Waterloo, Ontario –
(RIM) plans worldwide
summertime shipments of its latest two touchscreen smartphones, both promoted
as the company’s fastest and thinnest smartphones to date.
Both feature RIM’s new BlackBerry 7 OS, and
both are the company’s first to support 4G technology. Both also combine hard
QWERTY keyboard with 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen.
The company’s current two touchscreen
smartphones are AT&T’s tri-band 3G HSPA Torch touchscreen slider and
Verizon’s touchscreen-only 3G Storm2.
The 0.41-inch BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930
smartphones features 1.2GHz processor and 4G HSPA+ technology. The 9930
operates on 3G CDMA Rev. A networks in the U.S. 850/1900MHz bands and on the
foreign 2.1GHz band.
The 9900 operates on 4G HSPA+
networks in U.S. and international 4G bands, with a version planned to operate
on T-Mobile’s 1700/2100MHz 4G network with international 4G roaming on the
900MHz and 2.1GHz bands. T-Mobile said it would offer the device later this
year as its first 4G BlackBerry.
RIM is also developing a 9900 version that
will operate in 4G HSPA+ mode on AT&T’s 850/1900MHz bands and the foreign
2.1GHz band.
Besides using a 1.2GHz processor
to accelerate performance, the two new models also speed up performance through
the use of a Liquid Graphics touchscreen and a JIT (just in time) JavaScript
compiler. Both are features of the new BlackBerry 7 OS.
The JIT JavaScript compiler improves the load
time of web pages. The Liquid Graphics touch screen is said to deliver fast
touch-based navigation, web browsing, pictures, video and graphics intensive
games with video up to 60fps. The screen
also feature 287 dpi resolution.
Other BlackBerry 7 OS features
include voice-activated search to search for content on the phone and on the
web, BlackBerry Balance technology to manage personal content separately from
corporate content, and additional personal and productivity apps out of the
box.
BlackBerry Balance separates personal content from secure corporate
content, giving corporate users the ability to use their handsets for personal
email and other personal-use apps. BlackBerry Balance works in conjunction with
BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0.3, enabling corporate IT departments to
remotely wipe only corporate data from the handset and block work-related
content and apps from being copied or forwarded to personal contacts.
The phones are also the company’s
first with NFC (Near Field Communications) technology, which lets the phones
read data from a smart tag when the phones are tapped against the tag.
Another key new feature for
BlackBerry touchscreen phones is dual-band 802.11 WiFi, with Wi-Fi b/g/n at 2.4
GHz plus 802.11 a/n at 5 GHz
Other features for both models include:
-
720HD video capture and
playback,
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brushed stainless steel frame
with high-gloss glass-weave backplate.
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VGA (640×480) touchscreen with
287 dpi resolution.
-
optical
trackpad
-
8GB on-board
memory, plus microSD slot supporting up to 32 GB cards
-
5-megapixel camera,
-
built-in assisted GPS,
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Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
-
and 1230 mAh
removable, rechargeable battery
The 9930 isn’t RIM’s first touchscreen phone
to combine 3G CDMA Rev. A for U.S. networks and 3G HSPA technology for
international 3G roaming, but it is the first to add 4G HSPA+. RIM’s first
touchscreen phone with HSPA, currently available from Verizon, is the
BlackBerry Storm 2. Its predecessor, the Verizon Storm, featured 3G HSDPA.
In other announcements, the
company launched:
-
a BlackBerry Video Chat app
for the PlayBook tablet, enabling video chats over Wi-Fi networks.
-
a Facebook app for the PlayBook.
-
and a multi-platform BlackBerry Enterprise
Solution (BES) for IT departments, delivering the management, security and
controls of BES and BES Express for BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook and
expected to incorporate secure device management for Android and iOS based
devices and tablets.
