BlackBerry Kickstart, the clamshell flip phone? We’re unveiling it to you for the first time!
158 comments
Filed in BG's Corner, BlackBerry, Exclusives, Handsets
Are you ready, people? We’ve been holding this info for a while now trying to confirm it, but no more! We have here pictures of a new BlackBerry device. It is a BlackBerry clamshell — a flip phone and codenamed the Kickstart! Let me repeat this. This isn’t fake, this isn’t a hoax. We’ve known RIM is planning to launch a flip phone within the year, and we now have the pictures to prove it! As you can see, it uses a SureType keyboard, has an external LCD, and a pretty decent looking internal LCD. It also uses the TrackBall for navigation and does have a camera. We’re hearing a release date before the end of the year. What do y’all think of it? Hit the gallery for all the pictures of the brand new BlackBerry flip phone!
LOL @ RIM should learn from HTC. Honey, look at their stock and their market share. Where is HTC? exactly…RIM doesnt need to learn from noone; they do their own thang
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That looks a little too similar to the LG VX8700. I bet this is photo-shopped!!!
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I came here via a report at El Reg.
I’d just like to say that I don’t care what the new blackberry will look like or how it performs. ( I’m still happy with my old HTC Universal which has been doing for years all the same and more than your blackberry or Iphone )
What I can say, as a person who mocks up images for a number of different sites and clients is that the image shown above is a clear digital rendering. And not a very good one. Plenty of technical issues over the light sourcing and ‘depth’ of the phone let alone the disparity in focus.
The phone may look like this when announced, it does not alter the fact that the image is a mock up and if it’s a professional one then the guy must have had a hangover.
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When we talk about BlackBerry the 1st thing which came into the user mind is bulky device with lots of keys on it keypad, but finally BlackBerry changed there style with a sleek, smart flip phone edition.
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Traditional BB’s have poor phone sound Quality. I hope this improves that - flip phone should help. Need a full key board for us heavy business email users.
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The outter LCD clearly is not integrated on this prototype. Yes, shocker, I know! This is NOT the final product. The outter screen (in addition to date and time) will let you read your latest email subject heading or the last blackberry messenger conversation received, depending on how you have your preferences configured.
More to come…
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That can’t seriously be the revolutionary product to compete against the iPhone. Revolutionary needs originality. This looks like it’s taking a design motorola’s success… back in 1999.
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I could actually LIKE this thing if it came out with CDMA and no camera.
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Sucks. Seems RIM is pushing its luck too far!
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I totally agree with you !! An ugly phone as such here in San Diego was rejected by AT&T!!
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Wow-it looks good.
Wonder if it will be hard to work those QWERTY buttons though-looks kinda small for those with bigger fingers.
I like flip phones. This phone should also come with touch screen capabilities-that would make it great! I also like the iphone though-even though it’s competition.
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Many readers (and RIM shareholders) would be interested in knowing about the source of these exclusive leaks to BGR.
Great fodder for blogging, but as far as managing public company disclosure….
http://www.wellingtonfund.com/blog/2008/05/02/boy-genius-pr-genius-but-a-disclosure-nightmare/
MRM
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Looks like any other clamshell cellphone.
Nothing ground-breaking in terms of design.
But, acceptable if I needed a Blackberry (I use an iPhone).
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Blackberry should stick with their unique designs. If they release this then they would just be like any other phone company.
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Definitely a fake. The main display side of the flip has all the surfaces of Motorola cell phone housings, as well as the display border. Like FakePhoto said…. FAKE!
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Not to mention the hinge is really messed up…
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Don’t think I like it.. it looks alright but part of what I like about the blackberry is its PDA look.
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Looks like you took these pictures in a bathroom???
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Let me repeat: PHOTOSHOP FAKE !!!!
Look at the photos carefully — this is obviously CG (probably Cinema 4D or the Maya student edition). The phone has mapped surfaces from an existing phone, the grouting in the tile is too consistent (i.e.: a stock background image) and LOOK AT THE FAKE HAND, for God’s sake — most people actually have SKIN TEXTURE and FINGERPRINTS !!!
You’d think that somebody could do a bette fake than this.
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Now why would RIM do something stupid like that…thats got to be the ugliest thing I’ve seen.
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Honey, we are not talking about the already in the market HTC. We are talking about the Htc Dream, Xperia 1 that they designed for Sony Erickson, and the one they will introduce on May 6.
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This is NOT a fake. I was at a RIM building in waterloo and with my own eyes looked at one.
I was at the rim building. if it’s a fake then RIM made a fake to hype talk about the product to gather feedback from people like all of us to get a feel for fine tuning the device before production and marketing.
RIM hasn’t grown to the size they are by being careless or stupid, they want the flip phone market because it account for the largest chunk of cell phone bought in north america. it’s business.
I think everyone should have a blackberry assigned to them at birth, kind of like a social security number or Social insurance number.
The friggen president uses it because it’s secure, movie stars and basketball players use them as well. Anyone who stays truely connected does it with the blackberry.
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Is it me or does it look a bit photoshopped? Not that I’m saying BGR puts out false stories but…. The bottom portion of the phone, where the phone meets the hand, looks a bit unusual. It might just be me. Anyway….Phones looks ok.
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I think the idea is right on the money but the current product is bunk.
I would like to see a real BB flip phone. Take the BB Curve, 8700, or other models and make them a flip with dual screens and bigger keypad.
RIM would clean house with a model like that. I could then delay my carpal tunnel surgery and arthitis therapy a couple of years.
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whomever said it was a mockup is right. this is definitely a fake photo. not that the idea of the phone is fake. rim is smart enough to release a normal phone for people. i’m glad i work at att, so when i’m done with my vu i can switch to a bb 9900 for free, then my 3g iphone then back to my bb since rim owns…
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