BlackBerry Thunder, the touchscreen BlackBerry we’ve all been waiting for
Since we were the first ones to break the news about a touchscreen BlackBerry device, it’s only fitting that we follow up and give y’all the real lowdown on it! This is going to excite a lot of people, but anger many. Are you ready? The BlackBerry Thunder, as it is codenamed now, (all you "reporting" on it as the Storm are incorrect) will launch in Q3 of this year. It is a full touchscreen BlackBerry — no slide out keyboard — with only 4 physical keys. Those are the send / end phone keys, the BlackBerry menu key, and the back key. Here is the most interesting part, though: it will launch as a worldwide lifetime exclusive on Verizon and Vodafone! We’ve heard the unit will be a hybrid device with CDMA EV-DO Rev. C (for clarification, Rev C., known as UMB is practically dead. If the device will indeed launch with a 4G solution, our bet is on LTE), and GSM HSPA for traveling internationally. Verizon and Vodafone will have the same unit. Currently, the model number is the BlackBerry 9500, though it’s very early and that’s likely to change. This is HUGE for the Verizon lovers. For once they’ll get an exclusive device, but Verizon will have a sales quota for the device and if they don’t meet those numbers, we’ve heard the exclusivity will then dissolve and it’s over. This will be extremely interesting to see play out.
P.S. No, you morons, the image above is not real. Didn’t we go through this once before?
P.P.S. For futher clarification about the whole LTE thing, the chip might support it, but that does not mean the network will be ready by any means…OK?
I’ve had both Treo’s and Blackberry’s and Blackberry is the best. I can not comment on the iPhone since I’ve never had one, but I get mixed reviews from friends who do have them. I was just at the Verizon Wireless store to change from my 8830 world phone to the Curve. I don’t need the world support since I don’t travel internationally. The sales person told me to wait and check out the new Thunder, which I’m going to do. He said it’s coming out in the 3rd quater. Not sure if this is what I want. I get mixed reviews from people about the touch screen keyboard. The biggest complaint is you don’t get the tactile feel you get with a standard qwerty keyboard.
Too bad it is not going to AT&T instead of Verizon, AT&T’s superior network and customer service would serve this phone well.
Touchscreens are lame. They freeze all the time. I hate the iphone its a total joke. This new blackberry better be good. The bold looks very nice and sleeke. Blackberries are for the REAL professional people. I-phones are for the commercial teenie pop generation. GO BLACKBERRY!!!
T-Mobile is the BIGGEST provider in the world and most people don’t know that. They own 70% percent of the european market out of Germany. Their U.S. market is basically a tax write off for them cause were so behind in technology it’s a joke. I wouldnt be suprised if they bagged the new Blackberry first. Just watch.
Business users dont want a touch screen, bold all the way.
blackberry and the iphone have both been pretty close (although i think blackberry makes much better phones) but i think the thunder will put blackberry way ahead
im calling bs.
why on earth would BB give the so called “best” bbry. to verizon. who not only changes the entirity of the phone to their likings. it would be a stupid move. or maybe verizon. is thinking about changing. haha who am i kidding.
if bbry does make this phone it would hands down go to at&t because they dont cripple the customers from getting to actually be able to experience a phone without it being crippled.
verizon. nahhh its bs
oh btw. apples and blackberries are fruit. D.A
and if you cant tell that is a picture of the bold. but someone who is computer savy just made it look different by taking off the key pad and the track ball. get with the program
confirmed with sources who have seen the phone in hand that the code name is “Thunder” and the release name is “Storm”.
I think this phone will crush the competition. AT&T will not have it first because it would be a conflict of interest for the iphone. Sprint would be the best canidate for this phone. I am keeping my eyes and ears open here and over seas. I really really want one.
BB are having a launch in London today, not sure which product they are launching…you never know!
when is it coming out
I didn’t see anywhere in this article where it said lifetime exclusive. It says an exclusive phone, but all carriers have exclusive contracts for a set amount of months. GSM users don’t wet your pants, BB would not only offer this to CDMA carriers you’ll all see this for AT&T and T-Mobile after 6-12 months. Blackberry is too smart to keep it out of 95% of the worlds hands.
I love the device I think that it is so cool and looks so much beter then the Iphone and thank god it is going to cdma networks and not gsm that will slow the device down and make it lag
As of now, I’m a Verizon Wireless subscriber with a BBerry 8830. Even with the announcement of the Thunder, I still want an iPhone 3G. Why? Because RIM hasn’t done anything for Mac users in terms of software support! Syncing correctly with mail, contacts, and iCal is a hassle and it doesn’t always work. PocketSync is a piece of junk and Missing Sync costs $$ and isn’t supported by RIM. Until they fix the software, I don’t want to jump on the BBerry train forever.
In a perfect world, I would have an iPhone 3G on Verizon Wireless. It’s a wonderful dream….
Peronally I have an 8830 but would live an iPhone except my company only allows BB for their corporate email .. such is life .. looking forward to the Thunder/Storm or whatever it is called LOL
The World phone doesn’t work on both Verizon and AT&T in the U.S. but uses only CDMA in the U.S. and GSM in other countries, as the GSM frequency differs between the US and foreign markets.
I’ve had a 4 Palm based phones, 3 WIndows Mobile phones, 3 Crackberries and a hacked iPod touch. The only I missed on the Palm and RIM devices were good media playback and featue rich browser, Windows phones lacked good browser (surprising considering everything on the web was IE-centric), and the iPhone lacks many things CELLPHONE users want, but it’s a nice media player… unless you have a iPod Touch, PSP or Archos already.
Better battery, better camera/video, usable keyboard in portrait and landscape, same WebKit browser as the iPhone/iPod, faster EVDO CDMA (and maybe LTE), keyboard feedback, and oh yeah ability to take notes without it correcting everything I type for what APPLE thinks I’m trying to spell ! Win for the Thunder-Storm for my next phone, beats out the GSM-only Samsung Omnia and iPhone for me which were my runners up (HTC diamond was big disappointment in both GSM and CDMA).
i bought an iphone, then put it on ebay because the iphone does not cut and paste. that is very useful and i would think that it would be a standard on smartphones.
DO anyone know if the THUNDER will be able to cut/copy and paste?
Of course it will be able to cut and paste! It’s a blackberry!
Will this have Wi-Fi on it?
Apples iPhone is an awsome phone and all but haveing it on such a horrible company like AT&T their service is the worst of all in terms of wireless reception and customer service.Im glad the the new Blackberry is going to be on verizon.
I’m over here in the good old U.K. and have only just caught up with the B/Berry (9310). I have a working GPS using Blackberry maps, Google maps, Telmap Navigator all using the web and data services to provide locations and instructions plus GPsed to find latitude, longitude and altitude without using any web services and capable of creating way points for navigation. To me the Thunder looks extremely good even if I have to change my provider from o2. Yes I play films, music and use it as a portable entertainment centre and I don’t have Apple’s restrictive practices.
LOL.. “ATT&T will have a titi fit” and the pic is fake? everyone saying “this is a great phone” yet nothing is known about its look nor functionality.. comon people! its either big supa toych screen & no physcal keyboard or SNOT!!
i am having a hard time understandeing a one thing. With the BOLD 9000 to be released after the THUNDER 9500, how come we can see reviews of the BOLD 9000 on youtube? I can’t much find info on http://www.MyBlackBerryThunder.com neither.
If I wanted an iPhone I would get an iPhone! People (ie RIM), has Apple sapped all of your creativity!? I mean one big reason BBs are so good is because they have a full PHYSICAL keyboard!
On the other hand maybe they have something up their sleeve, but the fact that it doesn’t have a keyboard makes me think they are just going with the trend, quite sad. Can’t help but be a little disappointed