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  BlackBerryToday > News > Sprint: BlackBerry Pearl, New Moto Q on November 23rd

Sprint: BlackBerry Pearl, New Moto Q on November 23rd

By James Alan Miller
November 15, 2007

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Sprint has a BlackBerry Pearl and a pair of Motorola phones, including a new Q model, on tap for its holiday lineup.

We've known for over a month now that Sprint plans on shipping the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 later his month. What we didn't know is exactly when or for how much. Now we do.

The first Pearl model for CDMA operators will become available from Sprint on November 23rd. It'll cost $199.99 with a two-year service contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. You'll need to purchase a data plan worth $25 or higher as well.

That should be no problem. Along with the Pearl, Sprint is also introducing a new $30 per month Power Vision BlackBerry Pack plan for BlackBerry Internet Services users (individuals and small businesses). The plan delivers unlimited Web, data access, and text messaging, in addition to support for up to 10 IMAP or Pop 3 email accounts.

There's also access to the Sprint Navigation service for voice or on-screen directions and traffic alerts, which is a good feature for a BlackBerry with integrated GPS like the 8130, Sprint TV, and .99 cent music downloads through the Sprint Music Store.

Until the Pearl 8130, you could only find RIM's smallest BlackBerry with GSM operators like AT&T and T-Mobile.

This version of the Pearl support Sprint's EV-DO (Rev. O) 3G data network, which far faster than the 2.5G EDGE technology used by Pearls with the GSM carriers.

The new Pearl measures 4.2 x 1.97 x .55 inches and weighs 3.4 ounces, slightly heaver than the GSM Pearl, the 8100, which only hits 3.1 ounces on the scale.

RIM says the 8130's battery is supposed to last 9 days in standby to the earlier Pearl model's 15 days and 220 minutes of talk time, the same as the GSM version.

As with the 8100 the 8130 sports a microSD expansion slot. It supports the SDHC variety of microSD card, which currently top out at 4GB and will someday reach 32GB. There's also 64MB of internal Flash memory.

For picture and video there's a 2 megapixel camera with what RIM is calling an enhanced flash. There's a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and support for Bluetooth stereo audio.

That's Not All
In addition to the new Pearl, Sprint will introduce a pair of Motorola handsets, the Q9c and i335, later this month as well.

The i335 is a slim and rugged addition to Sprint's Nextel (iDEN) portfolio. It supports Nextel Direct Connect services and is certified to Military Standard 810 F for dust, shock and vibration.

Similar to its predecessor in size, the Moto Q9c has several enhancements, including Windows Mobile 6, improved battery life, GPS capabilities, Bluetooth 2.0 and Sprint TV support.

It supports Sprint's EV-DO network and has a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, 64MB of RAM, 64MB of ROM and a miniSD slot.

The Q9c should go for $199 on a two-year contract.



Related Links:

  • AT&T Finally Gets a Motorola Q of its Own
  • BlackBerry Pearl Coming to Sprint, Verizon Soon
  • Canada 2, U.S. 0: Bell Canada Starts Offering BlackBerry 8130
  • Sprints Picks Up New BlackBerry Pearl 8130
  • Review: Motorola Q - A RAZR-Thin Communicator

     
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