It's usually a very sad long waiting game to get decent smartphones for folks who aren't already on a major carrier like Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or T-Mobile.  Sometimes, though, that waiting can pay off.   Alltell customers  -- well, those of you not already swallowed up by ported over to Verizon in many market areas -- this may be one of those times.   If you have a qualifying plan (e.g., eligible to upgrade or opening a new line/account) you can grab the BlackBerry 8530 to run on Alltel's 3G network for a mere $49.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.  Yeah, we're not big fans of the mail-in rebate way of doing things either, but $100 bucks isn't exactly chump change.  The best part?  It's only a 1-year contract.

So, while it's not the most revved-up BlackBerry on the market with it's 2MP camera,  you do get to take advantage of the new Curve form factor, trackpad (no more gunky trackball problems, yay!), social networking with Facebook and Twitter, and the Wi-Fi/ GPS enabled goodness any respectable smartphone sports these days.  Throw in your own microSD, and your 8530 can be used for video recording with expandable storage up to 32GB.  Not too shabby.

Press Release follows with even more details on Alltel's BlackBerry 8530.

Act quickly! If you have been on the fence about getting a BlackBerry, your patience has just paid off.  Between now and  midnight Sunday, June 4th, you can get  ALL models of the BlackBerry Curve line fro  AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Alltel for FREE!