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BlackBerry Style first hands-on!
Yes, folks, it's true: Engadget's capable of scooping itself at its own reader meetup, as evidenced by the BlackBerry Style we just checked out at RIM's booth here. The phone is pretty much what you'd expect from what you've seen in the shots so far, essentially a clamshell riff on the Curve line; to that end, we'd argue that it feels a little cheaper than your average Bold, but it still seems to be a marked improvement from the Pearl flips of days gone by -- and at $99 on contract, we think that's exactly the market they were likely going for. Interestingly, the keyboard looks more like a Bold component than a Curve one... and depending on the faction of BlackBerry users you fall into, that's either a very good or a very bad thing. Like the old Pearl flips, the Style's definitely large and in charge, boasting dimensions barely smaller than the Bold -- when closed! Check out the gallery below.%Gallery-105738%
BlackBerry Style officially launches October 31st for $99 on Sprint
We've been catching glimpses of the BlackBerry Style for so long we're glad to see it finally hit the big time: reality. Yes, Sprint and RIM have just made the 9670 QWERTY flip phone official, so if you've been dying to grab one, well you're going to get your chance. This bad boy runs the all new BlackBerry OS6, boasts a 5 megapixel cam, and two high resolution displays (one external, one internal). Other than that. you'll find built-in GPS and WiFi, and a microsSDHC slot for up to 32GB of storage. You'll be able to preorder starting tomorrow with a ship date of October 31st, and it'll run you $99 on contract after a mail-in rebate. Full press release is below.
BlackBerry Style (or Oxford?) launching on Sprint October 31?
The so-called BlackBerry Style got kind of lost in all the recent PlayBook noise, but fear not, clamshell lovers -- it seems the phone is still very much on track. Some literature leaked this week by way of BGR suggests that it'll be called "Oxford" at retail, and that a gray version will be launching at the tail end of this month -- October 31, to be exact -- for $99.99 on contract after rebates and discounts, while a purple version will follow on soon thereafter. For what it's worth, we've been hearing from other sources recently that the name of this thing is still Style, not Oxford, but it's more than possible that they've made a last-minute branding decision internally. We prefer Style, we think... but regardless of what it's called, we'd wager the wild QWERTY clam format is going to make for some pretty polarizing water cooler chat. [Thanks, Delon]
BlackBerry Style 9670 spotted in Sprint's database, yet another YouTube clip
Any lingering doubts about this thing's existence? Scatter 'em. The BlackBerry Style 9670 has just shown up in what appears to be a Sprint database leak, and given that it just received FCC approval earlier in the month, we'd say this is all lining up nicely for a near-term release on one of America's most well-known CDMA carriers. As the story goes, these database slips usually happen just weeks before the official public release of a phone, and we're guessing that both RIM and Sprint would love to have this out and about before the holidays. Head on past the break for yet another look -- assuming you need one, that is.
BlackBerry 9670 series clamshell earns FCC love
At first, we thought we were looking at the back of yet another standard design Bold or Curve -- but check out that nice, fat hinge up top. Indeed, we have every reason to believe we're looking at the long-rumored BlackBerry 9670 clamshell here, and the test reports confirm the presence of 802.11b / g / n and dual-band CDMA in this particular version -- in other words, it'll almost certainly be coming to either Sprint or Verizon. Given what we've seen of this little monster so far, we're going to need to reserve judgment until we play with one; RIM's BlackBerry Developer Conference is next week, and we wouldn't be shocked if it showed up there. Here's hoping!
BlackBerry Style 9670's UI demoed in leaked official videos
RIM has yet to officially announce the upcoming Style 9670 flip, but the leakfest continues today with a handful of new videos -- professionally-produced ones this time -- that show off key features of the UI and how to use them. Unlike the Torch, the Style lacks a touchscreen -- it just wouldn't be prudent in a clamshell form factor -- which means we're seeing just what it's like to navigate the finer points of BlackBerry 6's user interface with an optical pad (and secondary display) alone on a larger, portrait-oriented display. We're hopeful that RIM's new platform has a certain... well, a certain "something" on non-touchscreen devices that the Torch lacks, but time will tell, we suppose. Follow the break for the full video series.
BlackBerry Bold R020 and 9670 Oxford flip outed?
It's felt almost as if the BlackBerry smartphone rumor mill has been a little too quiet -- dare we say burnt out -- since the Torch hit the scene (BlackPad notwithstanding, of course). That's all changed with a pair of interesting leaks care of Boy Genius Report. Behold a successor to the Bold 9700, the R020. The tri-band UMTS / quad-band EDGE device is gonna disappoint some with the same 624MHz clockspeed and 2.44-inch 480 x 360 screen, but it does have twice the RAM (512MB), a 5 megapixel camera with AF and flash, and of course runs on BlackBerry 6. If the purported leaked slides are correct, a device of such magnitude should be launching in the October timeframe. Looking to the CDMA side of things -- which means likely both Verizon and Sprint -- we've got a 9670 "Oxford" (at least by codename) flip phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, 360 x 400 internal display (240 x 320 for the external), usual amenities like WiFi and GPS, and the hip new BB6. No touchscreen on either phones, as far as we can tell, but perhaps that's a blessing for those that fret smudged screens.
US Cellular adds HTC Desire and BlackBerry Bold in August, teases BlackBerry 9670 for 'later this year'
We were extremely close to cramping our sarcasm muscle with all the faux excitement we had to drum up for the 3.2-inch Acclaim, but US Cellular has now come back with word that it'll soon count HTC's Desire among its roster of phones. The Desire, which is mooted to be coming to other smaller carriers like Cellular South, will debut in August alongside the BlackBerry Bold. We're more excited, however, to find US Cellular promising it'll offer "a BlackBerry flip smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard" later this year. That sounds like RIM's slightly unorthodox 9670 to us, and will probably form the second part of the BB maker's pledged introduction of two new handsets. US Cellular's 2010 device lineup refresh will be completed with a pair more Androids, courtesy of LG and Samsung. The former is said to have a "large touch screen and slide-out, ergonomically-designed QWERTY keyboard," while the latter is only described as "highly-anticipated." Not too shabby.
BlackBerry 9670 caught trying to justify its existence on video
Look, we'll admit that we may have gone a little hard on the BlackBerry 9670 the first time we saw it -- but seriously, could you blame us? Thanks to the 8200 series, RIM's developed a reputation for making gargantuan clamshells, and the 9670 certainly doesn't seem to buck that trend -- in fact, it's very likely even wider on account of its full QWERTY keyboard, and you can tell from this new video that it doesn't make any apologies about its thick waistline, either. That being said, the phone seems to look just a smidge sexier now than it did before, though it's still not necessarily clear why you'd pick it over a 9650 or 9700 when it's essentially the same size folded. Guess we'll know when -- or if, rather -- RIM launches this thing. Follow the break for video.
BlackBerry 9670 flip spotted running OS 6.0, causes eyes to bleed, children to cry
According to BGR, we're apparently looking at the first shots of a phone numbered 9670 in RIM's BlackBerry parlance, a true QWERTY flip running BlackBerry OS 6.0 on a 480 x 360 display with WiFi, a 5 megapixel camera, optical pad (as is the case with every new BlackBerry these days), microSD expansion, and a huge external display that's eerily reminiscent of Moto's RAZR 2. The device is said to be running CDMA, which almost certainly means it's being shopped around to Sprint and Verizon exclusively among major carriers -- the only other big potential takers would be Bell and Telus, and they're in the midst of migrating to HSPA -- so we'll just sit back, relax, and see if this thing materializes at WES next week. Granted, we've got to see it in person and gaze at a few non-blurrycam shots before passing final judgment, but we're admittedly a little worried about the merciless beating the ugly stick may have delivered up in Waterloo this time around.
