Research In Motion has announced the first phone running the all-new Blackberry OS 6.  Called the Blackberry Torch (model 9800), it's the company's first handset to feature a sliding QWERTY keyboard, which it pairs with a full touchscreen display.

Sporting a vertical slider form factor, the new phone measures a respectable 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.57 inches and weighs 5.68 ounces.  A world phone, it supports quad-band GSM, quad-band UMTS and tri-band HSPA, with voice service in over 220 countries, data service in more than 195 and 3G connectivity in 125.

Details of the Torch include a 3.2-inch touchscreen (480 x 360 pixels), a 5.0 megapixel camera module with flash, aGPS, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, a 3.5mm audio jack, 4GB built-in storage and 4GB preloaded memory card (expandable up to 32GB).  Core hardware consists of a 624 Mhz processor and 512MB of RAM. It comes with a 1,300 mAh battery, providing 5.5 hours of talk time and up to 13 days of standby.

Possibly bigger news than the new phone is the new OS, which upgrades the old Blackberry interface into a modern, finger-friendly platform.   The company claims a "fresh, approachable and engaging experience" for users, coupled with the robust messaging and business talents that have made RIM's devices a household name.  Features include BlackBerry Enterprise Service, BlackBerry Internet Service, a tabbed full HTML browser based on WebKit, social networking integration, universal search and beefed-up multimedia capabilities.

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 will be available beginning August 12th.  Price is $199.99 with a two year service agreement and a data plan under AT&T.

[RIM]

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Hong Kong Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Singapore Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

BlackBerry Torch 9850 VERIZON 3G Unlocked Quadband GSM WiFi 12 GHZ Touchscreen US $318.99 --> Ends In 43m <--

BlackBerry Torch 9800 4GB Black Unlocked Very Good ANY GSM Smartphone US $192.50 --> Ends In 1h 9m <--

Excellent BlackBerry Torch 9810 8GB Silver Unlocked Smartphone As Is US $199.99 --> Ends In 1h 39m <--

While Apple's press conference last Friday did address the "Antennagate" issue, Jobs also did something else that got the attention of other phone manufacturers: he claimed that other phones suffer from the same signal problems as the iPhone 4.  As expected, that didn’t sit well with the rest of the pack.

During the presentation, Apple singled out three phones they claim to have similar reception issues, hinting that it's merely the tip of the iceberg and that all devices do tend to suffer from some form of degradation when held in a specific way.  The three phones mentioned consist of the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the HTC Droid Eris and the Samsung Omnia 2.

Apple's actions irked RIM's co-CEOs, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, who released a joint statement, pointing out that "Apple's attempt to draw RIM into Apple's self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple's claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public's understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple's difficult situation."

Despite being unnamed during the press conference, Nokia threw its two cents into the fray as well.  "Antenna design is a complex subject and has been a core competence at Nokia for decades, across hundreds of phone models," the company said in a statement.  They added, " That's why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand."  Those funny Finnish guys...

While no official word came from Samsung, one spokesperson did respond to a query, stating that "The antenna is located at the bottom of the Omnia 2 phone, while iPhone's antenna is on the lower left side of the device. Our design keeps the distance between a hand and an antenna."

Motorola's Sanjay Jha also chipped in.  According to the CEO, "Consumers don't like being told how to hold the phone ... It is disingenuous to suggest that all phones perform equally."

Apple may have attempted to drag other handsets into its antenna problems.  The general public sentiment is pretty clear, however: these issues have only become a major concern because of the way the antennas are positioned in the iPhone 4.  Chances are, we'll still hear a bit about this from both sides, so stay tuned.

[via GSM Arena]

It's not that difficult to see that Blackberry is having problems attracting developers to its platform, with only around 2,000 apps in its inventory since the App World opened back in April. Apparently, a 56% share of the US smartphone market just isn't enough incentive to entice, given all the potential development nightmares that RIM's varied range of devices creates.

The company sat back through most of it.  With the iPhone well ahead and Google making serious strides in attracting new developers, though, RIM is finally seeing fit to make their move.  According to the company, they are now enacting numerous changes to their platform that should attract a greater number of developers to come on board.

Speaking at RIM's second developer's conference, co-CEO Jim Balsillie announced a number of developments that they hope will steer developers into investing resources their way.  While none of the things mentioned are groundbreaking, they should put the platform on par with what both the iPhone and Android have to offer.

To ease the job for developers, the company is promising more native APIs, better access to app data and deeper integration.  In-app transactions will also be made available, along with a new Blackberry Payment System, which can be used as an alternative to the App World's Paypal-based payments.  They're also going to look to undercut third parties by enabling in-app advertising via their own Blackberry Advertising Service.  Other things that can change the tide come next year include Flash 10 (which all smartphones, except the iPhone, will also get), a richer browser and OpenGL ES support to encourage games on future Blackberry phones.

The overall plan sounds just about what they should have been doing all along, although the last one did surprise me.  3D games on the Blackberry?  Really?

[via Wired]

This phone has been a long time coming for Sprint users and it's finally here.  As with many other handsets in the line, the Blackberry Curve 8330 offers the same great messaging design, along a couple of welcome additions.

Sprint's new version of the 8330 adds a 3G chip to the mix, causing a slight added thickness when compared to the GSM version.  It's now 0.6 inches deep, which is still slim enough for comfortable handling.   Display is a 2.5-inch 320 x 240 LCD, situated right above the front-mounted QWERTY keyboard.  Overall screen performance is excellent, managing to look clear and sharp even in outdoor conditions.

For messaging, the 8330 comes with the full range of Blackberry's tried and proven capabilities.  You get all the goodies here, from the souped-up email talents (BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Service), along with a larger number of IM clients (compared to Verizon's Curve releases).  The QWERTY keys are a tad too small, but travel is great, making it easy to use all the same.

As a phone, the dual-band (CDMA 850/1900; EV-DO) handset doesn't offer the best voice calls, managing pedestrian sound with a noticeable echo.  Phone operation is fast and responsive, with only a slight lag when performing multimedia operations.  It was good for over five hours of continuous talk time, making it usable for a convenient two days or more before recharging.

On the features end, the phone comes with a decent offering.  There's a speedy onboard GPS (with Blackberry Maps preloaded and Sprint Navigation integrated for a fee), EV-DO (making for decent-speed full HTML browsing) but no Wi-Fi, a 2.0 megapixel camera (just average quality), stereo Bluetooth and excellent multimedia support.  It also comes with a good lot of onboard apps, particularly ones geared for business and productivity.

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Hong Kong Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Singapore Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

RIM Blackberry 8330 Curve Sprint Gray Good Condition US $13.99 --> Ends In 19m <--

RIM Blackberry 8330 Curve Sprint Gray Fair Condition US $12.99 --> Ends In 19m <--

RIM Blackberry 8330 Curve Sprint Red Refurbished Like New US $15.99 --> Ends In 19m <--

RIM Blackberry Curve 8330 Sprint Gray Refurbished Like New US $14.99 --> Ends In 19m <--

BlackBerry Curve 8330 Red Sprint Smartphone US $50.00 --> Ends In 31m <--

BlackBerry Curve 8330 Red SPRINT Smartphone Working and clean ESN US $40.00 --> Ends In 42m <--

Overall, we find Sprint's BlackBerry Curve 8330 a better option than that from Verizon, especially with the accompanying 3G access and integrated GPS in tow.  The lack of Wi-Fi is, of course, a hard-to-ignore sticking point.  If you can live with it, though, this should prove a great phone to pick up.

We rarely get to see smartphones sporting a clamshell form factor, with the design cue typically reserved for lower-end devices with more basic features. It's that reason why a handset like the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 feels relevant - it offers something different for those whose tastes might not exactly be the norm.

Since RIM decided to keep it within a reasonable size for a flip phone, the 8230 isn't able to fit in a full-size QWERTY keyboard. Instead, it uses a SureType entry panel, which allows for semi-QWERTY typing, with two characters assigned for each key. Like we said about the Samsung SGH T349, the partial QWERTY takes a bit of getting used to, although it does allow for some pretty fast texting once you get the hang of the layout.

Physically, I find the Pearl Flip to be one of the sexier clamshell phones around. While it does come in a little bulky, the entry-level smartphone talents more than make up for it.

As a phone, it offers great voice calls, with loud volume and zero interference the whole time we tried it. Speakerphone was similarly pleasant. It fits in all basic phone features you can expect from a modern handset, along with Blackberry's signature range of messaging capabilities. Like other RIM devices, it supports SMS, MMS, IM and multiple email accounts of pretty much any configuration you can ask for.

On the features end, the phone comes with an onboard music player (great quality), a 2.0 megapixel camera (average stills, with some amount of shutter lag), aGPS and a full HTML browser. It supports 3G connectivity, although does without Wi-Fi, which is sort of Blackberry's perennial Achilles Heel.

It comes with a great set of bundled apps that include various social networking tools, Documents To Go, five IM clients and Visual Voice Mail. There's also support for the Blackberry App World, which allows it download access to more apps that are compatible with the phone. Despite the broadband capability, it doesn't seem to support music and video streaming services (at least, with Verizon).

Overall, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8230 is a good-looking option for first-time smartphone users. It's not the most feature-rich handset available, but it's priced very competitively and fits in, pretty much, every business talent you can find in other Blackberry phones.

Photo Credit: Into Mobile