Pick up the BlackBerry Curve 9350 NFC phone on Sprint for just $79.99
Posted by Seth Planck
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:45 PM Filed Under Galleries, Latest News, Videos
Pick up the BlackBerry Curve 9350 NFC phone on Sprint for just $79.99
RIM trotted out some new NFC phones today, one being the BlackBerry Curve 9350. We already knew most of the specifications on this phone but it’s always nice when it gets official. We’ll get to the specs in a few, but wanted to let you know that the BlackBerry Curve 9350 NFC phone already has a home on Sprint and will be available on Friday, September 9th for a rather affordable $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. As smartphones go, the BlackBerry Curve 9350 isn’t going to attract those who want bleeding edge specifications and probably sits in the middle of the market. We were struck by how similar the hardware specifications are between the BlackBerry Curve 9350 and the Huawei Sonic are, aside from one being GSM and one being CDMA that is. The BlackBerry Curve 9350 has siblings that work with other networks but we will get to them in another post.
BlackBerry Curve 9350 NFC phone specifications
Other BlackBerry NFC phones have shipped with NFC turned off. The BlackBerry Curve 9350 on Sprint, however, is a functioning NFC phone. As of yet, we don’t know what NFC Forum tag types are supported and whether there is software to read and write NFC tags. By the very fact that NFC is live in the BlackBerry Curve 9350, it is already ahead of the BlackBerry Bold 9930 when it comes to its NFC prowess and that is a good thing. If you can bear a two-year contract, which let’s face it is standard these days, $80 is getting you a lot of phone. Unfortunately, you will have to deal with a mail-in rebate to see that price though.
At only 1mm, or 0.43 inches, thick the BlackBerry Curve isn’t what you’d call portly. It skips along on an Qualcomm MSM8655 800MHz processor which is backed up by 512MB RAM. It uses those brains to bring you the latest BlackBerry 7 OS experience. Well, we say the BlackBerry 7 OS experience but that’s sans touch screen because the phone doesn’t support it. Speaking of the display, the BlackBerry Curve 9350 sports a 2.44-inch HVGA+ screen with a resolution of 480×360 pixels. The display isn’t what you would call a monster, but there again if you take heed of what Steve Jobs says you will know that not everyone wants a large phone with a large screen. At the back of the BlackBerry Curve 9350 NFC phone you will find a 5 megapixel EDoF camera with an LED flash capable of VGA vide0 recording.
In the connectivity department, we find the BlackBerry Curve 9350 is adorned with the usual suspects. Bluetooth, WiFi b/g/n with UMA, GPS / aGPS and the welcomed addition of NFC, as we mentioned earlier. As far as storage, the BlackBerry Curve 9350 ships with a mere 512MB of internal memory but can be upgraded up to 32GB via the microSD slot which is customary these days. Finally, the BlackBerry Curve 9350 stays juiced thanks to its 1000mAh battery, but as yet we don’t have talk time or standby time to report.
The press release below lets us know that Canada is likely to see the phone before the end of the month and the rest of us will see the BlackBerry Curve 9350 or one of its siblings in short order during September. Sprint customers already have their date. Vodafone seems destined to get the BlackBerry 9360 GSM version as the video below suggests.
BlackBerry Curve 9350 Specifications
| General | 2G Network | CDMA 800 / 1900 |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 23 August 2011 | |
| Status | September 9th 2011 on Sprint |
| Size | Dimensions | 109 x 60 x 11 mm |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 99 g |
| Display | Type | TFT |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 480 x 360 pixels, 2.44 inches | |
| - QWERTY keyboard - Touch-sensitive optical trackpad |
| Sound | Alert types | Vibration; MP3 ringtones |
|---|---|---|
| Loudspeaker | Yes | |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| Memory | Phonebook | Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall |
|---|---|---|
| Call records | Yes | |
| Internal | 512 MB storage, 512 MB ROM | |
| Card slot | microSD, up to 32GB |
| Data | GPRS | No |
|---|---|---|
| EDGE | No | |
| 3G | No | |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v2.1 with A2DP | |
| Infrared port | No | |
| USB | Yes, microUSB v2.0 |
| Camera | Primary | 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, LED flash |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Geo-tagging | |
| Video | Yes, VGA | |
| Secondary | No |
| Features | OS | BlackBerry OS 7.0 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 800MHz processor | |
| Messaging | SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM | |
| Browser | HTML | |
| Radio | No | |
| Games | Yes + downloadable | |
| Colors | Black | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support | |
| Java | No | |
| - NFC support - MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player - MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player - Organizer - Document viewer - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input |
| Battery | Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh | |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-by | ||
| Talk time |
BlackBerry Curve 9350 Debuts Sept. 9 for Just $79.99 from Sprint
Stunning new BlackBerry Curve 9350 is fast, affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured and socially connected
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The next generation of Research In Motion’s (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) popular BlackBerry® Curve™ series of smartphones, the stunning new BlackBerry Curve 9350, comes to Sprint (NYSE: S) on Friday, Sept. 9, offering the latest BlackBerry operating system – BlackBerry® 7. The new BlackBerry Curve 9350 is a fast, affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured and socially connected smartphone that is as beautiful as it is functional.
The slim and stylish smartphone will cost just $79.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service BlackBerry Curve 9350 agreement , after a $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1 and be available in all Sprint sales channels, including Sprint Stores, Business Sales, Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and web sales (www.sprint.com). Sprint Business customers may qualify to get BlackBerry Curve 9350 for $49.99 (excluding taxes) on a business account with a new line or BlackBerry Curve 9350 eligible upgrade and new one- or two-year service agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1.
“It is exciting to see the BlackBerry Curve line continue to evolve, building upon past success,” said David Owens, vice president – Product Development, Sprint. “This latest iteration offers the recognizable form factor our customers have come to enjoy, while adding powerful new features and innovative apps of BlackBerry 7 to deliver the BlackBerry Curve 9350 smoothest and fastest BlackBerry Curve experience to date.”
The BlackBerry Curve 9350 smartphone offers a full QWERTY keyboard and trackpad for easy one-handed navigation and keeps users connected by allowing them to easily share moments through pictures and videos via MMS, as well as by instant message with world-class IM services like BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger). With easy BlackBerry Curve 9350 access to social networking sites like Flickr®, MySpace and Facebook®, this smartphone provides smooth integration to keep users up to speed on what’s happening in their personal and professional lives.
Key features include:
BlackBerry App World™, the official app store front for BlackBerry smartphones BlackBerry Curve 9350 offering customization, fun and productivity
Near Field Communications (NFC) support for a secure exchange of information between NFC-enabled devices over a very short distance
5MP camera with HD video capture, flash and zoom
512MB RAM
2GB microSD card included, with support for up to 32GB microSD card
BlackBerry PlayBook support with BlackBerry Bridge™ (BlackBerry Bridge is available as a free download on BlackBerry App World)
DataViz Docs To Go® Premium suite preloaded, for editing Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from anywhere
Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g/n)
Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support
Smoother and Faster with BlackBerry 7
With BlackBerry 7, the BlackBerry Browser is significantly enhanced to provide a faster and more fluid user experience and includes optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.
Building upon the Universal Search feature introduced in BlackBerry 6, BlackBerry 7 expands the capability to include voice-activated search. This new capability makes it easier and more convenient to search for content on the smartphone or web.
BlackBerry 7 also integrates BlackBerry® Balance™, which separates personal content from corporate content, giving users the freedom and flexibility to use the smartphone for personal email, Facebook®, Twitter®, multimedia, games and other apps, BlackBerry Curve 9350 while satisfying the very real need for corporate data to be highly secure and manageable. BlackBerry Balance works in conjunction with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server 5.0.3, which provides a number of unique IT policy controls, such as wiping only corporate data or blocking work-related content and apps from being copied or forwarded to personal contacts.
BlackBerry Curve 9350 requires activation on one of Sprint’s Everything Data plans plus a required $10 Premium Data add-on charge for smartphones. Sprint’s Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM includes unlimited web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in BlackBerry Curve 9350 America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $69.99 per month plus required $10 Premium Data add-on charge – a savings of $40 per month versus Verizon’s comparable plan with unlimited talk, text and 2GB web or $10 per month versus Verizon’s 450-minute plan with unlimited text and 2GB web. (Pricing excludes taxes and surcharges.)
Sprint was unbeaten among major wireless carriers for customer BlackBerry Curve 9350 satisfaction according to results from the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index. In addition to tying for first place among wireless carriers, Sprint was also the number one most improved company in customer satisfaction, across all industries, during the last three years, according to the survey.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 52 million customers at the end of 2Q 2011 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, BlackBerry Curve 9350 including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
1The American Express Prepaid Reward Card (“Card”) provided in connection with this Rebate offer is a prepaid Card that is usable only at U.S. merchants that accept American Express Cards. Some limitations apply. Offer valid only in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The Card is not redeemable for cash (except where required by law) and does not provide ATM access. Use of Card constitutes acknowledgement that it is given as a reward and no consideration, value, or money has been paid by the holder to American Express in exchange for this Card. USE OF CARD IS BlackBerry Curve 9350 SUBJECT TO THE CARDHOLDER AGREEMENT. SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAW, A $3.00 MONTHLY FEE WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST CARD BALANCE, STARTING SIX MONTHS AFTER CARD ISSUANCE. Card expires six years after the date of issuance if not depleted before. For BALANCE, customer service and Cardholder Agreement, visit americanexpress.com/sprint or call 1-866-608-3756. Card issued by AEPCMC under license from American Express Prepaid Card Management Corporation, Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.
Blackberry Curve 9350 NFC phone