Blackberry World Series CDMA/GSM phone hits store shelves

Basking Ridge (NJ) - Verizon Wireless has begun offering the Blackberry 8830 World Edition Smartphone, which combines CDMA and GSM connectivity under one hood.

Other than common CDMA-based phones, the hybrid Blackberry 8830 allows Verizon Wireless subscribers to stay connected in a greater number of countries around the globe - most of which are using GSM as their network technology today. According to the company, the new 8830 offers connectivity in North America, Australia as well as more than 160 countries in Europe, parts of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

The feature set includes 1x EV-DO/GPRS and GSM/GPRS (900 and 1800 MHz) capability with auto-selection of the available network type, a trackball navigation device, a media player, 64 MB built-in flash memory, a microSD card slot, speaker independent voice recognition, Bluetooth connectivity, as well as a speakerphone.

Verizon customers who are purchasing the Global Blackberry service, which includes a SIM card and a reference guide, receive access to the firm’s the Global Help Desk for 24/7 customer support as well as a calling card for free support calls while traveling outside of the U.S. from any landline phone to technical support if the smartphone is lost, broken or stolen.

Verizon sells the new Blackberry for $400 and offers $100 rebate with a 2-year service agreement and another $100 with "certain" voice and data plans. The Global Blackberry (data) service is priced at $65 per month in addition to a voice plan. The standalone Global Blackberry (data) service is priced at $70 per month.