll let you know when it’s official!

via: CrackBerry | BerryAndroid | BlackBerrySync

Sprint isn’t giving up hope for the Curve 8330 just yet.  They released an official OS, 4.5.0.186 for their 8330 and 8330m devices.  If you have an 8330 and you are not on the Sprint network, you can still install this by removing the vendor.xml file.  No word on any changes or updates this includes.  Let us know your thoughts.

Download: 4.5.0.186 for 8330

Interesting developments this morning in regards to the BlackBerry Tour 9650…or should I say Bold 9650.  According to the guys over at Mobilitysite, a friend at RIM confirmed that the device will be added to the Bold family as the “Bold 9650.”  The full e-mail is below:

“Some Verizon stores did get the 9650. They were sent back for “updates”. Verizon won’t release the 9650 until the official OS 5.0 arrives for the Tour 9630. The Sprint 9650’s are having WiFi issues and Sprint is working that out. It won’t be called the Tour 2. It’s the Bold 9650.”

My take?  I don’t think that the Tour/Bold 9650 (or 9630, for that matter) fit into the design category of the Bold series. I think that characterizing this device as a “Bold” diminishes the reputation of the existing series.  What say you? Tour, Bold, or another name altogether?

Via BlackBerryCool