What looked like a drizzle
last night seems to be turning into a full on downpour. The folks over at
BlackBerry Leaks have gotten themselves even more facetime with that mysterious BlackBerry slider device -- and it looks a lot better than we thought. Right now the theories are flying about just exactly what kind of phone this is, with
BBL suggesting it might be the next phone in the Storm family, while Kevin over at
CrackBerry has it on good authority that this new handset will be part of the
Bold line. Kevin also says that the rumors he's heard on this device call for a 360 x 480 touchscreen display (sans SurePress) and expectations for
BlackBerry OS 6.0 to be onboard. The pictured phone apparently has a battery issue which is keeping it from powering up, but hopefully someone will find a way to spark this thing to life and we can get some more solid info. For now, check out one more pic after the break.
posted March 3rd 2010 11:42PM
Finally! A large screen at last. Doesn't look too thick either. Good potential here, let's see what's in the software.
@YpoCaramel Blackberry phones have always had the best keyboards. I have to give them that. Definitely interested.
@aubreyq I wonder how the thickness affects things - with the Bolds I've used the keys stick out quite a bit, which is not possible on a slim slider. Case in point, the Droid is a qwerty slider but to keep things slim the keyboard is flat and horrible. The indentation looks good on this one so far, but a big part of whether the serious business crowd will like this depends on how friendly and tactile the physical keyboard is.
@YpoCaramel how will this compete with... anything?!
I'm not sure why but I like the look of that. I have always thought Blackberry can make some nice hardware, but their OS is a deal breaker. It still reminds me of Jan 2007 before the iPhone.
Coming out with a webkit based browser is a good first step, but they really need to do what MS did and just build a new OS and bring their strong points from the old one like email.
BB would be a perfect candidate to just buy Palm and turn WebOS into the new BB OS.
@werty1432k Pertinent points please, I'm not interested in sarcastic smackdowns.
@treats WebOS + RIM push e-mail would be a good combination, yes. Palm could use RIM's global reach, although RIM's reach isn't as strong as SE or Nokia. The mechanics of such a merger would be a headache though - who gets overall direction of the operating system?
@YpoCaramel
480 x 360 is the same resolution as my 8900 so the screen may not be all that much bigger. Of course, they could have just used bigger pixels....
Either way, whatever RIM does is OK by me.
@YpoCaramel Htc blueangel?
@YpoCaramel ..I like vertical sliders and i love blackberry keyboards. am i missing something? Anyway, I do hope its just the prototype and they'll redesign the body a bit more. It looks like the magnum though: http://bit.ly/bb-magnum-leaks-opinions
@rederikus Probably bigger pixels. A Curve isn't that much smaller than a Bold, and the slider's screen is definitely bigger. The screen is rotated 90 degrees from the 9700 being 360x480. The Storm also has its screen listed at 360x480, and that's at 3.25" inches. If the BB Slider uses the same screen I expect it to be in the case size class as the Pre.
The resolution isn't bad - a bit more than the Pre and the iPhone, which has even lower pixel density. due to its larger screen.
@YpoCaramel
Well it looks pretty thick from the pics, plus whats the reason for the touch pad if it has a touch screen?? Kind of odd if you ask me. I wonder if the touch screen will work better without the surepress?
Also, does anyone know what the inside guts are made of of? Proc/Mem/Wi-fi????
@rifraf Thickness is relative, it's not bad for a qwerty slider. Probably similar to a Pre and Droid, thinner than a N97 or Touch Pro 2.
The optical trackpad is kind of redundant. I suppose it'll fill the same role as the trackball in Android phones (or optical mouse in the Desire and Legend), quicker scrolling and the like.
I have always liked RIM hardware for the most part. They really need to focus on a decent OS though! This new slider has a lot of potential.
Ooglay. I like the Magnum better!
@jellotime91 Thats what she said!
I wish the Pre had a BlackBerry keyboard. This comment would have been typed out much faster.
@Ruben hahaha win! I heard the Verizon Pre has a nicer keyboard though.
@Ruben
Typing on the Pre is pretty uncomfortable. I used one for about a month on Cricket Wireless. It seems very poorly engineered.
@Ruben I actually really like my Pixi's keyboard.
@Sabrage
thats because the Pixi's keyboard is roughly 200x better than the Pre's.
@owdee the Pixi also doesn't have the lip of the slide to bump into your fingers when you try to type on the upper row, either.
bring on the funk!!
i like it a lot. i think they have a winner on their hands especially if that new OS is as slick as they say. there are going to be way too many excellent options next time i get a new phone.
looking pretty good mang.
THIS, is the phone I've been waiting for. I had a curve and the OS just got stale on me. So I switched to an iPhone for the media savyness, but I feel likt this phone should bring alotta people back. Touchscreen, full querty, and 0S 6.0 under the hood will be magic.
@Kaze9 stale is exactly the word to describe the current BlackBerry OS. its just not exciting. i love my Bold 9700's hardware but the software leaves quite a bit to be desired. lets hope 6.0 fixes that.
a bigger screen would also be wonderful. so this phone solves both!!
All that bezel makes me queasy... Otherwise, it looks kinda nifty
@SnApple
The bezel looks exactly like any other BB, look at the side-by-side.
@danG Sry, I was referring to the large boarders around the LCD rather, they seem rather large and cumbersome.
Interesting. Maybe there will be a larger selection of apps for my Storm 2 with the introduction of a combo touch/keypad version. Surepress shouldn't be an issue as most of the current Storm apps don't follow the sure press and you just touch away.
I know I may get voted down for this, but honestly, I do not understand how blackberry is doing so well. The UI in my opinion, is horrible and the hardware is nothing special. A "slider" phone, come on...That is almost an insult to the mobile market right now. Blackberry does not make nearly as many devices at HTC or Nokia, so when they release new ones, they should be notable. This, in my opinion, is nothing special. I feel like the blackberry needs a giant overhaul like windows mobile went through.
@emagine
Not everybody is into Fart apps etc. Some people enjoy getting work done on their devices.
@emagine -- "A "slider" phone, come on... That is almost an insult to the mobile market right now."
I'd buy this BlackBerry slider before I bought this abortion:
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/blackberrypearl8200/
@Michael Scrip
Yes Michael, I do agree with you on this one. haha
@kevin52094
If you think the iphone OS and Android have become this popular because of "fart apps" you are horribly mistaken. Just because both of these Os's have the ability to download those apps does not mean you have to get them. Your argument holds no water. And just because RIM has a boring OS does not make it good for work. It makes it less fun. And who says you cant have fun while working?
@emagine Wanna know why RIM is still in business? Go to any corporate center, ask someone in a button down and slacks what kind of business phone they use. 8/10 times, its BlackBerry. The other 2 are most likely Windows Mobile. In any event, BB has made their living on corporate stuff, it was until around 07 that they started gearing things for consumers. See BlackBerry Pearl 8100 and Curve 8300.
@emagine
That's right--enterprise deployment is second to none, and BES is a very powerful tool for IT departments that have to manage hundreds or thousands of devices.
Also, while somewhat antiquated, the BlackBerry OS works quite well for day-to-day tasks. Its messaging integration and ability to multitask for days on end are some of its strong points--while it may lack some of the flash and polish of newer OS's, it's still perfectly functional. The average Engadget reader doesn't represent the average BlackBerry user. My uncle still swears by his 8700--it just keeps working.
This is a dumb idea. The Pre, although a slider, has a modern design and no ugly lines. Furthermore, the Pre hasn't sold that well! This is a terrible idea. It's a featurephone with an antiquated OS. Wonderful.
@Kyle P The 6.0 OS is antiquated before anyone's even seen it? Sure, buddy.
@Andy Anonymous
5.0 was truly revolutionary. I expect the same from RIM.
FYI I was a BlackBerry user for 6 years.
I wish the Pre had a BlackBerry keyboard. This comment would have been typed out much faster.
The BlackBerry Browser needs some help.
@Snarf101
You mean you have tested out the new one? Because they will most assuredly be shipping it with the new Webkit browser.
What do I like? The NO SUREPRESS! Thank you, RIM, for listening to the general populous. I will say that a better OS would be brilliant, just as the rest of you are, Slide + BB + New OS = Drool. Quite simply. S+BB+NOS=D, where all stand for possible greatness, just hope RIM'll get it right.
@RickStar
What about surepress do you HATE? I feel it to be superior to any other touchscreen. No accidental selections when scrolling fast, or mistaken links clicked in webpages or wrong apps selected... Pretty much... no mistakes. And pounding out long emails on the keyboard actually feels real as apposed to lightly tapping a piece of glass. Maybe its just me, but I feel the Storm2's Surepress is near perfect.
@michaelbrandonw
I personally haven't played with the Storm2 SurePress, but on the Storm, it feels like you could pretty much pop the screen out of the phone. Also, I would sacrifice no mistakes for it being simple as tap instead of tap and press, but that's probably just me being lazy. To each their own, SurePress just isn't right for me.
i think i just jimped. lets call this the Blackberry PreCum.
This looks decent! I like the slider action and the bigger screen. Finally RIM decided to use their head on the design front.
This is an ugly design. They shouldn't waste their time on putting this out.