A version of the RIM BlackBerry Bold with touch capabilities and NFC technology, shown in a new video, is expected to launch in the third quarter.
A new video
shows BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion continuing to fight the good fight
against Apple's iPhone and a growing number of high-end Android-running
smartphones that boast larger displays, touch-screens and inventory-rich
application stores.
Following the
BlackBerry Torch, the first RIM smartphone to combine a QWERTY keypad with a
touch-screen, the company is apparently preparing a BlackBerry Bold with touch
capabilities. A
48-second video posted to YouTube by BBLeaks
shows the device in action.
(While the
video was posted April 1, one hopes an April Fool's prank would show
teleportation and 3D smell functionality, rather than the ability to use
two-finger multi-touch capabilities to zoom in on a photo and set it as the
phone's wallpaper.)
According to
tech site
V3,
the Bold Touch, code-named "Montana," along with another BlackBerry
phone, code-named "Monaco"- reportedly the Storm 3-are expected to
launch during the third quarter. A presentation and roadmap said to be leaked
from RIM, according to a January post on
CrackBerry, show the two following the BlackBerry
PlayBook tablet, scheduled to launch during the second quarter, and preceding a
candy-bar phone, code-named "Sedona."
The BlackBerry
Bold Touch (or Montana), according to the presentation, features an
"exciting new, luxurious design," which-taking inspiration from the
iPhone 4-includes a forged, machined stainless steel frame. It reportedly also
boasts a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor; quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dual-band UMTS (Universal
Mobile Telecommunication System) radio support; a 5-megapixel camera with HD
video recording; 8GB of storage, 768MB of RAM and support for an up to 32GB
microSD card; an accelerometer; and an optical trackpad in addition to the
2.8-inch (diagonal) touch display.
Along with
Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, RIM is said to be also including NFC (near-field
communication) technology-the turns-your-phone-into-a-wallet technology that
Google has talked up, Apple has taken steps to
support and is expected to include in the iPhone 5, and AT&T, T-Mobile and
Verizon have buddied up to get behind with
their network venture Isis.
NFC is also
included in the Monaco Touch, according to the post, along with a 3.7-inch
capacitive-touch display; a 5-megapixel camera with HD video; a 1.2GHz
processor; dual-band CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), EV-Do Rev. A, RX
Diversity, and Quad band EDGE/Single Band UMTS radios; 4GB of storage, 768MB of
RAM and support for an up to 32GB SD card; and WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth 2.1
connectivity.
Both phones
can act as a mobile hotspot-a popular Android phone feature-and are expected to
run the BlackBerry 6 operating system.
RIM's March 24
earnings announcement was dominated by talk of its upcoming PlayBook, which
runs QNX, an operating system that RIM plans to eventually transition its
BlackBerry handsets over to. While the phone maker has lost U.S. market share
to Apple and Google, it nonetheless announced that in fiscal 2011 it saw record
shipments of devices and that "BlackBerry was the No. 1 selling smartphone
brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the U.K. for calendar
2010," according to research firm IDC's "Worldwide Mobile Phones
Quarterly Tracker."
"RIM is
in an excellent position to benefit from the continuing convergence of the
mobile communications and mobile computing markets," RIM Co-CEO Jim
Balsillie said in a statement at the time, adding, "We are extremely
excited about our smartphone, tablet and platform roadmaps."
RIM would not
comment on the video.
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