At RIMarkable, one of Rob's readers reports some insider-y news that this coming fall, SprintNextel will release a new BlackBerry that will bridge Sprint and Nextel's Push-to-Talk Networks.
Keep in mind that despite the merger of these two companies a year and a half ago, their two PTT's are walled off: Nextel is iDEN and Sprint's is CDMA. Qualcomm's QChat is said to be the solution to solve this.
QChat's main web page (linked below) says the solution enables communication to begin with the press of a Push to Talk button on the handset, as opposed to a standard cellular call. It forms a call by combining separate point-to-point connections between each IP endpoint at a managing entity known as the QChat Applications Server, deployed on the carrier's IP Wide Area Network (WAN.)
"Pressing the Push to Talk button originates a call to the target QChat user and provides the originator with information indicating the availability (presence) of the target user," QChat's website points out. "If the target user is available, the originator receives an immediate indication that the target user is available and the originator can begin speaking. The call originator's voice is then sent through the carrier's network to the target's handset. Initiating a call to a QChat user who is not available will simply result in a negative response tone rather than a busy signal or a voicemail."
When it comes to SprintNextel BlackBerry "service," the best descriptor I can use rhymes with ducks.
This is true for so many reasons.
The overarching one is that more than a year after Sprint's acquisition of Nextel, they are, except on paper, still two separate companies.
Yes, I know that there are challenges in merging two separate systems together. But did you know that without human intervention, Sprint and Nextel's customer billing systems aren't only not interfaced with one another, they are unknown to each other. Sprint customer service can't pull up my BlackBerry records, which pertain to an account opened on Nextel. And then when you go to the Nextel site in hopes of finding this info online, such page requests automatically bounce over to Sprint.
And then there's the matter of finding a parts replacement. Say a new battery for my BlackBerry 7520.
Sprint Nextel Corp. is now charging 15 cents per message - a 5 cent increase - for using text messaging without a monthly package.
This move makes me wonder how many, if any, current SprintNextel cell customers will thus decide that they are doing too much text messaging lately, and might as well switch to a BlackBerry where they can send messages as part of a data plan without being literally nickel and dimed to do so.
Then again, such a move might spur Sprint subscribers to try and break their service contracts and sign up with a competitor. They might have the "material change" clause in their corner.
That's even despite the fact that subscription-based pricing plans will stay the same- $5 for a monthly allowance of 300 messages, $10 for 1,000 and $15 for unlimited usage. Extra messages above those amounts will remain at 10 cents a clip.
And so it is that a BBHub reader named Kenneth (yes, really!!) writes to me that he had lunch with his SprintNextel reps and they told him that "by this time next year they would be releasing a BlackBerry CDMA 8800 series device that will include a lot of what has been talked about so far as well as a VoIP-enabled walkie-talkie function."
Due to some proprietary functionality, the BlackBerry 8800 (which will look like the device shown above, as provided by our sister site Engadget) will have far less latency in walkie-talkie mode than some users might have expected," Kenneth tells me SprintNextel tells them.
And as to compatibility with legacy Nextel iDEN DirectConnect (not voice) network, Kenneth says SprintNextel reps told him this handheld will be compatible.
Kenneth and I wonder, if this the beginning of the end of Nextel's iDEN?
With the BlackBerry 8703e now available on Verizon and due for release on SprintNextel October 1, there's lots of love for the BlackBerry 8703e in an ever-expanding Howard Forums thread entitled The "Get My 8703" Thread.
The thread was started by HoFo-er retroinspired, who wrote in his thread-opener that he is "freakin' stoked" to activate his new device. He follows that up with a post on what he thinks so far.
But for the most complete assessment on this thread, you'll want to check with HoFo'er sparky12.
SprintNextel and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion say that Sprint will be selling the BlackBerry 8703e beginning October 1.
The device, which has EV-DO support as well as Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) compatibility and integration, will be offered for $349.99 with a- you guessed it- two-year sub.
Online, the BlackBerry 8703e will be offered at the Sprint Business Store. The link is for future reference; the 8703e is not up there yet.
Back in November, 2005, I wrote several posts chronicling the massive retail and direct distribution confusion Cingular Wireless had been experiencing with relation to their then-new BlackBerry 8700c. Some stores had them, others didn't, and incredibly, retail employees didn't seem to be in the loop.
Then, a couple of months ago, I described another type of confusion at Sprint- the fact that a year after the merger with Nextel, both BlackBerry carriers still maintained separate inventory and billing systems unintelligible to retail employees trying to sell you a BlackBerry.
My point in dredging up these issues is to contrast the relative orderliness and discipline of T-Mobile in rolling out the Pearl. I mean, most T-Mobile stores received their Pearl more or less on time, and the device's official retail availability wasn't greeted with either "huh," or "yes, we've ordered some, they will be here soon."
For the record, Verizon Wireless stores seem to be pretty much on board with the BlackBerry 8703e launch. They should be available at the stores in early October, but there has been some pricing confusion on the Verizon Wireless site.
Makes you wonder why some BlackBerry carriers have their act together at retail, while others are disorganized. No great mystery, though. Some carriers run tighter ships, and pay as much attention to their retail distribution channels as to their most favored national accounts.
Summing up: when it comes to BlackBerry retail distribution, T-Mobile "gets it," Verizon Wireless sort of gets it, Cingular and SprintNextel do not.
A BBHub reader who has a proven business relationship with his SprintNextel rep has just forwarded me an email from this rep:
"It (the BlackBerry 8100) won't be this fall, but we always have all the available models of BlackBerry as soon as we can," the SprintNextel guy tells my correspondent.
Unlike all other BlackBerry models to date, there won't be any carrier-specific letter labeling on this new camera-ready 8100 series.
By "carrier-labeling," I mean no more BlackBerry (model number) "c" for Cingular, "t" for T-Mobile, "g" for Verizon, "v" for Vodafone, "r" for Rogers, etc.
We hear this decision has been made to cut down on market confusion, as well as to reduce expenses incurred by re-plating physically identical devices.
On the BlackBerry area of Experts-Exchange, the #10 most read current solutions document is now, "Problem with assigning to user and enterprise activation for a 7130e.
"I've been trying to sync a brand new 7130e with our BlackBerry server and I keep getting errors," writes Vardata, whose real first name is Josh (uh, actually prolly Joshua but who am I to say).
"When I try to assign the handheld to a user, the PIN number will get associated with the user (sometimes), but no other information can be obtained from the handheld," adds Vardata. "I keep getting a 'Capability information could not be retrieved from the handheld (2)' message."
Chris Cobbs is the technology writer for the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel.
Today, Chris writes that he has tested what he calls the non-folding "candybar" Blackberrys from "the three" major cellular providers (Verizon,Cingular and T-Mobile),but he says that than all of them.
"Internet pages seem to load more quickly (on Sprint's 7130e),especially Sprint's set of wireless web links for news, finance, travel, sports, entertainment and all," he writes. "The device also has very good audio quality when used as a phone."
OK, I am interested in hearing from readers who may have comparison tested all the 7130 "candybar" BlackBerrys that Chris is referring to. Is he right? Is Sprint's 7130e faster than all the rest?
AIRCHARGE (not shouting, for that's the way they want to spell their name) credit card devices are now able to be used by mobile merchants to accept credit card payments over BlackBerry devices.
Typical scenarios could be for furniture delivery, limo rides (fu-fu, woo-hoo) trade show tickets sold on-site, and even flea market booths.
The central functionality of te Pipeline Data product is the AIRCHARGE JavaME software for wireless payment processin. It is certified to run on the Sprint network that services the BlackBerry 7130e and BlackBerry 7520.
The AIRCHARGE payment processing software can be loaded onto the via BlackBerry over-the-air (OTA) and is compatible with virtually any merchant processing account.
In her new post entitled "Where Is Life Going," MySpace Blogger Tiffany wonders aloud why she is working in a call center eight years after she started college.
She describes her current gig as "working at a call center-saying 'Thank you for Calling Sprint Together with Nextel BlackBerry support' only about 50 times a day."
Tiffany believes there's more to life than working at a call center, and as she puts it, "hating your job."
The rest of Tiffany's post describes how she believes that God has a plan for her life.
Some reviewers are absolutely ga-ga over the SprintNextel BlackBerry 7130e, but Mobile Tech Review's Michael Thwaite just isn't one of those people.
Michael's review is rather lengthy, so let me quote from his Pros/Cons, and then his conclusion.
Push email, familiar user interface, tethering to a laptop to use the 7130eas a high speed wireless modem- well, to steal a line from an very old cereal commercial, "Mike-y likes it."
On the other hand, he cites the BlackBerry 7130e's "disposable toy feel," lack of multimedia or storage and perhaps as a result of both of these negatives, no "wow" factor.
"As I pack away the 7130e ready to send it back to the good people of Sprint, I'm not completely negative about this device," he writes. "It has poor battery life and dreadful build quality but I can't say that I disliked using it; perhaps that says more about the general state of the genre as today they're all good up to a point.
"The trick is making your product stand out in the crowd and I'm afraid that the BlackBerry simply doesn't," he adds. "It lacks a great screen, has a so-so processor and no media support. Where's the 'Wow factor'?
At RIMarkable, one of Rob's readers reports some insider-y news that this coming fall, SprintNextel will release a new BlackBerry that will bridge Sprint and Nextel's Push-to-Talk Networks.
When it comes to SprintNextel BlackBerry "service," the best descriptor I can use rhymes with ducks.
