Sprint will be getting the new BlackBerry Oxford in Gray and Purple first when it arrives, starting October 31st. The Oxford, as it is known, is a new BlackBerry device in a clamshell-wide form factor. It is the first clamshell device from RIM to feature a full keyboard.
While the name apparently still isn’t settled, we continue to refer to it by the codename of Oxford, or 9670, which sources tell us is the model number. We do know that it will offer BlackBerry OS 6 as well as EVDO Rev A, 5 megapixel camera with flash, Wi-Fi, GPS, Visual Voicemail, and support for a single microSD slot accepting up to 32GB microSD HC cards.
Other sources are confirming that pricing has been set at $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a two-year contract. Early buzz on the device is mixed. Besides the lack of decision in family name, it seems that some who have seen it claim that it is wider and thicker than expected; this could lead to similar disappointing sales that RIM experienced with the Peal Flip, which was the last clamshell or flip device that RIM released.
