BlackBerry Thunder touchscreen phone in live shot

Here's a little something that might put the brakes on some buyer's 3G iPhone dreams this week -- a real, live shot of the forthcoming BlackBerry touchscreen phone, the Thunder. There's not much info to glean from this image, save for the fact that it will be practically loaded with buttons (including send, end, back, menu, dual convenience keys, volume, lock, and play / pause) and will be headed to Verizon. If the UI is a spin-off of the one we've seen on the Bold, RIM could be striking gold here.

[Matt @ Jun 8th 2008 12:30PM]

Ugh, and I just bought a Curve too.

[James Cameron @ Jun 8th 2008 1:54PM]

Verizon. UGLY LOGO EVER!! I wouldn't even buy their phone just because of their LOGO.

[OziD @ Jun 8th 2008 2:20PM]

Now I won't watch James Cameron movies because he can't speak english.

[Flashpoint @ Jun 8th 2008 2:28PM]

That doesn't look ANYTHING like an iphone at all !!!

[Vasco @ Jun 8th 2008 3:11PM]

ugh I just bought mine four days ago too!

But if you check phonearena, you'll see that its not due out until 2009, so I figure there's nothing to be done.

toxic-penguin.com
oftheshrub.org

[Andrew @ Jun 8th 2008 3:44PM]

dont worry its just a touch screen - its still missing accelerometers, IR sensors, multi-touch, WiFi minimum 8GB of storage and a bad ass UI for it to be a real iPhone competitor.

[Jubei @ Jun 8th 2008 4:30PM]

@Andrew

Correct. All they are doing is emulating MS Method of Operation. Wait for someone to innovate first. Then product a product within a year and call it innovative. Looks like another "me too" product.

[Niki @ Jun 8th 2008 5:10PM]

DAMN YOU RIM!
YOUR PRODUCTS ARE TOO DAMN SEXY!!!

I'm still holding out for the Xperia, but this is shaking my faith...

[Dan @ Jun 8th 2008 7:38PM]

This looks really cool. Unfortunately it's on Verizon... great data, insane prices.

[SHoe @ Jun 9th 2008 1:02AM]

@ Andrew: most recent Blackberries (including the 9000) have Wifi - safe bet this will too.

@ Jubei: please SHUT UP about the idea that this (and every other touchscreen phone) is ripping off Apple / iPhone. Apple made a great UI with multi-touch and accelerometer being the main innovations. But everything else - touchscreen, hi-res screen, Wifi, a browser, email, mp3 playback, video, etc - already existed in smart phones YEARS before the iPhone came along. Great for apple that there are a lot of ignorant people who think that they somehow invented this stuff. But it's not true.

So as there is no evidence yet of multi-touch or accelerometer, please tell us ONE THING that RIM is ripping off of Apple with this? One thing that wasn't already in about 100 other smart phones before the iPhone came along?

thought not...now go back to class!

[Bob @ Jun 8th 2008 3:03PM]

A blackberry without a a real qwerty keyboard?!?!

[Justin42 @ Jun 8th 2008 12:43PM]

Yeah, exactly... For some weird reason I was under the assumption that it would be something like a Bold + Touchscreen... That would have been a big winner in my books.

[derX @ Jun 8th 2008 1:26PM]

*screams*

THIS IS TOOOOO UNREAL.

*pulls hair out and runs for shelter*

[Ace b @ Jun 8th 2008 1:31PM]

huh.....wait until august and get out of att and possibly get this,stay and get the new iphone,or wait til september for the xperia and see what network that's gonna be on,unless it's unlocked(cant remember if it is or not)....

Way too many choices....

Opinions would be insightful though.

[derX @ Jun 8th 2008 1:40PM]

Really, Ace, it depends on what you're looking for. Personally, if I had the resources, I'd get the Xperia without a doubt. It's design is gorgeous and it has every feature I deem important. I mean, just look at the radios it supports, then it has GPS, WiFi, a physical keyboard....it's awesome, we all know the features. The problems with comparing that phone to either the iPhone II or Thunder is that we don't know the specs they're packing for sure.

Like you said, I guess it's just a wait-and-see sort of thing. From the phones you're thinking of, I really cannot get a clear sense of what type of user you are. The iPhone is a consumer device, BB have traditionally been business oriented and WinMo devices normally are a fair compromise. Again, for me Xperia all the way. Thunder isn't an option because I don't have VZW. But if the iPhone II is subsidized....it would look even more attractive.

[Ace b @ Jun 8th 2008 2:04PM]

@derX

Thanks for the insight.

Basically I'm an all around user.I do plan a lot of events though,txtin is my best friend,official music lover,gamer,and like to mod/hack.
I also dont have a mac,if that makes a difference.

Personally I was leaning towards a Xperia too,especially cause I've been using Ericsson cell's for a while and tend to like them.
But the iphone is a pretty good looking device,and I do love my music and tend not to like huge bulges coming out of my pants on the side due to cell,ipod,etc.

Maybe I''l just get my mum one cell and ill get a different one and basically get to use either whenever i want.

[Justin42 @ Jun 8th 2008 12:41PM]

There goes my dream of an iPhone with a full key-pad. Damn RIM for ruining my dreams! Aaaahhhhhhhh

[JohnTitor @ Jun 8th 2008 12:58PM]

what's wrong with WinMo? HTC's been building touchscreen phones, with keyboards, long before the iPhone

[Justin42 @ Jun 8th 2008 1:10PM]

WinMo has very poor support for the BES. For me the blackberry enterprise server is an essential job requirement.

[derX @ Jun 8th 2008 1:28PM]

Yeah, the phone seems sufficiently wide, I don't see why they didn't do the form factor like the Siemens SX66 with a keyboard that slides down. I am just really interested to see how this one plays out. I've always thought that if any two companies were going to even come close to an iPhone competitor it would be RIM or Nokia. It'll be very, very interesting to see how this pans out.

[Justin42 @ Jun 8th 2008 1:37PM]

Well, as a tech who deals with older blackberries (7250s, 7750s, etc) all the time, I do appreciate the extra reliability and lifespan the device gets from a lack of a fold or slide.

[TA @ Jun 8th 2008 12:45PM]

I think we can now see the iPhone as a pioneer for the touchscreen phones, instead of other phones "copying" the iPhone.

[Richard Lai @ Jun 8th 2008 12:47PM]

Hmm... I think you meant the HTC Wallaby as a pioneer?

[w00t @ Jun 8th 2008 12:55PM]

Touchscreen phones were around long before the iPhone, all apple did was make them trendy, hence other manufacturers rushing to compete...

[Andrew @ Jun 8th 2008 1:00PM]

No, I think he meant iPhone, I mean come on, RIM is SURELY copying Apple with that big screen and silver/metallic finish, Apple was the first to do that!

(*sarcasm*)

[JJV @ Jun 8th 2008 1:25PM]

well mainly one of the first phones that brought multi touch screens and applications that can take advantage of all the features. Also the iPhone is more consumer orientated then "prosumer" orientated such as the blackberry which is there for blackberry email and such.

Other WinMo phones are also business phones, the iPhone really isnt
Its meant as and Ipod and a phone not mainly for emails or important business events.

[derX @ Jun 8th 2008 1:34PM]

Seriously, it's really annoying how people keep downplaying the iPhone's importance. Again, I'm not Apple-whore, hell, I'm writing this post off of Windows XP and I'm listening to my Zune (what can I say, I love a bargain).

I am not at all saying that the iPhone was the first touchscreen phone: it was not. I am not going to say it's features are revolutionary: they aren't...in fact, they're quite lacking. However, did the design of the phone revolutionize the industry? Uhh, YEAH. How many devices can you name with a touchscreen that large, with so few buttons that was intended to be used entirely with a finger--no stylus.

Yeah, the LG Prada did come first. Did Apple copy them? Well, duh, no, just look at the timing of the announcement of both products. They're we about a month apart. Also, the Prada had a stylus if I remember correctly.

Moral of the story, the iPhone was not foretold by Apostles but it's a pretty damn important phone. Is it the best one ever made? Quite debatable (though the answer is no =]).

[ajgalli @ Jun 8th 2008 4:58PM]

Actually, I think he has it right. The iPhone pioneered the first actually usable, single finger interface. It is the best touchscreen on the market, hands down.

[Andrew @ Jun 8th 2008 3:37PM]

Pretty sure you can trace history back to the original Apple Newton as the first widely available touch screen device. After that project was dismantled engineers left Apple to start Handspring who created the first Treo. Palm eventually bought Handspring and continued the Treo line under the Palm name until they milked it for all they could. Modern smart phones are a response to the success of that Treo line.

Now that the technology has finally caught up Apple is able to make a proper touch screen smart phone in the spirt of all those devices that have come before it.

There's a lot of history in tech and I tend to respect those that innovated and tried something new and different over those that just copied a new idea and managed to move more units.

[captainpease @ Jun 8th 2008 12:44PM]

The placement of those convenience keys could easily become inconvenient.

[audioeric @ Jun 8th 2008 1:34PM]

I had an 8830 and 8800 and always turned off the convenient keys. They are conveniently located exactly where you grab the phone.. It seemed I would hit them all the time..

'Please say a command'....

Now with 2, I'm sure you'll be escaping out of unwanted applications twice as much.

I think RIM needs to understand the market for the iPhone and the market for a blackberry are extremely different. There are things that they can learn, but don't mimmick.. Try working on the reliability and uptime...

[ScooterDe @ Jun 8th 2008 4:07PM]

exactly. I am forever punching the voice dial key. Another key opposite would be hellish. I wonder if they do ergonomics testing...
I also appreciate the physical keyboard: I can touch type with one thumb if in a jam. Not sure how that would translate to keys on a screen.
Blackberry is a poor multimedia device (music doesn't work through a bluetooth earpiece and video is a joke) so I wonder if they can really compete in this direction.

[Gilbert Tang @ Jun 8th 2008 5:33PM]

On my Curve it's the "p" key that gives me the most hassle. For whatever reason, I almost always hit that key inadvertently. For some time I had a speed dial number set to that key and called the person all the time.

And yes, I used the key lock, but like anyone, I'm infallible. Even when I had it set to lock itself automatically the "p" would still beat it to the punch.

Other than that I'm less thrilled about the trackball than I am the convenience keys. I miss my jog dial, my carpal tunnel-inducing job dial.

[Reid @ Jun 8th 2008 12:45PM]

"live shot?" It doesn't seem to be updating by the second.

In fact, it looks like a diagram from an owner's manual.

[Phoenix @ Jun 8th 2008 4:57PM]

Prada has no stylus

[Phoenix @ Jun 8th 2008 5:02PM]

Feck, meant to be a reply to the one below...

[Andrew @ Jun 8th 2008 12:58PM]

From what is shown here (although not much is...), I think so far so good. I like that RIM, although it's an obvious a model to compete with the iPhone, is still keeping the Thunder as close it is to all their BlackBerry models with their convenience keys and the end, talk, escape and menu buttons. But still, I don't see this BlackBerry being released any time soon, something as big as this to compete with the iPhone should be throughly be tested for any sort of bugs before hitting the market. Again, it's a nice start.

[kakapo @ Jun 8th 2008 1:00PM]

I remember when iPhone hit the streets (and the rumoured hit the streets) all the nay sayers (RIM, M$, et al) said that the touch screen is a fad and people will still prefer the tactile feel of real buttons.

Hmmmm....
I guess the "real" buttons are still there with the many buttons on the side of this model.

Well, you know, call me a fanboi, but I still prefer my iPhone rather than an iPhoney...

Cheers.

[Andrew @ Jun 8th 2008 1:07PM]

Well you really can't say it isn't a fad. I mean yes, Apple had excellent results with their first iPhone but that's only now you don't know what the future will bring. Just because Apple sold a few million doesn't necessarily mean this is necessarily be the future. Once Apple has the majority of market share in the smartphone market, then you can argue that "a touchscreen is more than just a fad, it is now and the future"

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Jun 8th 2008 1:10PM]

And we all know that Apple will NEVER, EVER, EVER gain the majority of the Smartphone market as long as Nokia are still breathing.

NEVER.

[Justin42 @ Jun 8th 2008 1:13PM]

I think RIM was right... I know it's not a useful scientific study or anything, but most of the business users of smart phones that I have talked too have scoffed at the idea of trying to type e-mails on anything less then a QWERTY keypads. We have about 150 blackberries, and almost every one of them request the full keypads. Only about 30 have the weird half-pads.

[JJV @ Jun 8th 2008 1:27PM]

@enga..blah blah
i never knew companies could breathe.

=)

[Andrew @ Jun 8th 2008 1:29PM]

I think people look at RIM making a touchscreen handset in the wrong way. A touchscreen BlackBerry will never be RIM's flagship model, or a model that they will solely focus on. RIM isn't stupid, they know full well that a physical QWERTY will always be favored over a touchscreen QWERTY amongst power users. Seeing how RIM already has the majority of the market share in smartphones (44.5%?) adding this model to interest consumer's can only help pad their lead.

[Steffen Jobbs @ Jun 8th 2008 1:43PM]

The future in smartphones is anything Apple makes it to be. They'll set the standard and the others will just try to keep up.

Although this Thunder is a great idea, I still can't figure out who RIM is targeting this Thunder for. BlackBerry users only want to use QWERTY keyboards, so why would they upgrade to this model. A BlackBerry user would be lost without the scrollpad. If they are targeting users outside of the BlackBerry realm, those potential buyers will have probably already bought iPhones unless they're not willing to switch carriers. If Thunder is a well-built smartphone, then it will sell in decent numbers, but it just seems like a contradiction for RIM.

[Engadgetluvsappl @ Jun 8th 2008 2:00PM]

I was waiting for you to rear you stupid head, Steffen! Apple will never dominate in the smartphone market and that is nothing but simple fact. Catching up to Symbian's gargantuan marketshare at this point in the game is just something that even Steve Jobs could never dare to dream about.

Yahh trick yahhhhh!

[HalfJoey @ Jun 8th 2008 1:02PM]

What are the odds this thing will have WiFi? Or will Verizon have it removed?

[Warren @ Jun 8th 2008 1:07PM]

You KNOW VZW is gonna remove it! NO WAY they'd let you buy a phone and not charge you for a data plan. I love the VZW reps reasoning behind that: " Well Wi-Fi isnt everywhere, so we make sure you always have data coverage with our network."

[Justin42 @ Jun 8th 2008 1:16PM]

Should just be a matter of modifying your service books, I'd think. If verizon does disable it, expect a third-party "patch" to re-enable it.

[snowenloe @ Jun 8th 2008 1:25PM]

@Justin42

A third party patch? I wish! It seems most of the hacking community is not interested enough to bother with Blackberry patches. I mean I havent yet come across a patch to unlock the GPS on Verizon Pearl yet, and I WOULD be willing to pay for it!

Please someone unlock my GPS?!?!

[Justin42 @ Jun 8th 2008 1:33PM]

http://www.cyberlawonline.com/cyberlawg/general-interest/suit-challenges-verizon-on-blackberry-gps.html

Didn't see any hackers out there either. It -seems- to me that it would just be a matter of modifying the service books... but if it was that easy then someone would have done it already? *shrug*