Sprint's Motorola i9 and BlackBerry 8350i team up for photo shoot

by Chris Ziegler, posted Nov 7th 2008 at 12:58PM

It's hard to believe that iDEN's having a bit of a renaissance so late in its life, but if these two handsets aren't evidence of that, we really don't know what would be. The Motorola i9 and BlackBerry 8350i will represent the very best that Sprint's Direct Connect network has to offer when they're finally released; the i9 hasn't been officially announced in any capacity yet, but the 8350i is on track for a launch some time this quarter (and with the still-sold 7100i three frickin' years old now, that's a damn good thing). We've also heard that Moto's got an i465 in the works, too, but we don't know anything about it just yet. Check out a few shots below while you wait for Sprint to get its push-to-talk butt in gear.

[Thanks, Manny P.]

Gallery: Sprint's Motorola i9 and BlackBerry 8350i team up for photo shoot

Filed under: Handsets, Features, Motorola, RIM, Sprint

Tags: 8350i, blackberry, cabo, clamshell, direct connect, DirectConnect, flip, i465, i9, moto, motorola, nextel, rim, sprint

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Daniel @ Nov 7th 2008 3:14PM

I wonder what version OS the BB 8350i is running...

Neutral

Peter F @ Nov 7th 2008 4:10PM

Still waiting for a WinMo Iden/CDMAQChat PDA Phone

Neutral

pete @ Nov 7th 2008 5:20PM

yes yes yes is that os 4.6 for blackberry i am so happy, the original rumors said 4.6 but the official announcment from sprint never said anything about 4.6. now only if the i9 has wimax as originally rumored last spring. that would be the best solution for iden data problems add wimax to iden phones, so that iden phones can only be used for voice and PTT. that would increase nextel iden bandwith, so maybe we can go back to 3:1 instead of the current 6:1. the wimax/iden was nextels plan originaly for faster data before the stupid merger that destroyed my beutiful nextel.

Neutral

Johnny B Bad @ Nov 7th 2008 6:42PM

Like Peter F I am also waiting for WinMo Iden/CDMAQChat PDA Phone...what's the F'n hold up with some type of PDA/PTT phone?

Neutral

jeremy you are in danger @ Nov 7th 2008 11:41PM

OK SO I USED TO HAVE THE 7100i FOR NEXTEL...iDEN DATA WAS LIKE 56K!!!!!
I HOPE THAT HAS CHANGED???
TIME WILL TELL. SPRINT WOULDNT SELL US A BAD PHONE NOW WILL THEY?...

(LOYAL SPRINT CUSTOMER)

Neutral

Dustin Howett @ Nov 8th 2008 2:43PM

I'm sorry, Motorola. I love ya, but. What?
That's ridiculous.
It's 2008. Two thousand and eight of them. And Q4 at that.

Your phone really has "Mesgs"?
I'm not used to sending mesgs. Maybe messages, but, seriously?
Not like you don't have the screen real-estate for it.

:wq

Neutral

crashoverride @ Nov 8th 2008 7:23PM

Pete,

Your "beautiful Nextel" was bankrupt my man...Sprint bailed it out and spent a ton (maybe too much) cash to do that. I've got nothing but love for the chirp, but it was hurting as a business model before the merger and it was not touted well after, either.

As for the WiMAX and Iden Hybrid theory-the market for Wimax is not across the nation for another 3 years and only in huge metro areas first. It could be nice, but going 4G across that whole network would make IDEN and CDMA/EVDO all "beautiful". Putting the radios in most big IDEN phones would not be difficult, except for battery life.

As for data as others have asked, IDEN is not that fast, since it is a wideband, low frequency system. The reason Nextel got wrecked is that the FCC took homeland security needs and decided to swallow up a chunk of Nextel's bandwidth-that is why Sprint is converting it to the CDMA/EVDO system as well. So, the data may be slower-but RIM was once a Mobletex pager network device-I wouldn't browse all day on it. I bet that is why this curve has WIFI as well...

as for MOTO Dustin, I agree, what is that about?!?

Neutral

Chris @ Nov 8th 2008 9:28PM

if anyone would like more info on the Blackberry 8350i as the launch approaches such as specs or pricing, please contact me directly and i can assist you this. I can verify your upgrade eligibility and make sure that you qualifty for the 2 year upgrade price. For questions, please contact me at cpowell@vazcom.net

Neutral

Maurice Parks @ Nov 20th 2008 7:39PM

I see you on the World Wide Web!!!

Good work and keep it up.

Neutral

manuelprieto87 @ Nov 10th 2008 9:18PM

yes the bb is using 4.6 software and it wil have Wifi available.

Neutral

Chris @ Nov 20th 2008 3:15PM

THE BLACKBERRY RELEASE DATE HAS BEEN PUSHED BACK! Sprint just announced that they are pushing the release date of the highly anticipated Blackberry 8350i to December 15th. We are currently taking pre-orders for this handset; to be added or for more information, please contact me directly at cpowell@vazcom.net

Neutral

firemike @ Dec 5th 2008 2:33PM

I called Sprints help line and after about 8 transfers (I asked a technical question about my current phone) I talked to a guy name Rick. Rick told me he has been working for Sprint for about a year and knew a little bit about the 8350i phone. First off he said he got to hold the 8350i for about 5 seconds during a big corporate meeting. He said the meeting was quit transparent. It was organized to boost morale for the Nextel guys in the office and shop. In the meeting they (Sprint executives) claimed that Sprint would be rolling out a working model of the 8350i before the end of August. Since that meeting only his boss's boss got a 8350i. Rick said he keeps it in a locked draw in his office and it has become kind of a office joke. Since Sprint can't get any more 8350i the technical support guys have been training on a computer simulated model. The other day Rick got an inter office memo demanding that there will be no more jokes about the 8350i release date. The joke the memo said were "in poor taste". Well there you go fokes, Sprint has lied to us again. Maybe there will be phones available by 12/15/08 but probably not. For all those who doubt me - I remember months before the instinct came out Sprint had posters, fliers, and plastic mock up models - DO YOU REMEMBER? I haven't seen any fliers or mock ups of the 8350i, I wonder why? Nextel is like the chairs on the Titanic, there slowly going under.

Neutral

John L. Shinn III @ Jan 16th 2009 2:17AM

A week ago, I went to Sprint and got the Blackberry 8330. Sprint’s 3G network is blazingly fast. Then I saw a colleague with a Blackberry 8350i, so I went back to Sprint and exchanged the 8330 for the 8350i—since my job requires me to also have a walkie-talkie.
The Sprint salesperson did point out that the 8350i runs on the Nextel radio network, but failed to make it clear that Nextel’s network is slow and nowhere near Sprint’s 3G network. The store only had two 8350i’s and I was lucky enough to get one before they were put out as display models.
Now I’m stuck with the 8350i (since Sprint would only allow one return/exchange within 30 days of purchase) which takes 2, 3 or 4 times longer than the 8330 to open a website. Watching Youtube.com is a joke as Nextel’s network is rather slow.
If you love to surf the ‘net, don’t get the 8350i and stick with Sprint’s 8330 or other 8000 models running on the 3G network. But if you use the walkie-talkie more than you surf the ‘net, then get the 8350i.
I know I cannot have everything in one phone such as the 8350i. But considering that I have to now carry only one phone instead of three (and capable of using a 16gig MicroSD compared to the 8330's 2 gig capacity) —more than outweighs the shortcomings of the 8350i running on Nextel’s network.
Overall, I’m still happy with the 8350i. I only wished that Nextel runs on the 3G network.