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Following up on Rogers and Bell releases, Telus has released two new BlackBerry smartphones today. The Bold 9900 we’re pretty familiar with at this point, and is now on sale for $149.99 on a three-year contract, or $649.99 with no strings attached. The Torch 9810 is a bit cheaper, going for $599.99 off-contract, or $129.99 with the standard commitment.
Both devices are upper-end (at least as far as RIM handsets go) boasting 640 x 480 touchscreens, 1.2 GHz processors, 5 megapixel cameras with 720p video recording, and magnetic compasses for augmented reality apps. The 9900 has the added bonus of near-field communications, but with so few use cases for it yet, the Bold doesn’t have much of a head start on the slider. For a closer look, be sure to check out our hands-on video and impressions of the BlackBerry 9900 here and the 9810 here.
Now that all of the major Canadian carriers are hooked up with at least a few of the new devices (the Torch 9860 seems like it’s still a few weeks out), I’m eager to hear about when the little guys like Wind Mobile and Mobilicty will launch their offers. My contract on Rogers is just about up, and I may end up signing on with one of them next. If you’d rather keep your nicely-subsidized device and solid coverage however, the Telus Bold 9900 is in their online store here, and the Torch 9810 is chilling out here. Sit tight, Americans – these devices are headed your way soon too.
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.
