RIM BlackBerry 'T' (Talladega?) slider launching next month?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted March 18th 2010 8:11AM
posted March 18th 2010 8:11AM
Things got a bit more interesting today after a loose-lipped CEO of a RIM parts supplier (Woojeon & Handan) mentioned a brand new BlackBerry "T" phone launching next month during an interview posted on joins.com (a popular Korean news site). According to our translation or the Korean jibba jabba:
Funny, we thought that the original Storm was RIM's answer to the iPhone. Anywho, Reuters picked up on the Woojeon & Handan interview today but shied away from mentioning the name or the "next month" timing, saying only that W&H would supply parts for a new RIM product to be released later this year. With any luck, we'll get a full reveal of the mythical BB slider next week with the kickoff of the big CTIA show."The Canadian company RIM famous for BlackBerry smartphones is releasing a new model next month. Known as the "T," The new model is an ambitious product aimed at competing against iPhone's storm of success. Rim will present it ("T") as its flagship model to compete in global markets such as the U.S. and Europe."
[Thanks, Frank]
Update: You know what's next month? WES, RIM's own trade show, which runs from the 27th to the 29th of April. Perfect timing for something like this, if we do say so ourselves.
Big screen + WebKit browser + physical keyboard = WIN
@bk0 = My smartphone dreams coming true! :D
T-Mobile?
*YAWN*
WinMo7 Wulez!!!!
.
@bk0
And multi-tasking. And copy and paste ...
I'm kind of excited! There is a lot of cool stuff but BB still has my heart.
Yes, I do, truly pity the fool..
blackberry tilt slider?
@oringal,
Blackberry Tits?
They could release the most awesome handset of all, but if the software isn't up to snuff, the hardware is useless.
@Nitesh Come on, there is nothing wrong with the BB OS. It is rock solid, it might not be what you like, but it works.
@pimp2k9 Not really. BB OS constantly is crashing, has to be battery pulled at least once every 2 days to stay speedy... and virtually crawls on anything below an 8500.
5.0 really wasn't too much better, though there were some speed improvements. No no, BB OS is FAR behind the iPhone OS in every way except multitasking and email.
@Evster88
I found that the easy way to fix BB OS is to have it set to restart itself every night. This way, you get the same effect of doing a battery pull everyday (which does make things better) but it does it automatically while you're sleeping
@Evster88 but why are you even comparing the BB to the iPhone. They are 2 different devices for 2 different markets. Im not sure which BB you have used by my 9700 has non of the problems you listed. I will agree with you about anything running OS 4.5 is slow.
@Evster88
Oo ?
Well call support. Like right now.
I haven't rebooted my Bold for over a month! it's really very stable.
@Evster88 Pretty sure the only time my bold ever has a battery pulled usually is when i am swapping it for a fully charged battery since i send a few hundred txts a day and run a gps tracker on my phone just in case it sprouts legs. i am using os 5 and have been for sometime. You have obviously never used os 5 because there are plenty of better things about it than ever before. The iPhone is a toy, if you want to play games, and have stupid fart apps get an iphone or android phone(nothing against android, i like what they are doing.) my heart still and probably will always lie with RIM. I can't think of a person who has a phone more secure than mine. Want security and real push email, go BB, if you just want something to fool around with then look elsewhere.
@Evster88
I'll agree with you if you're using/referring to a 83xx/88xx BlackBerry or earlier. Battery pulls were only really necessary because of low memory/memory leaks and those were critical with those earlier BlackBerry's with very low memory. Starting with the Bold(9000) and later, increased memory and a more stable OS really prevents a users from doing battery pulls. This argument holds almost no weight with today's generation of BlackBerry's. You might also need to do a battery pull for diagnostics but that's like putting the iPhone in DFU mode or whatever that iPhone does.
I love Blackberry, will always use one for business! But if anyone thinks that the propel, oops excuse me- Blackberry Slider is going to compete with an iPhone, or any New HTC device launching, THERE NUTS! And yes the hardware is useless when it comes to anything besides, email, phone calls, and BBM!
"T" huh... Screen rotates 90 degrees to reveal keyboard, making a "T" shape? I guess that would fly in the face of all the shots we've seen so far, but...sounds interesting regardless
@Smkmn13 Sounds like that LG TV phone from like 3 years ago
BB is always trying to keep up with the iPhone. BB has been around for almost ten years & developed so many devices. iPhone came out with the first device in 2007 & about to release thier 4th device. iPhone being a young player as well as the droid are leaps & bounds over the BB. BB should be in complete shame to get destroyed the way they have in this market. I've seen this coming for the past 18 months. BB has done nothing to compete. I use to be a BB user from the begining until I couldn't stand watching technology go right by me with the 1st iPhone. Here we are 3 years later & the droid comes out & now waiting for the 4th iPhone to come out & while all this is happening BB still can't solve some of it's basics features such as the browser. Are you kidding me? Now thier answer is a freaking slider phone. They deserve to go the same path as Palm.
@wayneholbrook
You do know BB has twice the US marketshare of the iPhone, right?
@Dorf
hince what I said, bb has been in the market over 10 years, iPhone just over 3. See the article that stated 40% of bb users will leave bb after thier contract expires for either the iPhone or Droid. Don't get me wrong I use to live the bb but just got to disappointed on the 0 direction they have choosen to take. What I could use is a damn spell check on this iPhone, it's killing me!
@wayneholbrook
Can people stop bringing up any conclusions from that trashy survey, you can't draw any conclusions from the less than 100 blackberry owners that they actually questioned.
Unfortunately my first BB experience was the original storm. Def had the best push system I've ever used but the worst phone Ive ever used too. I've since ditched my storm and verizon and got an iPhone. Couldn't be happier. BB could really be a player in today's market with an updated UI. But they still have there loyal fan support to back them up.
Been using Blackberry devices for a number of years now....
The Storm failed to compete with the iPhone and the Talladega will also fail unless RIM gets their damn OS to the next level. Some will say RIM is not trying to compete with Apple...that's fine...but even if they're competing with themselves (which any progressive company should do) they are doing a horrible job.
This would be a nice upgrade device and the only reason I haven't gotten a new phone since the Bold 9000 is because there has been no change whatsoever in the devices after it, just a different body.
@Plazmic Flame
I agree with you for the most part. Depending on how you look at it, how are you going to measure their success of competing? From the looks of it, the only thing the company, shareholders care about is sales/numbers and RIM seems to be doing a good job at that even with their "antique OS". Positive growth each quarter even with increased competition.
If you own a Bold 9000/Curve 8900 or later, the current releases are probably not for you but more for those who are two generations back or more (8700, 88xx, 83xx). It's the same for the iPhone. If you had an iPhone 3G, the 3GS might not be worth the upgrade. Instead, the 3GS is probably aimed at the original iPhone and new users.
I just don't understand why people have to complain. It's like people don't know what they want in a device. Using you as an example, you have the Bold which is a pretty solid device. You know what you're looking for and can determine that these new BlackBerry's don't provide any benefit from what you already have. The others (a lot of them) would complain because they want the latest and complain that there isn't anything new: (enter iPhone). The iPhone is pretty much the same.
Stop comparing BlackBerry to iPhine. The iPhone is a single tasking unsecure fashion accessory that has sold zillions and the BlackBerry is a rock solid, secure RANGE of phones with a true multi-tasking OS that (on my three devices) is as steady as a rock. The8300 is re-booted automatically every night and is also stable.
The T is not an iPhone killer, it is for people who like Blackberrys.
That survey I thought was spot on, based soley on what I've seen with bb owners around me....and myself. And you guys are right, you can't compare the droid or iPhone to the bb, not even in the same ball park. BB you have been demoted to the kiddy park.
One of BB's issues with the Storm and Storm 2 is the crappy OS, memory leaks crappy browsing, lags, sluggishness, poor application development etc.
The only way the "T" can break new grounds is if they built a new OS for it from the ground up. And to be honest don't think RIM can do this any time soon.
I am hopeful though, I need to replace my Storm 1 :-)