Any Idea When TMO Will Get The 8700?
 

anyone have any gueSS's as to when T-mobile wiLL get the 8700??

60-90 days after Cingular's release. Usually cell companies have some type of an agreement in place to be the exclusize distrabutor for a set peroid of time. If I remember right T-Mobile got the 7100 series before Cinghular, they followed a few months later.

it'll be Q1 next year. not sure on the month, but as jason stated, it will likely be 2-3 months after Cingular's U.S. exclusivity period is over.

How long does it normally take for the handsets to filter across to the UK carriers?

I'd consider switching to Cingular for this reason, but as I understand, their data plans suck...

i think vodafone will receive it on the first run, to be honest. they and cingular are the only vendors that have a new theme file for it already.

Since I work for a T-Mobile Authorized Dealer, I've already asked our T-Mobile Territory Rep about this one. It's still a bit early to know for sure, but the tentative release date he's heard is January '06. I'm assuming they'll call it the 8700t. :)

Our TMo "Senior National Account Manager" says Feb/Mar 2006. I think I will try to get an unlocked Cingular phone before that - this lockup/exclusive period stuff is silly.

Unless it's you carrier getting the new hardware ;-)

Really, this is nothing new, been like this for a while. I remember when Cellular One was the only carrier in my area carrying the Motorola Star Tec and I was with Ameritech. The nice part I can see is that everyone on Cingular can be considered a beta tester and those of us on T-Mo will hopefullyt have the bugs worked out when we get it.

Patience Grasshopper

I know it's not new - I am just a tech junkie and want stuff the minute it is released. As for patience...funny coming from a guy with a Red Wings avatar - y'all aren't known for kindness and patience, now are you? ;-)

my thoughts exactly.

i think it will be around Feb 1 when TMO will start selling it. will make a nice birthday present.

I feel you pain, I'm a techy too.

As for the Red WIngs comment, I would expect as much from someone indside the belway, lets just say the Wings are like the truth, and we all know those in DC "Can't handle the truth" ;-)

LETS GO RED WINGS (CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP)

I'm hearing March '06.

I agree that waiting until February or March will be worth it, if TMo can get any bugs out of it, and if they release it in the sleek black housing we saw in some of the other pictures. I think the Cingular housing combined with the orangish icons is ugly.

Of course, I've been wanting to switch to Verizon but do not imagine I can wait until June of 06 for their release (if not later).

Not that I believe it but....

I walked into the local T-Mobile store today to see when my contract expires, as I am thinking about a move to Cingular (especially with the 8700 out next week or so). To my surprise, my contract ran out last month (guess I only signed a 1 year instead of a 2 year). Just for the hell of it, I asked if by any chance they had heard any news about T-Mobile's release of the 8700. I specifically asked about the 8700 not the revamped 7105. She knew exactly what I was talking about as she said "the new full sized one". She said they were promised they would have it before Christmas. I asked her 2 or 3 times just to confirm we were talking about the same thing, but of course I still don't believe her. Especially when I called Customer Service a little later just for the hell of it and asked about it, and the CSR said there is nothing on the "Coming Soon" sheet she had. She said probably next year.

So now I have to decide whether to jump ship for the new cool phone and EDGE, or wait it out with my 7100 until TMO's release of the 8700.

Nothing like switching carriers and paying more per month. Just be aware the Cingular Tech Support is closed during Sundays, better do your homework. :)

There is a little more for me to weigh in than the higher monthly charge, especially when my company pays for it. I have had several occaisions where I do not get a signal with T-Mobile, while co-workers/friends would be sitting right next to me with Cingular BBs and no connection problems. These connection problems are not just in rural areas either, my hometown has a no cell tower ordinance and I get spotty coverage with T-Mobile in my house, where Cingular users have no issues, even in my basement.

Besides the higher monthly fee, are there other disadvantages to making a switch? Don't get me wrong, I like T-Mobile, especially their Customer Service (100% better than when I had Sprint).

Generally T-Mo deploys upgrades to the OS and was the first to deploy the newest version of the bb webclient/BIE upgrade to it's users. And also, it's only 20$ for unlimited international BB data roaming. No other carrier offers that kind of deal, so it's great if you're a jetsetter :)

I was @ a RIM event recently and the rep that I was speaking with had awesome things to say about the 8700. She said we'd have it at the begining of the year, and she thought Cingular had a 6 mo exclusive, but it wasn't finalized yet. So here's hoping for the shorter side :)

DX

i *highly* doubt that Cingular will have a 6 month exclusivity period. thats ridiculous.

I just spoke with a senior BlackBerry tech at Tmobile who said the 8700 will be released in time for the holiday season.