My Sprint experience purchasing the new 9930

I've been waiting for this device for quite some time.

Today I visited my local Sprint store in Cincinnati. I walk in and went over to the rather small Blackberry section. They had the old Torch, I guess.. the Curve 3G and Playbook. The Bold 9930 wasn't even on display. I asked the girl at the counter if they were available and she seemed rather confused as to whay I was asking, then something clicked and she said it didn't come out for another week.. it was only when another rep who overheard the conversation glanced at the shelf, said "Oops", and took off to the stock room. They brought out a demo with a dead battery so I couldn't even play with it.. they were also looking for the SKU sticker and other paperwork that they place on the display shelf.

After about 30 minutes of this bull**** I asked if they had one in a sealed box that I could use, and was 99% sure I'd buy it anyway. They brought one to me.

Had this been another EVO device, I'm sure it would have been on display long before the release date.

As for the 9930 itself, not much of an upgrade but still an amazing device none the less. I like the new icons and touch screen. The camera is a lot better and it seems to navigate the browser a little faster than my old 9650. I hope for RIM's sake that they release another device within a year, rather than 2. The OS is good for now, but it is outdated.