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BlackBerry 8350i Tidbits Leak

By: , IntoMobile
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 10:10 AM

BlackBerry 8350i

A few key points have surfaced about the upcoming iDEN BlackBerry due to land on Sprint-Nextel on December 1st. For starters, it’ll only have a 2.5mm headphone jack, rather than the standard 3.5mm that all BlackBerry Curve models have enjoyed up to this point. Second, this one is a bit bulkier than previous 8300-series devices, but also sports a beefier battery from the 8800. Lastly, the side convenience key is locked in for push-to-talk, so no reprogramming it.

We had heard that the 8350i was going to be a bit more bigger, but not that it would be necessarily any more rugged, which is unfortunate. The choice of 2.5 mm for the headphone jack is an interesting one, and I’m sure RIM had their reasons – perhaps mono earbuds are more practical for the PTT workplace. The larger battery is fantastic news, as the 8800′s battery life was top-notch, and will serve the 8350i well. The iDEN BlackBerry, complete with GPS and Wi-Fi, should be going for about $149.99 on Nextel, and with any luck, Telus’ Mike as well.

[via BGR]

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About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.

  • Dan Yager

    Can the 8350i be used as a modem and tethered to a lap top? I am getting two very different stories.

  • iceis

    I called Sprint(nextel blackberry) support this morning to find out if the 8350i could be used as a modem and tethered, they said "no", something about nextel does not support that at this time. She said it is the iden network not the phone. What a real bummer!!!

  • Ryan

    You can use Mottorola i355 iDEN phones as modems through a usb port so I don't think it is a iDEN network issue.

    idenphones.motorola.com/iden/support/downloads/iDENPhoneasaModem.ppt

  • Daniel Ramos

    Just great. I've been breaking my head over whether this thing had a modem or not for a good three hours. I should have found out sooner . . .

  • phillip

    Damn i also tought that it coul be used as a modem this sucks well whoever has the instructions or discovers how to. Pleaze email me at pon_9920@hotmail.com

  • michael

    yes shark modem is a blackberry app and it works well just try it free before you buy