However, RIM’s new smartphone may not actually go on sale until September. Plus: spy shots of the touchscreen ‘Thunder’!
RIM has named the date for the local launch of the
BlackBerry Bold 9000 as Tuesday July 29. But you might not find this sweet berry hanging around at your nearest smartphone store for at least another month: the July 29 launch is for the media and RIM’s resellers, not the general public.
With most of RIM’s previous Australian launches, general availability of the device has been up to a month afterwards. And local carriers will also need to upgrade their BIS servers to the latest 2.5 software in order to support the Bold's HTML email.
But tech blog
BoyGeniusReport is now suggesting that the Bold’s rollout could be pushed into “September for a lot of carriers”. This is a purely US-centric report, of course, so our fingers are crossed that the rumoured technical bugs which are bedevilling the Bold might not be applicable to our Aussie 3G networks.
As
previously reported, the Bold will be stocked by all four carriers – Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Three. However, this is the first time that a BlackBerry has appeared on Telstra’s Next G network. Previous Telstra offerings have relied on the GSM network, but with the Bold adding 850MHz to its roster of HSDPA-capable frequencies alongside 2100MHz, we’re hoping for some serious competition as the telcos slug it out for our mobile email dollar.
As it’s done with the iPhone, Telstra will be able to spruik Next G’s nation-wide coverage as a unique selling point compared to the limited scope of the 3G networks of Optus, Vodafone and Three. These are limited to most capital cities and some regional areas, outside of which the Bold will fall back onto the GSM network.
That network is still sufficient for email, as most current BlackBerry users can attest, but it will limit the Bold’s ability to be used for faster surfing and especially as an HSDPA wireless modem tethered to a Windows notebook. And while both Optus and Vodafone are expanding the footprint of their mobile broadband networks by converting under-used GSM capacity to HSDPA cells, the Bold doesn’t support 3G technology on GSM’s 900MHz band – only the much slower GPRS and EDGE protocols.
Meanwhile, our favourite BlackBerry blog
CrackBerry.com has unearthed spy shots of the forthcoming touchscreen BlackBerry codenamed the Thunder, although a namechange to Storm has been suggested. The device was even briefly but accidentally listed on the Web site of online dealer Expansys with a screenshot and designation of ‘BlackBerry 9500’ (which fits in with the Bold 9000 and the rumoured
Javelin 9300, which will replace the Curve 8300 by years’ end).
The Thunder is estimated to have an almost identical footprint to the Curve, which would imply a screen size of around 3.2 inches allowing for the bezel, speaker and the four buttons arrayed along the bottom of the unit (Send, End, Menu and Cancel/Return).
The display is said to be made from tempered glass and combines a slight amount of ‘give’ with each tap, along with a short burst of vibration as ‘haptic feedback. Screen resolution is 360 x 480.
Two keyboards are available: a conventional QWERTY keypad for use in landscape mode, plus one that mimics the hybrid ‘SureType’ layout of the Pearl when the Thunder is held vertically. The screen will support multi-touch gestures and the Web browser is said to be based on the WebKit engine, which sits are the core of the iPhone’s Safari browser.
So when will RIM’s finger-friendly BlackBerry come to town? The forecast is for Thunder to roll, or a Storm to break, around late October.