RIM launches five BlackBerry smarties
BB 7 OS on-board
Research in Motion launched five smartphones today that run on the BlackBerry 7 Operating System. This latest refresh represents RIM's largest ever global launch.
The handsets include two BlackBerry Bold models and three from the BlackBerry Torch range.
The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 are RIM's thinnest smartphones yet at 10.5mm. They feature touchscreen displays, large keyboards and support for NFC. There's also a 5Mp camera with 720p video recording and 8GB of onboard memory, expandable with MicroSD up to 32GB.
The BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 feature an all-touch design with 3.7in displays. They both come with 4GB of memory, also expandable by a further 32GB.
Last but not least is the BlackBerry Torch 9810, which packs a 3.2in touchscreen and slide-out keyboard.
All of the handsets run on BlackBerry 7 OS with a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor. The updated browser included is apparently 40 per cent faster than last year's.
Whether BB7 will be enough to pull in the punters remains to be seen given that RIM's new "superphones" – handsets that will run the QNX-based OS found on its PlayBook tablets – are also expected at some point.
RIM's new BlackBerry range will be available from later this month, prices are yet to be announced. ®
COMMENTS
Camera-free is probably not entirely by choice
My understanding is that there are a lot of places that simply forbid cameras, period, but don't necessarily forbid cellphones per se. I believe that is the bulk of any demand for camera-free phones in business contexts. (I'm not someone who regularly deals with such irritations, but I have encountered it.)
Business phone
Always amazes me that the only vendor to make exclusively business phones can continue to not readily offer a camera free version.
I know the networks will be subsidising many handsets and that MMS is an important review stream but its just quite frankly a pain in the bum to not be able to get anything like a functional business phone easily without a camera.
Oh dear
Any right-headed human being who cares to consider the issue thoroughly will of course know that it is in fact peanut M&Ms that rule the roost in terms of rainbow-coated confectionary
There simply isn’t space available to go into the lengthy and often complex arguments behind why the statement ‘Only Smarties have the answer’ is not just misguided but is often a dangerous ideology to hold but experts in the subject have for some time now been happy to relegate Skittles to last place on the pantheon of multi-shaded monosaccharide-based mini-munchables and I see no reason to disagree!
Disabling it in BES won't cut it
How can you show a security guard the lack of camera if its just software disabled? They will still confiscate it... same if you tape over it or whatever.
Their instructions are that if it seems to have a camera, its forbidden.
Yes, we are talking medium security sites (high security ones simply ban all phones!!)
because...
there are still some industries where you aren't allowed to take cameras on site, meaning you have to lose your whole phone.
