U.S. Cellular harvests the BlackBerry 9650

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9650

(Credit: RIM)

U.S. Cellular is on a mission for more smartphones, which may account for its recent announcement that the carrier is adding the BlackBerry Bold 9650 to its stable. U.S. Cellular is quick to note that the 9650 is BlackBerry 6 ready, which will apparently be available to the phone in the near future. As we mentioned in our review of the Sprint version, the 9650 has a GSM chip for your globe trotting needs in addition to the CDMA one you'll be using stateside. Other notable features include a 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and 3G--both HSPA and EV-DO Rev. A. It's available starting today for $159.95 after a $70 rebate and a new two-year contract.