Sprint and Research In Motion (RIM) have announced plans to deliver the BlackBerry (News - Alert) Curve 8350i by the end of this year. BlackBerry Curve 8350i is the newest Nextel Direct Connect-capable smartphone.

 

Operating on a push-to-talk network, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be the first from Sprint (News - Alert) to offer built-in Wi-Fi capabilities and Group Connect, allowing instant group conversations with up to 21 people nationwide

 

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i  will utilize integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN) technology and feature Nextel Direct Connect.

 

In addition, it also offers connection to the push-to-talk community and integrated business solutions, including selections of global positioning systems (GPS)-enabled solutions.

 

With nationwide and international Direct Connect, Sprint customers will be able to connect within the U.S. and to users in other countries including Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.

 

David Chamberlain, principal analyst at In-Stat (News - Alert), said that the BlackBerry Curve 8350i with PTT capability rounds out Sprint's options to fill communications needs of many industries particularly those in the blue-collar segment of construction, field services, transportation and manufacturing.

 

“With the launch of the new BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone, we are keeping our promise of expanding the Nextel Direct Connect capabilities and options for our customers,” said Danny Bowman, president at Nextel Direct Connect.

 

He also said that the BlackBerry Curve 8350i will be very attractive for business customers who need instant, convenient push-to-talk services to communicate in real-time with employees, customers and suppliers but also want the capabilities of a high-end smartphone.

 

The BlackBerry Curve 8350i provides rich multimedia, organizer and Internet browsing capabilities, along with access to thousands of other mobile applications. In addition, it also includes Wi-Fi capabilities.

 

Additional features include 2 megapixel digital camera - with 5x digital zoom, flash and video recording; DataViz (News - Alert) Documents to Go; internal antenna, and more.

 

“The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone will offer customers an exceptional communications and multimedia experience together with the power and convenience of the popular Nextel Direct Connect service,” said Mark Guibert, vice president of corporate marketing at RIM.