InformationWeek's W. David Gardner today looks at Verizon Wireless' announcement of the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition, designed to transition seamlessly between GSM and CDMA technologies worldwide.

"Users of Verizon's U.S. CDMA network, which has consistently led reliability rankings, have often complained that their handsets don't operate in most overseas markets," Gardner writes. "The 8830 seeks to render those complaints moot. The device from Research In Motion operates on RIM's enterprise service network in overseas markets."

"The BlackBerry 8830 is built on an exciting new device platform that combines CDMA and GSM/GPRS roaming support with the latest in industrial design and functional innovations," says RIM president Mike Lazaridis.

"The 8830 will make its debut a few days before Apple's iPhone hits the market in June," Gardner writes. "The iPhone is scheduled for delivery in June by Verizon's rival AT&T's Cingular Wireless unit."

More here from SmartPhoneToday ... more here from ZDNet ... more here from the AP ... more here from RCR Wireless News ... and the press release is here.