At RIMarkable, one of Rob's readers reports some insider-y news that this coming fall, SprintNextel will release a new BlackBerry that will bridge Sprint and Nextel's Push-to-Talk Networks.

QChat's main web page (linked below) says the solution enables communication to begin with the press of a Push to Talk button on the handset, as opposed to a standard cellular call. It forms a call by combining separate point-to-point connections between each IP endpoint at a managing entity known as the QChat Applications Server, deployed on the carrier's IP Wide Area Network (WAN.)

"Pressing the Push to Talk button originates a call to the target QChat user and provides the originator with information indicating the availability (presence) of the target user," QChat's website points out. "If the target user is available, the originator receives an immediate indication that the target user is available and the originator can begin speaking. The call originator's voice is then sent through the carrier's network to the target's handset. Initiating a call to a QChat user who is not available will simply result in a negative response tone rather than a busy signal or a voicemail."

Sprint Nextel Corp. is now charging 15 cents per message - a 5 cent increase - for using text messaging without a monthly package.

This move makes me wonder how many, if any, current SprintNextel cell customers will thus decide that they are doing too much text messaging lately, and might as well switch to a BlackBerry where they can send messages as part of a data plan without being literally nickel and dimed to do so.

Then again, such a move might spur Sprint subscribers to try and break their service contracts and sign up with a competitor. They might have the "material change" clause in their corner.

That's even despite the fact that subscription-based pricing plans will stay the same- $5 for a monthly allowance of 300 messages, $10 for 1,000 and $15 for unlimited usage. Extra messages above those amounts will remain at 10 cents a clip.

And so it is that a BBHub reader named Kenneth (yes, really!!) writes to me that he had lunch with his SprintNextel reps and they told him that "by this time next year they would be releasing a BlackBerry CDMA 8800 series device that will include a lot of what has been talked about so far as well as a VoIP-enabled walkie-talkie function."

Due to some proprietary functionality, the BlackBerry 8800 (which will look like the device shown above, as provided by our sister site Engadget) will have far less latency in walkie-talkie mode than some users might have expected," Kenneth tells me SprintNextel tells them.

And as to compatibility with legacy Nextel iDEN DirectConnect (not voice) network, Kenneth says SprintNextel reps told him this handheld will be compatible.

Kenneth and I wonder, if this the beginning of the end of Nextel's iDEN?

• Bluetooth
• Color Screen
• Contacts / Phonebook Entries
• Downloadable Ring Tones
• Downloadable Wallpapers
• Games
• GPS-Enabled (911)
• Hearing Aid Compatible
• Messaging
• Multi-Language
• Multimedia
• Phone as Modem Capable
• QWERTY keyboard
• Ringers
• Web

With the BlackBerry 8703e now available on Verizon and due for release on SprintNextel October 1, there's lots of love for the BlackBerry 8703e in an ever-expanding Howard Forums thread entitled The "Get My 8703" Thread.

The thread was started by HoFo-er retroinspired, who wrote in his thread-opener that he is "freakin' stoked" to activate his new device. He follows that up with a post on what he thinks so far.

But for the most complete assessment on this thread, you'll want to check with HoFo'er sparky12.

"It seems to me that the screen is even better than to the 7130," he writes. "I'm not sure if it is but it looks to be a little sharper. I happen to also like the auto contrast function as it makes it a lot oeasier to view in different lighting situations. The 7130 was not good in this respect. I like the tactile feedback of the keys much better than the 7130 and really enjoy having the full size keyboard again.

Then sparky12 writes that he is also a big fan of the extra programmable convenience key. Makes life a little simpler. The device is also a little shorter, though it is wider.

"I like the feel of it a little more than the 7130. I did have the extended battery on the 7130 which added a lot of weight too," he writes.

"Obviously there are a lot of similarities between the two but the 8703 just seems so much more 'BlackBerry' than the 7130."

SprintNextel and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion say that Sprint will be selling the BlackBerry 8703e beginning October 1.

The device, which has EV-DO support as well as Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) compatibility and integration, will be offered for $349.99 with a- you guessed it- two-year sub.

Online, the BlackBerry 8703e will be offered at the Sprint Business Store. The link is for future reference; the 8703e is not up there yet.

A BBHub reader who has a proven business relationship with his SprintNextel rep has just forwarded me an email from this rep:

"It (the BlackBerry 8100) won't be this fall, but we always have all the available models of BlackBerry as soon as we can," the SprintNextel guy tells my correspondent.

I hear this and I think two things:

Not every single tech issue has been worked out yet. Hmm, maybe a role for that BlackBerry lab person that just got hired, and which I wrote about earlier today?

In the language I speak, "not this fall" sounds probably like January or February, 2007.

But this time frame doesn't portend a lack of BlackBerry rollouts for SprintNextel customers.

"This fall look for our 8703," SprintNextel guy to BBHub reader guy. "I am working with the beta now, its a fantastic device. Full qwerty keyboard EVDO device, but with all the features of the 7130. Fantastic screen, improved UI, polyphonic
ringtones, phone keys, shortcut keys, etc."

That's the 8703 over there. Visualize the Sprint logo instead of the Verizon, and you've got the form factor etched in your brain.

Fall? I'd bet sooner than that. Maybe August 28, as HowardForums Member and highly credible poster rock a fella attests?

More scuttlebutt about the BlackBerry 8100:

Unlike all other BlackBerry models to date, there won't be any carrier-specific letter labeling on this new camera-ready 8100 series.

By "carrier-labeling," I mean no more BlackBerry (model number) "c" for Cingular, "t" for T-Mobile, "g" for Verizon, "v" for Vodafone, "r" for Rogers, etc.

We hear this decision has been made to cut down on market confusion, as well as to reduce expenses incurred by re-plating physically identical devices.

Makes sense to us.

What do you think?

On the BlackBerry area of Experts-Exchange, the #10 most read current solutions document is now, "Problem with assigning to user and enterprise activation for a 7130e.

Question is posted by Vardata.

"I've been trying to sync a brand new 7130e with our BlackBerry server and I keep getting errors," writes Vardata, whose real first name is Josh (uh, actually prolly Joshua but who am I to say).

"When I try to assign the handheld to a user, the PIN number will get associated with the user (sometimes), but no other information can be obtained from the handheld," adds Vardata. "I keep getting a 'Capability information could not be retrieved from the handheld (2)' message."

Yes yes, I know. He tells us he's already trying to delete the user, and clearing all the data for her, and then adding her in again. No results, 'cept the same old same old.

Vardata accepts an answer from SysExpert, who advises him to check with Sprint and make sure everything is properly activated.

"If this is the first Sprint user," SysExpert counsels, "they may not (have) done everything required."

Chris Cobbs is the technology writer for the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel.

Today, Chris writes that he has tested what he calls the non-folding "candybar" Blackberrys from "the three" major cellular providers (Verizon,Cingular and T-Mobile),but he says that than all of them.

"Internet pages seem to load more quickly (on Sprint's 7130e),especially Sprint's set of wireless web links for news, finance, travel, sports, entertainment and all," he writes. "The device also has very good audio quality when used as a phone."

OK, I am interested in hearing from readers who may have comparison tested all the 7130 "candybar" BlackBerrys that Chris is referring to. Is he right? Is Sprint's 7130e faster than all the rest?

AIRCHARGE (not shouting, for that's the way they want to spell their name) credit card devices are now able to be used by mobile merchants to accept credit card payments over BlackBerry devices.

Typical scenarios could be for furniture delivery, limo rides (fu-fu, woo-hoo) trade show tickets sold on-site, and even flea market booths.

The central functionality of te Pipeline Data product is the AIRCHARGE JavaME software for wireless payment processin. It is certified to run on the Sprint network that services the BlackBerry 7130e and BlackBerry 7520.

The AIRCHARGE payment processing software can be loaded onto the via BlackBerry over-the-air (OTA) and is compatible with virtually any merchant processing account.

In her new post entitled "Where Is Life Going," MySpace Blogger Tiffany wonders aloud why she is working in a call center eight years after she started college.

She describes her current gig as "working at a call center-saying 'Thank you for Calling Sprint Together with Nextel BlackBerry support' only about 50 times a day."

Tiffany believes there's more to life than working at a call center, and as she puts it, "hating your job."

The rest of Tiffany's post describes how she believes that God has a plan for her life.

Some reviewers are absolutely ga-ga over the SprintNextel BlackBerry 7130e, but Mobile Tech Review's Michael Thwaite just isn't one of those people.

Michael's review is rather lengthy, so let me quote from his Pros/Cons, and then his conclusion.

Push email, familiar user interface, tethering to a laptop to use the 7130eas a high speed wireless modem- well, to steal a line from an very old cereal commercial, "Mike-y likes it."

On the other hand, he cites the BlackBerry 7130e's "disposable toy feel," lack of multimedia or storage and perhaps as a result of both of these negatives, no "wow" factor.

"As I pack away the 7130e ready to send it back to the good people of Sprint, I'm not completely negative about this device," he writes. "It has poor battery life and dreadful build quality but I can't say that I disliked using it; perhaps that says more about the general state of the genre as today they're all good up to a point.

"The trick is making your product stand out in the crowd and I'm afraid that the BlackBerry simply doesn't," he adds. "It lacks a great screen, has a so-so processor and no media support. Where's the 'Wow factor'?

I just noticed something interesting when I read the copy of the manual for the forthcoming Motorola ic502 as posted on the FCC site.

Notice the branding: "NEXTEL only from Sprint."

Seems like this is to replace the familiar: "Sprint: Together with NEXTEL."

Maybe this is supposed to signify the further absorption of the NEXTEL brand into Sprint, which bought NEXTEL a year ago and is now corporately known as SprintNextel.

Tell that to the customer billing systems of Sprint and NEXTEL. I have a legacy NEXTEL BlackBerry plan but a new Sprint EVDO for my notebook. But guess what- even though my invoices come from Sprint, I will be getting two separate bills for at least the next several months.

Marketing slogans running ahead of real-world systems integration? Well perish the thought!

Had an interesting experience today going into a "Sprint" store and trying to get my notebook updated for EVDO.

They were out of aircards, but since this wasn't really- despite the livery- a Sprint store but a legacy Nextel store, they couldn't access Sprint's online ordering system to order a refreshed supply. Why? Because the POS systems are not yet compatible. They are supposed to be on July 9, I was told, but this was on June 27.

So they sent me about 1,000 feet down the road to a Sprint store. They had the card but when they tried to add my EVDO to my existing BlackBerry account-, well, no can do. Why? About a year after the merger the customer systems are not yet integrated.

So for the forseeable future, I will be getting two bills.

Answer me this- it seems that when these big mergers take place, the financial end of things get mashed up within days. But why does it take a year or more for systems compatibility- especially with a merger of equals?

Just got a tip from Greg Gebhardt, who is not only a frequent poster on several BlackBerry sites, but a guy with a proven ear to the ground when it comes to BlackBerry stuff.

He says that he has just heard from a buddy of his who works for BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion in Canada.

The scoop: yes, ther will be a Sprint 8702, but it will be CDMA not iDen. "There will be NO iDen 8700 series, " Greg informs me that his friend told him, "but there will be a Sprint unit." 

No date, although the talk now seems to point to September...

I'm in San Francisco today, on a business trip.

So yesterday at 4 p.m. I am walking down Market Street where I happen on a Cingular Wireless store.

Intrepid blogger, ingognito and undercover, to store customer service rep: "Hey, I read something about those new BlackBerry 7130c's coming out today. I am thinking of switching carriers. Got the 7130c in yet? Can I try?"

They have one in stock and I work with it for a couple minutes.

EDGE network wireless Internet access. We're talkin' major "woosh" factor here, people.

Then after I'm done in the store I step outside and I go back to my loyal SprintNextel BlackBerry 7520.

I check the wireless Internet and gosh, what a snail's pace in comparison.

"Is it a sure fire way to speed things up When all it does is slow me down"-Runaround, by Blues Traveler

Last weekend, I journeyed up to Bellingham, Washington for what I had hoped would be a whale watching expedition.

The evening before I left my hotel for the journey home, I plugged my BlackBerry charger into a wall outlet.

On the morning of my departure I took the BlackBerry out and packed it away.

Two days later (Wednesday) I notice my BlackBerry juice is down to two bars. I get nervous when that happens.

"Uh, dude, where's my charger..."

I call the hotel (225 miles north of my home) and they have it waiting for me. They agree to snail mail it back.

But with two bars remaining, see, I just can't wait a couple of days.

So I fork over $39.99 for a new charger. Which was ready and waiting for me courtesy of the helpful staff at the SprintNextel Store at 897 Ne 25th Avenue
Hillsboro, OR.

And no, I didn't tell them of my toils here. Just good people, delivering good service.

So I offer my props.