Wind Mobile up in Canada has had the BlackBerry Bold 9700 since launch last year, and today, as expected, they’re refreshing it with the 9780.
It’s going for $450 off-contract ($50 more than the original), and includes upgrades to the camera (5 megapixel, with flash), more memory for apps (512 MB) and a new operating system with universal search to find local and web content easily, a revamped WebKit browser, and a bunch of user interface improvements. Otherwise, it’s pretty similar to the 9700: 624 MHz processor, 2.4-inch HVGA display, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G, and the same ol’ reliable QWERTY keyboard. The software upgrade isn’t even that much of a deal, since the 9700 has a few official OS 6 builds available.
Wind Mobile’s offer comes shortly after Mobilicity’s launch of the BlackBerry Bold 9780, who stands to be the biggest competition when it comes to the local, no-contract, unlimited-everything market in Canada. They’re the first carriers up here to operate on the AWS bands, and without being tied to contracts, customers are basically free to unlock and swap SIM cards and hardware between the two pretty freely. That strikes me as a good recipe for ongoing discounts as the two continue to try to undercut one another. The Big Three (Rogers, Bell, and Telus) are pretty safe for now since they have established networks with much better coverage, plus they have customers locked-in to three-year contracts, so even looking sideways at Mobilicity or Wind Mobile threatens being slapped with ETFs upwards of $500.
If you don’t particularly appreciate being in that situation, you can find the BlackBerry Bold 9780 at the Wind Mobile online store, and grab their great Infinite BlackBerry unlimited add-on for $35/month.
[RT @WindMobile]