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RIM's Mike Lazaridis makes the case for QWERTY keyboards on phones, says market for tablets not 'clear yet'
Both of RIM's co-CEOs have reputations for being pretty opinionated dudes, and we feel like Mike Lazaridis in particular would go to the ends of the Earth to support BlackBerry's business model -- but at the cost of one of his own products? Speaking at a tech conference in Toronto today, Lazaridis apparently said that the long-term viability of the tablet market (iPad included) is in doubt, especially as smartphones get more powerful; that would probably serve to quash the rumors from a few days back that the company is working on its own large-display device for release later this year. More interestingly, though, were his comments that full touchscreen phones like the iPhone "aren't that popular" -- that's news to us -- and that many that end up buying them ultimately go back to a physical keyboard handset. You know, like a Bold or a Curve, for instance. Whether Lazaridis is conveniently forgetting the existence of his own Storm and Storm2, suggesting that touchscreen devices don't have a long-term future at RIM, or just saying that they'll remain a niche play for the company going forward is unclear -- but any way you slice it, we'd say it's a pretty significant dis for the Storm series and its owners. Looking at the bigger picture, it might also be a sign that these guys are still very much on the fast track to becoming the next Windows Mobile -- dinosaurs paralyzed by their own past successes -- but who knows? Maybe there'll always be limitless demand for an endless array of barely iterative hardware paired to a decade-old user interface. Update: We've received the full transcript of Mike's session from the conference relating specifically to the touchscreen phone and tablet comments, and the reality is quite a bit different from the summary we'd been working from before. As tablets go, he says that "you can't say what's the market for tablets in exclusion of... other devices" -- a fair argument, considering that the iPad's ultimate target demographic still isn't totally fleshed out -- and actually never disrespects touchscreen phones outright, instead saying that the "QWERTY push messaging experience" is still "really, really important" while acknowledging that the company "[continues] to evolve with the research and [investment] in the Storm technology to make sure we get those right." Follow the break for the transcript.
Samsung keeps rolling with Corby line, adds low-end Corby POP
Samsung's Corby handsets are already targeted toward the lower end of the market -- relatively new territory for full-touch devices -- but they're looking to aim even lower with the new Corby POP, it seems. Having recently popped up on Samsung Mobile's official India site as coming soon, it should feature a 2.8-inch display, integrated FM radio (a must in the Indian market), and a weaksauce 1.3 megapixel cam (down from the Corby's 2 megapixel unit) for an extremely reasonable 7,000 rupees (about $151) unsubsidized. We're not likely to see this one in the States, but seriously -- wouldn't this make a great prepaid phone or backup?
Sony Ericsson 'Jalou' next in company's Symbian lineup? (Update: maybe, but this isn't it)
We've yet to see a Satio or XPERIA X2 or X3 at retail, but it looks like Sony Ericsson have yet another full touch phone in the works as it tries to revitalize and reinvent itself with a renewed focus on Android, Symbian Foundation, and Windows Mobile for its smartphone lineup. What we're looking at here is claimed to be a spy shot of the Jalou -- that's a retail name, not a codename, by the way -- which is said to run S60 5th Edition (just like the Satio) with WiFi, GPS, and some form of HSDPA on board. The Sony Ericsson fan base is pretty notorious for crafting beautiful, very believable concept devices using nothing more than Illustrator and an overactive imagination, so we'd urge caution here -- but other than a display that seems to have been blacked out, it all seems believable enough. The bigger question might be whether the world's ready for two Symbian-based touchscreen smartphones from Sony Ericsson in the next few months.Update: Yep, sure enough, that "notorious fan base" we just mentioned came out swinging with this one, a heavily-modified concept based on the W995. In other words, if the Jalou exists, this isn't it. Thanks, synn!
Softbank introduces Sharp Aquos Fulltouch slider with quasi-XGA resolution
Just when we thought the Touch HD really packed the pixels in, Softbank and Sharp have announced the Aquos Fulltouch 931SH slider, which sports a wild 1024 x 480 3.8-inch touchscreen. That's almost the same res as most netbooks, for comparison -- we're not sure what all that pixel density is good for at this size, but we know we want it. Apart from the screen it's also a pretty solid 3G Softbank featurephone: browser, Bluetooth with A2DP, 5.2 megapixel camera with image stabilizer, accelerometer, 1seg TV tuner, and a media player with microSD expansion. Sure, sure -- but look at that screen, people. That's the stuff dreams are made of. Anyone up for a trip to Japan?[Thanks, Paul]
