Blackberry Phones

When Research In Motion released its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the device had its fair share of problems. RIM promised an operating system update that would address these problems but the launch was delayed by several months. A new report from N4BB claims the official release of the PlayBook 2.0 update is set for February 21st, just over a week later than the company initially planned. The PlayBook OS 2.0 update will include native email, calendar and contacts apps, but unfortunately native BBM will remain absent from the tablet and can only be accessed through BlackBerry Bridge.

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Research In Motion is reportedly working on two new BlackBerry PlayBook tablets that are currently scheduled for release in 2012. BlackBerry watcher N4BB claims that while RIM had initially scrapped plans to produce a larger PlayBook tablet, the vendor now plans to release both a 10-inch and a new 7-inch tablet this year.

RIM’s new 7-inch model will feature embedded 3G connectivity when it launches in April according to the report, and the 10-inch BlackBerry tablet will reportedly include support for 4G LTE networks when it launches in December. The site also reiterates that RIM currently only has one BlackBerry 10 smartphone slated for 2012, which BGR exclusively reported earlier this month, and it states that at least two more low-end BlackBerry Curve models will launch this year as well.

The most popular and successful multi-device communication platform is without question WhatsApp. More of a text messaging replacement than straight BlackBerry Messenger competitor, WhatsApp has been the number one service people rely on to communicate across iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone devices. We were sent a preview copy of the new version of WhatsApp for BlackBerry smartphones, our exclusive first look is after the break.To start, the entire app’s user interface has been refreshed, and it really looks strong. It’s clean, it’s sophisticated, and it’s one of the better interfaces on a BlackBerry product that we’ve seen. The app contains the same basic 5 tabs that you’re used to — chats, favorites, contacts, status, and settings — but it’s done in a way that feels natural and light. There’s a really intuitive context button on the right of the top tab bar, and it changes based on what tab you’re on. If you’re in the chats tab, the button changes to allow you to start a new chat, if you’re on the favorites tab, it changes to refresh favorites button, a search option on the contacts tab, add a status on the status tab, and add a friend on the settings tab.

I have noticed a couple little issues using this pre-release version on my BlackBerry 9900, though. The touch area for the tab buttons at the top of the interface are a tad small and I have tapped a contact’s name and started a chat instead of changing to the tab I aimed to switch to. Additionally, the rows that list your favorites or contacts are very narrow, and while that works fine for navigation with the trackpad, not the best possible spacing for touch selection.

All in all, the app gets a very welcome refresh, and the best multi-platform communication service gets even better. It should be available tomorrow directly from WhatsApp’s beta site, and in BlackBerry App World soon after.

”Our current UI for BlackBerry is something only an engineer could love. With this update, we’ve had a designer who has no knowledge of BlackBerry UI difficulties mock up new screens for every part of the app.  It has then been our engineering challenge to make those mockups reality across the wide range of BlackBerry devices available.  When we started, it looked very challenging to make these screens happen, said Michael Donohue, Senior BlackBerry Engineer of WhatsApp, This is truly a great UI for BlackBerry.”

”WhatsApp wants consumers to have the ability to message easily, intuitively to that degree we have overhauled the UI, making it simple, clean and easy to use. Our overall commitment to product quality and continued improvement to the BlackBerry is important to us, it is a great messaging device and we are fully committed to supporting the consumers who use it, said Jan Koum, CEO, WhatsApp.”

Source: BGR.com

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the GSM version of the CDMA network BlackBerry Bold 9930 on Verizon and Sprint. Beyond the cell radio inside and carrier branding, the phones are identical.

T-Mobile’s version of RIM’s latest QWERTY flagship phone has 4G HSPA+, and you can really feel the difference vs. 3G on the Verizon and Sprint versions. Web pages download faster as do email attachments and applications, though App World remains mysteriously slower at download compared to its iOS and Android counterparts. Reception is excellent as is call quality: RIM knows how to make a phone that works well for voice calls. Read more

The next version of the BlackBerry operating system will be known as BlackBerry 10, instead of BBX as the latter is no longer available for use by Research In Motion (RIM) as deemed by the court of law simply because another company already holds the trademark to BBX, and are not willing to relinquish it so that a corporation like RIM will be able to have it their way. Well, it is still months away before the first batch of BlackBerry 10 devices are released to the market, but that does not mean in this day and age, where ninja photographers are stealthy enough to shoot and capture upcoming devices without missing a beat. What you see on the right is an image render of what looks set to be the BlackBerry Milan.

Assuming what we see here is the real McCoy, it would seem as though this is not a different variant of the BlackBerry London, that is, of course, the BlackBerry London comes with a slide-out keyboard that was cleverly hidden form the masses until now. Not only that, you won’t find any physical buttons which are recognizable from previous BlackBerry handsets, such as call, hang-up, menu and back buttons, not to mention a missing trackpad. Are you stoked already?

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The BlackBerry Playbook is not exactly the best selling tablet in the market right now, let alone having it fly the best seller flag for manufacturer RIM at the moment. In fact, RIM has gone so far as to offer the Playbook for free to enterprise customers, which is not always a good thing as it reveals your position to your rivals in the market that you are clearly having issues clearing up your inventory, and while the Playbook has not gone the way of the HP Touchpad, it is still a worrying sign for the Canadian company.

At least RIM still supports the BlackBerry Playbook with updates, and while the most recent update will not introduce Blackberry smartphone synchronization capabilities to your tablet, at least it will still fix several issues as listed below.

• Updated version of Adobe Flash Player version 11.1 and Adobe AIR 3.1
• Daylight savings time updates for time zones in the regions of Latin America, Australia and Central America
• Updated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi software to help to improve connectivity
• Fixed issues some users were experiencing with account payments in the BlackBerry App World storefront
• Improved synching when restoring applications with BlackBerry Desktop Software

Have you updated your Playbook already?

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one London Bridge that will not fall, that’s for sure. I’m talking about this rather edgy looking BlackBerry device which has been given the nickname, BlackBerry London. Yes sir, it is most probably one of the next generation of BlackBerry smartphones that will be powered by the upcoming BBX operating system as well as boasting QNX roots. Touted for a release in June next year – why London, I wonder, perhaps it has something to do with the summer Olympics that is happening in that part of the world then.

Touted to run on a TI OMAP dual-core CPU that has been clocked to 1.5GHz, the BlackBerry London will also come with 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal memory, an 8-megapixel rear camera, coupled with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for vain self portraits as well as video calls. It seems that the London will be “thinner than the iPhone 4″ while sporting similar dimensions to the Samsung Galaxy S II. It takes on a rather boxy look to say the least, and will most probably run on some variation of the PlayBook’s operating system.

How much do you think this puppy will cost when it arrives, and will it help RIM get out of the doldrums?

You can more or less tell that the competitors have sniffed blood – and the blood belongs to the injured animal known as Research In Motion, or RIM for short. Who would have thought that RIM would one day be fending off the likes of Apple prior to the iPhone’s release? After all, Apple made computers and portable media players, not phones, and the BlackBerry family was the bomb back then as corporate figures and folks who cannot live without instant email proved to be quite the market winner. Too bad Apple’s iPhone changed the smartphone scene, and RIM has been on a slow downward spiral since then.

Their entry into the tablet market did not light up the world either, as the BlackBerry Playbook proved to be a flop as it did not sell as many units as RIM had originally hoped. I guess you can say that RIM’s pretty much stuck at the moment, and they’re most probably keeping their fingers crossed that the latest operating system known as BBX will be able to bring the Canadian company back to where it was originally, and beyond, of course. Word has it that the new BBX smartphones from RIM will come with a similar screen resolution as that of the Playbook, so you can expect to see a 1,024 × 600 resolution being squeezed into a smaller form factor – logically increasing overall sharpness in the process.

The all-touch BlackBerry Curve 9380 has been one of the worst kept secrets – it’s been leaked in videos, pictures and recently on RIM’s own developer website. Finally we can confirm this will be coming to TELUS this holiday season, but are still waiting on the official date and pricing.

In the picture above it once again shows the Curve to have a 3.2-inch touchscreen display with a “high-resolution” (it’ll come with 360 x 480 res), plus a good sign is that the display will be scratch-resistant. Other rumoured specs have the 9380 coming with a 800MHz processor, 5-megapixel camera that will shoot 720p HD videos. This entry-level Curve is being targeted to the “youth” crowd and first time smartphone owners. You can also expect this to be available at all the other carriers too.

AT&T has recently official announced the availability of three new BlackBerry smartphones into its market. These handsets are the BlackBerry Torch 9860, BlackBerry Bold 9900, and BlackBerry Curve 9360.

All of them are runs BlackBerry 7 OS. According to press release, AT&T offers excellent pricing across the full portfolio so their customers can choose the right BlackBerry form factor at the right price.

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 is actually a significant upgrade of the Curve series but not support AT&T HSPA+ network, while the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Torch 9860 smartphone is 4G (HSPA+) support. New BlackBerry Torch 9860 is the carrier’s first full-touch BlackBerry.

BlackBerry Torch 9860, Bold 9900, Curve 9360 Price and Availability

AT&T will start offer the BlackBerry Torch 9860 and Bold 9900 on November 6th. The cost of Torch 9860 smartphone is $99.99 on contract, while the Bold 9900 has price tag $199.99 with contract. BlackBerry Curve 9360 is starting November 20 and cost at $29.99 with also contract.