BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G outed

Oops, looks like The Street leaked RIM's big unveil for later this morning at its WES show: the BlackBerry Bold 9650 (pictured left looking very Tour like) and BlackBerry Pearl 3G. The Bold 9650 boasts 802.11b/g WiFi, a 3.2 megapixel cam, GPS, and support for US EV-DO Rev A networks or UMTS/HSPDA when abroad -- look for it to launch next month on Sprint. The Pearl 3G is headed to Bell, Telus, and Rogers in Canada with a 3.2 megapixel camera, 802.11n WiFi, GPS, and triband HSDPA data with quadband GSM / EDGE. Both feature RIM's new optical trackpad. Hold tight while we wait for more detail from RIM.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[dthehwang Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:28AM]

you mean blackberry tour?

[joshyth1012 Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:48AM]

@dthehwang RIM are not going to call the next Tour, the tour2 anymore. They are going to use the Bold branding for their next Tour..

[Billy Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:55AM]

@futurerheza Erm, did you know they have the most secure messaging because they have their own server? Their OS is continuously being upgraded. There's nothing wrong with these phones.

[Outsider Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:17AM]

@futurerheza
Come on, how much of a troll do you have to be?

Yes, people use these phones. In fact, I think you'll be blown away, if you're under the impression that no one does.

And since when were hard buttons outdated? You know, that thing at the bottom center of your phone that you press to go to the main menu?

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:21AM]

@futurerheza

I think it's the other way round. The hardware and industrial design is very good and Blackberry have a strong following. The software (generally) isn't quite as good as the competition, although they do have some strong points in particular areas (messaging).

And there are people who want the physical keyboard, or at least are so used to it and comfortable with it they are unlikely to ever want anything else (and although the gap has closed, physical keyboards do still have advantages over virtual ones).

[CmdX Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:25AM]

@dthehwang the 9650 isn't 'Tour 2' it's 'Tour 1 with Wifi and the trackpad'

It was common knowledge when the 9630 came out that the 9650 was on the way (or at the very least a Wifi/Trackpad Tour). Except nobody knew when the 9650 was going to come and decided they could live without wifi and handle the trackball

A trackball that has given many Tour users nothing but grief

[Outsider Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:29AM]

@CmdX

What exactly was wrong with the trackball anyways? I've used first generation Pearl before and I quite liked it. Tried out the new trackpads and found it meh.

[DougieBear Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:13AM]

@futurerheza

Virtual keyboard = shit.

[Dysun Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:34AM]

@Outsider It's because the trackball gets gummed up and requires cleaning.

[merianlisokyahoocom Posted Apr 26th 2010 1:21PM]

@dthehwang Been waiting for this, as well the 9650 essex preview. I'm sure many BB fans will get this. Reactions. http://j.mp/blackberry-9650-viewed

[jrcburrows Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:32AM]

What about the slider/Talladega?!

And yes, I'm 95% thats the new Tour not the Bold!

[jrcburrows Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:37AM]

@jrcburrows It seems they dropped the Bold branding... I just noticed this in related links..

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/blackberry-9650-spotted-in-the-wild-again-bold-branding-confi/

[clexman Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:02AM]

@jrcburrows

Too bad you are 95% wrong and only 5% right

[Savage3006 Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:32AM]

Wow 802.11 n
I hope this signals the start of cellphones with N instead of boring G

hopefully the Dell lighting gets N before it comes out. You never know they might upgrade it before release

[Toink Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:39AM]

802.11n is good news but how about the battery life?

[glenskey Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:44AM]

the pictures at the link seem unnecessarily large..

[Broderbund Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:48AM]

All blackberries look the same to me..

[clexman Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:01AM]

@Broderbund

All iPhones look the same to me...

[Outsider Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:20AM]

@Broderbund

Are you blind?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/BlackBerry_Bold_9700.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ripe,_ripening,_and_green_blackberries.jpg

I have no idea how the two can look the same.

[Sean76 Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:49AM]

Soooooo, a Tour with a Track pad? Whoopie, it's been a year since they delivered us the original Tour, this is what we get now in 2010?I'm sorry, not exciting RIM! And dropping the Bold Branding is even dumber, at least it would make it seem like a somewhat newer CDMA device. Let down as usual!

[sonola777 Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:49AM]

Rim needs to switch things up, but I guess if it ain't broke why fix it?

[MastrCake Posted Apr 26th 2010 4:58AM]

Looks nice. Nothing to get too excited about, but it's great for those businesses which use Sprint and BlackBerry's (BlackBerries? Apostrophe or not?).

[clexman Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:07AM]

I like that when RIM updates a phone with better specs 9 months after its predecessor, people say, "Why bother." When Apple took 12 months to speed up the iPhone it was revolutionary.

[Hafk Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:18AM]

@clexman

But Apple used magic, there is a difference.

[clexman Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:41PM]

@Hafk

I stand corrected

[djbentley Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:24AM]

RIM that's the Pearl I wanted 2 years ago. The world and I have changed now.

[Dysun Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:45AM]

I'm actually looking forward to getting the new Pearl to replace my 8100 :)

[DougieBear Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:12AM]

@Dysun

Still rocking the 8100, probably the best phone I've ever had. Want to upgrade to this new one though.

[KingFaisal94 Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:54AM]

What is special about this Bold?

[djbentley Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:38AM]

@KingFaisal94 It supports CDMA and GSM. Good for those who travel thus the "Tour" moniker of its predecessor.

[Dysun Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:40AM]

@djbentley I thought all blackberrys were multiband phones?

[injustifiiable Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:33AM]

@Dysun Most of them ARE multiband but usually only on one type of network (CDMA, GSM, etc).

[mrtnrwn Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:03AM]

How about a pearl 3G flip!?

[Haha Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:28AM]

Same as any other blackberry.

[willwillywilson Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:09AM]

My dad is going to love these!

[injustifiiable Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:32AM]

Are they gay now?

I saw "outed" and thought they were forced out the closet. lol

[SteveyAyo Posted Apr 26th 2010 11:18AM]

Thank god for this... that clamshell atrocity they leaked had me very worried, but these are back to BB's normal sexy selves

[Johnny Rockets Posted Apr 26th 2010 2:22PM]

Eh, RIM is on the way out.

Unless they can release a hugely improved OS, other OS's will soon start massively encroaching on their marketshare.

HTC's Exchange integration is quite nice, and iPhone OS 4's is shaping up to be pretty competitive as well.