Okay, before we get too far here, keep your excitement in check: you'll apparently never be able to buy this. The good news, though, is that
CrackBerry seems to have it on authority that the phone you're looking at here -- an early
Magnum prototype -- has been scrapped in favor of something better, the "Dakota," possibly a stealthy tribute to
diehard BlackBerry user Dakota Fanning. In all seriousness, though, both devices are centered around the concept that you'd have a touchscreen up top, a traditional
Bold-style keyboard down below, and scrap the trackball / optical pad altogether -- a new concept for RIM. Differences between the Magnum and Dakota are a little hazier, but one notable change is apparently a move to
liquid lens tech for the camera; considering how much these guys innovated (or over-innovated) with
SurePress, we wouldn't be surprised. Prototype BlackBerrys have a tendency to leak like an old faucet, so we sure it won't be long until we get some more intel on these bad boys.
posted January 21st 2010 12:45PM
As much as I'd love to say thank you for bringing this up... More please! And interesting article and lack of information at the time being a happy reader does not make.
I'll be waiting!
If they aren't going to come up with a true touch based OS, how is this going to be an improvement over a trackpad?
Just as much as I am excited about new hardware, I want to know what Rim is planning for next OS update. Current Blackberry OS is behind competitions. We need better browser, email interface, calender, and more. Most these applications are around 3-4 years old. Time for a new make up.
@hcho3 -- Better email interface? The email interface is what sold me on my BB. The search functionality of the Storm2 is the best that I've seen so far. I've started to use my BB more to search for email more than Outlook 2007.
@nicadmin Wait 'til you see Gmail!
@hcho3 Oh sure BB is getting perky now. This one has a ecstatic resemblance with BB 8910. There isn’t much information on the phone just yet, but it will probably be running BlackBerry OS 5.0. The 8910 has also shown up at the Bluetooth SIG certification, so that’s some sort of confirmation on the device. It’ll be cool if this one will be release on Asia as well. More details: http://bit.ly/blackberry-8910-more-details
@erwinaroin it actually looks more like the tour. the case is pretty much identical. interestingly enough, the keyboard is like the one on the tour2 where the bottom row is more straight across (like the bolds) compared to the original with them all having the same shape....and yet it still has the old style send/end keys (with the phone icon instead of a square U)
conclusive evidence that we are never going know exectly just what the hell they're up to in waterloo
This looks very interesting. Now it needs a proper (Webkit) browser with Flash.
@Pyronick
You could just use Opera Mini. It's better than either.
@LiqwidZero Opera Mini isn't that pleasant of an experience. Last I used it on Blackberry, text input was more annoying steps than necessary, you can't simply type, but you have to click to go to the text screen, type, then hit menu, then hit ok and your text is in the field...and while it does a good job or displaying pages and word wrapping, I'll take mobile Safari or Android's browser over it any day.
Hasn't this concept been around for a while? Wasn't it code named goofy or something? Here is an article from 2008 on Gizmodo...way to stay on top of it guys. (end sarcasm/);
@TankerZ Yes, the concept has been around for a while, and yes, you would've known we've been following it had you clicked on the Magnum link. What's new here is the picture and the fact that it's apparently been phased out in favor of the Dakota.
@Chris Ziegler Not to be a dick and I am impressed that you responded so quickly, but I did click on the magnum link and your post was dated May 2009 where theirs was posted 2008, hence my sarcasm, by the way, they had a picture back then too. I get it, new picture, old story. Cool, cool.
Peace and love, peace and love.
@TankerZ Dude!
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/17/rim-adding-touchscreen-to-bold-like-qwerty-us-bound-hsdpa-storm/
Just saying.
@chris
but... that post isn't tagged Magnum...
@PhoenixFox ohhhhhh good one! Still love you Chris.
Damn it, here is the link.
http://gizmodo.com/5064935/rim-announcing-blackberry-with-touchscreen-and-full-keyboard-storm-with-us-hsdpa-in-may
i have been waiting for a blackberry that calls my name..i think i finally found her..gotta wait till d specs though, i mean if shes nice on d outside nd isnt soo nice inside, dat would suck
@lakeside00
Yeah, "dat would suck" like your ability to write the english language.
::yawn::
How much longer will RIM be able to pull the wool over cheap consumers that want a smartphone but aren't willing to jump to Android or AT&T for the iPhone?
Old crap is old, and that form factor, no matter how much it's tweaked, is still straight out of the late 90s. It's 20-fricking-10 already RIM, rebuild your OS, reinvent yourself like Palm, finish your WebKit browser, and make people care again.
@Nerdtalker I couldn't agree more. Their devices and OS look so outdated, ancient when compared to iPhone, Android and Palm. And they keep on releasing pretty much the same phones with very minor tweaks.
I'm hoping they wake up and reinvent themselves before they're left behind.
@Nerdtalker
Who cares what the phone looks like, so long as it does its job. And it does, it's still the leading marketshare holder in the smartphone market, well and above even the iPhone. They design their phones with practicality in mind for business users. They don't give a shit if some uppity consumer doesn't buy their phones because they don't have a full touchscreen, with a slick form factor. That's not what they build their phones for.
@Solidstate89 Agreed. If you have ever used one, you can see why the design never strays too far (excluding the Storm) from its origin. It is perfectly functional and works nearly flawlessly in a corporate environment. Ever heard of the Porsche 911? They evolved a design from a car that started production in 1963 - it is still one of the fastest selling and most profitable sports cars on the market.
Sometimes in cases where a product is aimed at a certain end-user, it IS better to evolve than reinvent.
The remarks about the OS needing a spiffing up, though, are spot on.
@Solidstate89 I think this notion that all blackberry users are "uppity" business types is a myth. I look around and see just about everyone on Verizon with a BlackBerry.
The reason? Because up until about two months ago, it was one of the only affordable smartphone choices on VZW. Now, up against the likes of Android, it's kind of like the smartphone platform on training wheels.
I've used blackberries, and honestly think the whole thing is stuck in early 2000s, late 90s design. Let's not forget that BB in general spun off of a strange take on Palm's platform at the time. Since then, the innovations have been what? Color? Basic web? A crummy application store? BBM (ha!)? Frequent service outages through BIS?
Yeah, whatever.
@Nerdtalker LOL, right they should definitely listen to your sage wisdom..after all, RIM is only leading the market in sales right now, and only has the highest user satisfaction. Do you have somebody that transcribes your posts? Because its obvious you can't read. Or think.
@Nerdtalker
And yet they lead all smartphone companies in sales, marketshare and customer satisfaction.
Clearly you're right, and they're wrong. That's so obvious by now. Maybe you should take some advice from your own photo, and stop shoving your head up your own ass. It's blinding you to the truth.
@Nerdtalker
You know, your Avatar is hilariously accurate.
Hopefully this doesn't come off as racist, but I think all Blackberry phones look alike.
Reasons y it's not the iphonekiller
keyboard is so 2005
screen too small need at least 3.5 inches
can't be docked like iPhone
no real iTunes so bb music player is useless
smartphone that can't 100% replace iPod touch
will not sell zero to millin in 72 hours guaranteed
doesn't appeal to 16-39 year olds which buy more smartphones than any other demo.
@logic thinker
No one has ever called this an iPhone killer, how stupid are you? Go look at how much marketshare advantage RIM has over Apple then come back to me.
@Solidstate89
You are right, the thing about Blackberrys is that there is a huge variety of handsets that all work pretty much alike. They are all multi-tasking and tend to work very well indeed for a compl;ex product that is so easy to use.
It's true that the OS could use a few more modern bells and whistles but for me, the Blackberry is the best phone on the market, bar none.
finally a touchscreen BB with the classic kb form factor...
however... it will be a fail until BB completely revamps their OS...
The liquid lens is a "slick" idea, but I doubt that even something that neato will save these portrait keyboard phone bricks from the touch screen landscape slider keyboard action of motorola's new savior. Note that anyone who texts with any frequency at high speed rocks landscape keyboard, and texting is quickly displacing voice.
not bad... one of my friends has a samsung jack that is basically the same thing, pretty nice when you are surfing the web
@acniehaus03: The Jack is neither touchscreen nor worth a damn for web surfing.
OMG, no doubt that this is the worst looking blackberry I have ever seen...
@CanisMinor : agreed. Looks utterly fake. Sure, BB's are pretty conservative and designs of a particular generation are usually very similar..but this reeks of shoppage.
Yes, Rim, because if there's one thing I want it's to use a OS full of long list menus on a screen half the size of a Storm.
Seems. So. Pleasant.
No bueno! Lol
Whine Whine Menus Whine Whine Business Cliche Whine Whine Stone Age
Most of you have never used a Blackberry beyond 30 seconds on a dummy at the ATT store.
I owned an iPhone for a year, great device. I now own a Bold 9700. I agree that improvement is needed but for Christ's sake this is not a RAZR we're talking about.
These phones are great and they work perfectly for the lifestyles of a lot of people. I love my keyboard to death and I can text faster than I ever could on my iPhone and not come out with a mashed excuse for a sentence. That is what is important to ME.
Please guys, these are fucking cell phones. CELL PHONES. Not absolute truths or Socratic ideals.
SUBJECTIVITY.
Sounds like a Bold/Curve 8900/Storm hybrid. Very interesting, I don't see why or how it wouldn't sell....