Word on the street is that RIM’s new BlackBerry 9000 will be officially announced at the WES conference in Orlando next Monday, May 12th. It’s 100% confirmed, according to BGR. RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis will apparently take the stage and announce it himself. Afterwards, conference-goers will be able to try the device out at the various booths. No word on whether or not refreshments and orange slices will be served, but here’s to hoping there’s some sort of fruit punch involved.
Someone, or something, has leaked a BlackBerry’s 9000 internal spec sheet to BGR . (These controlled “leaks” are part of how RIM does business, you know.) It’s more or less a complete overview of the newly designed user interface. Pictured here, a few shots of some of the new themes. Church.
The BlackBerry 9000 is supposed to be RIM’s “answer” to the iPhone, hence the new UI, much improved Web browser (consumers love the Web!), built-in Wi-Fi and camera, improved multimedia capabilities, etc. No touchscreen, but the keyboard is partly what makes a BlackBerry a BlackBerry.
BlackBerry fans take heed for the BGR has learned a few things about the upcoming BlackBerry 9000.
Everything we reported was true. 624MHz processor, 480×320 screen, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, etc.
The web browser flies. “Loads web pages in 3-4 seconds.”
The BlackBerry 9000 in its current state runs OS 4.5
Early launch date was slated for a consumer AT&T launch on June 18th. Remember that we predicted the device was delayed. See below.
The battery lasts around 4 hours with straight phone calling. “Battery sucks, to be honest. With Wi-Fi on, I only got a little less than two hours browsing the web,” and all testers are reporting huge battery issues which could be why we’re all hearing it is delayed.
We’re not sure of the next part, but he said that the device either has 256MB of internal memory or 128MB. Don’t ask why we couldn’t tell the difference.
Rumors have been swirling for months about this mysterious cryptogadget, the rumored Blackberry 9000 series. Does it have a touchscreen? Do its specs exceed the iPhone’s? Well, some patent documents filed show a slide-out QWERTY keyboard hiding under a fat touchscreen display that rivals or exceeds the dimensions and pixel count of the iPhone, which currently sports the sexiest mobile screen, whatever issues one might have with the phone itself.
Now for the bad news: the OS is now expected to be an evolution of the old OS rather than a whole new bag, and despite rumors of 3G capability, the documents indicate the initial rollout will be limited to 2.5G. Sad, but at least it will have Wi-Fi and a nice touch browser for when you’re somewhere with wireless. Are these hints as to the first carrier to have this elusive gizmo? T-Mobile is the obvious choice, as they will not have a 3G network rolled out at that time, and their Hotspot@Home service would love to get that Wi-Fi on. Not to mention they carry the Pearl and could probably do with an updated version. Intriguing.
So as the mystery gets dissolved, we find less of a “wow” device but still a perfectly usable one and certainly a logical one given the success of devices in that class. Some analyst predicted we’d be seeing this critter in the wild come February, but that sounds a little optimistic. I think it’ll have a dual release with Duke Nukem Forever.
Analyst: Touchscreen Blackberry Due February [Electronista]
Update:
Boy Genius Report’s clarification of the information swirling around is worth mentioning. The 9000 is indeed a single device does not refer to a line of products, and while signs point to 2.5G for the 9000, the upcoming 9X00 series is supposed to be 3G-capable.
Some spotty details on the upcoming BlackBerry 9xxx for you this Zune-tastic Wednesday. (Zune-tastic in that there’s been a lot of Zune news, not that I’m pro or against Microsoft, the Zune, Zune 2, or any of its subsidiaries or shareholders.) Does full-on, HSDPA 3G sound good to you? What about a 600MHz processor, hopefully eliminating the lag that plagues certain BlackBerry models? /me Waves to the 8800, laggy so-and-so. Oh, and this photo, care of Boy Genius. RIM is also said to be looking at hooking the 9xxx up with a backup-everything-to-memory-card feature, no doubt allaying the worst fears of middle managers everywhere.
An early 2008 release looks to be in the cards. Maybe. You know how these things go. They go awry.
BlackBerry 9000 whispers in our ear [Boy Genius Report]
