BlackBerry 9000 whispers in our ear
No, it doesn’t have the amount of hype and speculation an iPhone did before its release, but we don’t think there has even been this much anticipation for a BlackBerry, ever. The hidden-in-a-dark-secret-underground-lab BlackBerry 9xxx has sent out a couple distress calls to us, pleading to let people know it’s coming and what it should have in store for the incredibly faithful and addicted BlackBerry users. First off, 3G. It most certainly will have a 3G radio and we’re not talking about the European bands. (The actual 3G bands are not yet clear, but we can only assume North American 3G is a go.) Second, this isn’t your momma’s 3G, this is going to be HSDPA. Forget the Wi-Fi scam, this is real speed with simultaneous voice and data! That isn’t the best part, though…we’ve been told it will rock a 600MHz processor! Finally. We shouldn’t have those necessary and annoying lag times when performing basic tasks, and there should be a drastic reduction of the bottleneck for Internet speeds on the device. What we reported ages ago still seems to be spot on — RIM is actively looking at integrating a Backup/Restore function to facilitate transferring your entire backup to an on board memory card. We’re trying to lock down a solid release date at this point in time, but if we had to guess, we won’t see it this year. Most likely early ‘08. You’ve got our address, RIM. Shoot one over, OK?
Do you folk really believe that this is real picture of the coming BB? Come on, be serious.
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Why do I get this disgusting feeling in my gut that AT&T will be the first (if only) provider to offer this phone? If T-Mo gets it, I’ll be a happy girl
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Enough jibba-jabba! Whose app processor will be used?
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Well I just got my T-Mo Curve a few days ago. So no way am I going to cheat on her [like I do with my women].
Besides, I love my Curve, so talk about another phone, today.
As to what I am doing here, BGR flirts and teases to where even the most faithful are tempted to stray. That’s my defense.
But I feel dirty, cheap and guilty for reading this report. Gonna go take a shower.
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oxfdblue… don’t wait to buy a Curve, it’s a great phone. Besides, you can sell it when something else comes along.
I got the Pearl when it came out on Sept 12, 2006. Just sold it for $200 on eBay.
I have three 7100t phones as backup emergency phones [totally wireless at home, no landline]. That was a nice phone in its day, emphasis on “was.”
You are missing out, especially if waiting for the unknown 9xxx.
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I love the way the other blogs are linking to your story with headlines like “Spy shots of new Blackberry 9xxx!!” Shows how the media works today.. they don’t even read what they are reporting on!
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MichaelSF;
Thanks for the advice. Just curious about two things with the Curve.
1) I’ve heard about some quality problems- like dust getting in under the screen. When I played with the phone the other day, I wasn’t to impressed with how it felt…sort of a cheap, not to solid feel to it.
2) How much faster is EDGE than GPRS?
Thanks
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it slides open to reveal a landscape orientation keyboard.
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oxfdblue..
IMHO the Curve has an excellent build and form factor.
On my Pearl there were a few [keep in mind that's out of thousands] on the Forums I belong to who reported dust under the screen. But that is a rare problem and can usually be blamed on the environment the user is in, dusty, etc.
It’s a fact of life that in any device where the LCD screen has a plastic cover over it, that someone, somewhere will get dust under the screen. Usually it’s dust getting inside the keys on the side, the speaker opening or somewhere else.
I had dust only one time, on an Ipaq in 1999.
Actually though dust under the screen is not a Curve defect. It’s a user issue. I would venture to guess 99.9% of Curves are sealed well enough to keep dust out.
Overall the Curve is built very well. Some may interpret it’s lightness [3.9 ounces] with it feeling cheap, but all the components and parts are well made.
My Pearl I just sold had the same “feel” and when I shipped it yesterday it looked almost new except for a few scratches on the plastic side rails. [RIM does listen by the way. On the Curve they got rid of the Pearl's chrome painted side rails. Now they are a nice rubber material that gives the Curve a nice grip].
EDGE is always faster than GPRS. But I consider my EDGE Net browsing about the same speed as a 56k modem on steroids. It’s plenty fast on pages designed for mobile phones and others without a lot of graphics. But anything more complex, it’s slow.
But I don’t use my phone to access the Net, at least not much and even then, only on an emergency basis.
So for me the Curve is perfect [as a multi-media and e-mail device, oh... and to make calls].
When 3G comes out maybe I will look at the device as good for tethering to a notebook or desktop, but fancy razzle dazzle interfaces do not attract me [touchscreen, slider keyboards, etc.]
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Thanks again Mike,
In thinking about it, you make a good case for not waiting for the 9xxx.
Beyond what you say, the wait can is still months- spring at the very earliest. Next, who knows what the thing is going to cost. My guess, at least $400 and truth is, I don’t want to spend that much. Finally, also related to cost, how much will T-Mobile charge for access to the HSDPA speeds?
So, it looks like I’m off to get a Curve… only question now- Gold or Titanium? (I’m leaning towards the Titanium.)
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A purely touchscreen BlackBerry? How the heck are you supposed to type emails with a touchscreen? You would have to click each letter with a stylus? That would be a pain in the ass!
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Nice how you’ve got this up today, of all days. RIMM disappoints in earnings, and you put this up to foment the next round of rumors.
good for you…..don’t let that stock go down, EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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rim dissapoints?are you nuts?? Great earnings and higher projections Look again
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Listen Boy Genius, you shouldn’t have said that it was a concept art picture. You could have pulled a huge april fools on all the noobs who dont work at rim!
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so, did you LOG THE OS VERSION when i came here on my 8120? It probably said 4.1 or maybe even 3.94387 if i built it correctly
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Got an 8830 (Verizon) and totally love it! Was using (or trying to use) TREOS for the past few years. What a joke. BB is another world. Anyone know whether VZW will ever enable the GPS on the 8830? Somehow, if they can’t seem to get that done, I don’t see there’s much of a chance they can manage the 91XX features. But ATT is the total pits. I’d rather go back to two cans and a kite cord than ever use those idiots again.The consumer enpassioned iPhone lost a lot of additional sales with that unfortunate choice. But who knows? Jobs has put together one of the most successful companies on the planet. However he worked it out, it must be somehow a good choice for him, but not for me.
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Have a Treo 650 on VZ and a LG Sprint phone. Wanted to upgrade to get e-mail and everyone talked about the advantages of BB so I checked it out on VZ. Tried it out in the store, surfed, not too thrilled with the screen and look but oh well, placed the order.
While waiting for the 8820 to come in, a friend showed me his new iPhone and…ended up cx’ing my BB order! It was gorgeous, exactly what I expected to see in surfing the Net and checking my various e-mail accounts via web. (Don’t need it for my Groupwise work e-mail.)
Buuuut, I didn’t want to add a 3rd service so am holding off…may just keep what I have for now and get the iTouch for all the iPhone features except the phone–I already have 2 good phones! LOL!
Then I would be able to get Wi-fi while waiting at airports without pulling (or bringng) my Powerbook to check e-mail, surf, etc.
As for touch screen typing, this will probably help me keep my e-mails a lot shorter–much to the delight of my recipients!
But man, that screen and view is gorgeous….
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I hope they stay with metal trim (like the Pearl) and not plastic. If they are going touch screen, RIM can one up Apple by allowing the user to type in landscape. Bigger keys that way.
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We are talking the Holy Grail of Blackberrys! This would be a iPhone killer!
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Windows mobile SUCKS. I really hope they don’t use that.
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I pray that RIM does not go down the road of trying to compete with the iPhone. There is no need to as the two phones are marketed to different groups. RIM should stick to what it knows, and does well, and leave the gimmicks to those who want to produce fashion phones!!
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iPhone is the way, follow the leader. I know plenty of companies that are moving away from Microsoft to 20″ iMacs and ALL employees have iPhones now. The company purchased them for a bonus. Everyone can SMS, email on the fly. I think the BlackBerry will need to keep Apple in the rear view window, but they should be looking in front of them now since Apple’s iPhone is the real deal.
Also, those MacBooks are selling like hotcakes! What do you think will be the #1 request for holiday season. Hmmm iPhones/iPods? 4 years in a row!
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cdma anyone?
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The iPhone is flawed in many ways and sales are not as high as was hyped or projected. In fact, Apple has been inflating sales numbers by including phones it is distributing to AT&T for it to sell. In other words, AT&T activations of the iPhone are what should be counted as sales, not phones sitting in AT&T back rooms.
And now Apple [via AT&T complaints] wants to crack down on unlocked phones by bricking through updates. Talk about panic.
So I don’t agree with posts from delusional Apple fanboys that the Apple iPhone is the way of the future and others, including RIM, will be playing catch up with it.
If the iPhone is such a hot property why did two carriers turn down Apple before Apple ended up stuck with AT&T, who imposed draconian terms and conditions on Apple for them to carry the iPhone.
And I can’t believe people buying into Apple’s explanation on reasons why Apple chopped off $200 on the sales price only two months into the phone’s debut. While Apple fanatics may be gullible enough, I can assure you RIM knows why Apple discounted the iPhone 33%. And RIM sure didn’t say “Oh, we better hurry up with our iPhone ‘copycat’ phone so we can stay in business.”
Fact is touchscreen technology and elements of Apple’s user interface have been around for a long time. If manufacturers wanted to incorporate iPhone’s “features” into their phones, they could have years ago.
I don’t see RIM or other manufacturers needing or intending to come out with iPhone type phones nor have I heard of anyone out there rushing “catch up to Apple.”
Maybe RIM and others might come out with a iPhone type phone in their lineup, but I have not heard anyone, anywhere say that the iPhone is THE PHONE that others can only hope to emulate so to stay in business or increase sales.
Bottom line, I don’t think we are ever going to see a BlackBerry 9xxx that comes anywhere close to resembling the iPhone or the concept phone posted herein.
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CJ… your comments right on. RIM is smart enough to NOT go down the path where Apple is toiling [and IMHO floundering].
I think RIM’s moves in terms of development and phone models that have debuted over time show they put a lot of thought into anything they do and that they know exactly what they are doing.
Consider that:
They have QWERTY smartphones without cameras to appeal to government, business, and private sectors where cameras are prohibited. This indicates RIM will never abandon its core business and customers.
They have QWERTY models with full multimedia and WiFi [the Curve, which I just bought and love]. The Curve has many, many improvements that indicates to me that RIM listens to its customers and takes action. E.g., the side rails on the Pearl are cheap chrome painted plastic. The Curve has solid rubber rails that provide a good gripping surface.
They have QWERTY models with WiFi and GPS. While many manufacturers were reluctant to come out with WiFi on phones, RIM shot ahead.
In October 2007 they came out with the 8120 Pearl [Telefonica, in Spain]. That phone is a vast improvement over the original Pearl. The 8120 has the same features as the Curve: WiFi, 3.5mm jack. But it also has some features that the Curve does not have, e.g., external MicroSD slot, video recording capability, etc.
http://www.blackberrypearl8120.com/
Back in Sept 2006 they cautiously put a big toe in the water when they introduced the Pearl. That was RIM’s first attempt at consumer-oriented phones [where size, flashiness, appearance and cool factors are what sell, not the BB e-mail service].
IMHO RIM has exhibited they know exactly what they are doing.
If they do come out with an iPhone style phone or one similar to the 9XXX concept pic posted on BGR, it will only be one of many phones offered by RIM.
And most certainly it will NOT be an attempt by RIM to emphasize or shift its phone lineup to iPhone style smartphones.
So you can stop praying.
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