February 19th, 2008

Will BlackBerry OS 4.6.0 see fix to battery drain issues? Perhaps not

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 8:24 am

Categories: BlackBerry Rumors

Tags: Battery, RIM BlackBerry, Engineering, Handhelds, Hardware, Russell Shaw

We hear via Boy Genius Report’s traditionally well placed sources that BlackBerry OS 4.6.0 is out of internal development and is now in the carrier certification process.

That could be could news. Or it might not matter.

Those in the know, and tend to go through life seeing the glass half-full hope that this OS build could address battery   suck issues that seem to plague most if not every mobile device capable of running Wi-Fi or GPS.

“The good news is that the introduction of the carrier certification process,” Jibi writes, “may indicate the remote possibility that a workaround and/or resolution has been implemented for the new does-it-all device.”

I wonder that since these battery drain issues seem to have a lot to do with extra power for signal acquisition and retention, whether or not these problems are more related to network issues.

February 11th, 2008

Two photos of unreleased, CDMA BlackBerry 8330 here

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 3:54 pm

Categories: BlackBerry Curve 8300, BlackBerry Rumors

Tags: CDMA, Photograph, BB Geeks, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Russell Shaw

BB Geeks has managed to obtain access to either a forthcoming CDMA-capable BlackBerry 8330, or to photos of same.

We don’t know where or when this Curve device will be released, nor the price.

But we do know what it will look like.

Full view of top:

Oh, and the keys:

Keys, yes. And if you got here via a search for Alicia Keys, I invite you to click around and stick around!

February 7th, 2008

Report: Hotspot @ Home BlackBerry 8820 to T-Mobile on March 5

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 2:06 pm

Categories: BlackBerry 8820, BlackBerry Rumors, Carriers

Tags: T-Mobile, RIM BlackBerry, Handhelds, Hardware, Russell Shaw

Tipsters to Boy Genius Report, well, report that T-Mobile will start sellng the BlackBerry 8820 on March 5.

The model, which has form and functional identical to the AT&T BlackBerry 8820, is said to be supporting T-Mobile Hotspot@Home Service.

More details on the way…

February 7th, 2008

Patent app points to touchscreen BlackBerry

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 1:03 pm

Categories: BlackBerry Rumors

Tags: Touch Screen, Disclosure, Electrode, Voltage, RIM BlackBerry, LCD, Patent Abstract, Touchscreen Liquid-crystal Display, Pixel Element, Telecom & Utilities

A new BlackBerry Patent application published this morning strongly points to a touchscreen BlackBerry- similar to the touchscreen iPhone.

It’s also important to note that although most BlackBerry Patent applications are only published 18 months after they are filed, this one has only a four-month gap. These shorter gaps often occur when adaptation of proposed technology the patent describes is imminent.

The Patent app I am referring to here is System and Method for Integrating A Touchscreen Within an LCD.

The Patent Abstract describes what’s being proposed:

A touchscreen liquid crystal display, method for using a liquid crystal display as a user input, and a mobile electronic device are provided. The touchscreen liquid crystal display comprises: a liquid crystal display having a viewing surface and including a plurality of parallel first electrodes located on one side of a liquid crystal containing area and overlapping with a plurality of parallel second electrodes located on an opposite side of the liquid crystal containing area, the first and second electrodes overlapping to form an array of liquid crystal pixel elements, at least some of the first electrodes being displaceable towards the second electrodes in response to external pressure applied to the viewing surface; a driver circuit coupled to the first and second electrodes for driving the electrodes for selectively controlling a display state of the display pixel elements; and a measurement circuit coupled to the electrodes for measuring display pixel element voltages for at least some of the display pixel elements formed by the first electrode, and for each display pixel element for which a display pixel element voltage is measured, comparing the measured voltages to reference voltages and determining a relative force of the external pressure on the viewing surface based on the measured voltages.

Follow along for more explanation from the Patent Application’s literature.

Read the rest of this entry »

December 23rd, 2007

BlackBerrys with slide-out keyboard, swivel keypads reported on way

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 6:47 pm

Categories: BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Rumors

Tags: Keyboard, RIM BlackBerry, Elliott, Handhelds, Keyboards, Hardware, Peripherals, Russell Shaw

Amy-Mae Elliott of the oh-so-charmingly named (NOT!!!) UK-based mobile tech site Pocket-Lint cites an analyst research note that a new BlackBerry 9100 device now in the pipeline will offer a heretofore-unseen form factor.

Citing an analyst report from GMP Securities, this BlackBerry 9100 series will apparently offer a slide-out Qwerty keyboard under a large touchscreen display. Elliott views this setup as one that could (give) “the best of both worlds in terms of input methods.”

Elliott also cites the analyst note’s views that a new BlackBerry Pearl is on the way that will include a “unique” keypad that can swivel 90 degrees to provide a more comfortable typing environment.

No projected ETA on each, but I would guess by May,  in time for the Wireless Enterprise Symposium 2008. BlackBerry has a track record of introducing new devices at these confabs.

December 20th, 2007

Report: here are a few specs for forthcoming BlackBerry 9000

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 7:17 pm

Categories: BlackBerry Rumors

Tags: Radio, RIM BlackBerry, Advertising & Promotion, Handhelds, Marketing, Hardware, Russell Shaw

Jibi from the BoyGeniusReport cites sources in more or less confirming that the BlackBerry 9000 is a) real, and b) will probably be released sometime in the first three months of next year.

Which of course, will soon be this year.

Basics:

Screen size: 480×320;

Radio: GSM/GPRS/EDGE radio (850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 1900MHz) and will feature 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi capabilities. This will be a full QWERTY device, as well.

OS at launch: 4.3.2.

Skimpy deets I know, but I know that you know that we know we’ll know more soon.

November 30th, 2007

BlackBerry 9000 will have faster processor than current iPhone

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 1:42 pm

Categories: BlackBerry Gear, BlackBerry Rumors

Tags: Apple iPhone, Processor, RIM BlackBerry, Camera, BoyGenius, 3G, Handhelds, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology

BoyGenius has some of the specs for the oncoming (release date unconfirmed as of yet) BlackBerry 9000:

Screen: 480×320

On Board Memory: 1GB

Processor: Intel XScale PXA270, at 624 MHz. That’s faster than the iPhone 620 MHz, achieved via the ARM 1173;

3G Support: Yes, via multi-band GSM.

Camera: 2 megapixels, but that might be bumped up to 3.2 at launch.  Which, given that the trend line in new handset cameras is toward 3 megapixels and more, you can just about count on, IMHO.

November 21st, 2007

Report: BlackBerry 9000 touchscreen models due by March

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 2:23 pm

Categories: BlackBerry Rumors

Tags: Touch Screen, RIM BlackBerry, Keyboards, Monitors & Displays, Handhelds, Hardware, Peripherals, Components, Russell Shaw

Dan Jones of the wireless news site Unstrung, has been told by clued-in analyst Carmi Levy that she expects a BlackBerry 9000 series with iPhone-like touchscreen functionality to be released in the first quarter of 2008.

Levy takes this as an indication that BlackBerry is diverging even more significantly from its once top-down, enterprise-specific roots.

“The 9000 is supposed to be a touch-screen device, very similar in form factor to the iPhone,” Levy tells Jones. “Which means that it is not an enterprise-friendly device.”

“The 9000 series will break from the traditional half-screen, half-keyboard look of the BlackBerry,” Jones writes. The handsets will also incorporate an upgraded multimedia system, along with the standard push email capabilities. Better MP3 and video capabilities are crucial if RIM is to take on Apple, Google, and others.”

Jones also cites Levy as saying that a BlackBerry Curve with WiFi, a higher-res camera, and GPS location tracking will also be released in the same general time frame.

November 15th, 2007

BlackBerry 8130 due in U.S. November 23

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 7:59 am

Categories: BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Rumors

Tags: EVDO, RIM BlackBerry, Sprint Communications, Cellular Phones, Text Messaging/SMS/MMS, Handhelds, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Online Communications, Hardware

Gadget site Gizmodo confirms that Sprint will roll out the second-generation, BlackBerry Pearl 8130 the day after Thanksgiving.

That’d be Friday, November 23 here in the U.S. No official pricing yet.

For $30 over your regular voice plan, you’ll obtain  unlimited web and data access, unlimited text messaging, support for 10 e-mail accounts, plus Sprint Navigation and Sprint TV, all on the EV-DO network.

Hey what can I say. Although I’ve surely had my problems with Sprint “service,” I got to admit EV-DO is way faster than AT&T Mobility’s crawl-y and kinda suck-y EDGE service.

October 3rd, 2007

BlackBerry 9000 said on way: 3G with full Backup/Restore

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 8:57 pm

Categories: BlackBerry Rumors

Tags: Board, RIM BlackBerry, Boy Genius, 3G, Corporate Governance, Cellular Phones, Wireless, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Business Operations

Boy Genius refers to deep-background rumors about a BlackBerry 9000, said to be on the way sometime early next year.

This device will be 3G here in North America- 3G of the high-speed variety.

A 600MHz processor is also said to be on board, as well as a built-in Backup/Restore function to facilitate transferring your entire backup to an on board memory card.

We’ll keep you posted.