Gizmodo: blackberry 9500

BlackBerry Storm Can Cut and Paste, Multitouchily

John Herrman — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:30:00 EDT

If browsing through the leaked PowerPoint and User Guide showing how to sync your contacts or, you know, send an email didn't get your heart pumping, BGR has found a punchier little feature that might. RIM's documentation indicates that multitouch (!!) cut and paste functionality will be built into the Storm's software, something that Apple has been stubbornly disinterested in. Hopefully BlackBerry is saving more multitouch announcements for later. [BGR]

GSM Touchscreen BlackBerry Storm Specs Leaked, Thunder Name Ditched

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:50:16 EDT

Although Verizon definitely has dibs on the touchscreen BlackBerry Storm when it launches in the US, AT&T and T-Mo customers are watching the European rollout of the GSM version to see what's up for their future. Today BlackBerry News published a leaked spec sheet that confirms iPhone-elbowing performance: 3.2MP camera, video recording, 1GB internal memory plus MicroSD slot for up to 8GB more, and a blazing 7.2Mbps of HSDPA connectivity. In related news, PocketLint UK has all but confirmed this phone will be called the Storm like its US sibling, and not the Thunder, as had previously been reported widely. More specs and another leaked pic below.

• 7.2 mbps HSDPA/UMTS (2100/1900/850 MHz)
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• 1GB of memory, 192MB RAM
• 1400 mAhr battery. Standby time: 528 hours
• MicroUSB port
• MicroSD and MicroSDHC expandable up to 8GB
• 3.2 megapixel camera, flash, 2.5x digital zoom, auto focus, and image stabilization
• Video capture. Normal mode (480×320) and MMS mode (176×144)
• Assisted GPS - Enhanced version of GPS that performs at a faster speed

[BlackBerry News]

Official Verizon BlackBerry Storm Video Leaked, Actually Looks Kinda Pantsworthy

matt buchanan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:30:36 EDT

Update: New embedded video that actually works! As teased, Verizon made its official internal announcement of the touchscreen BlackBerry Storm today, and CrackBerry has gotten ahold of the clip. If you look past the video's asstastic quality, you can see the Storm is way more polished than the various leaks lead us to believe. It really looks like a flagship phone now, actually worthy of gadget lust. Update: Crackberry just put out some fresh flamebait for you, Verizon's table comparing the Storm to the iPhone 3G. Check it out:

[Crackberry, Howard Forums]

Touchscreen BlackBerry Storm First Live Shots

matt buchanan — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:24:48 EDT

The burning question answered by these pics from CrackBerry: What does the touchscreen BlackBerry's keyboard look like? As rumored, landscape gets you full QWERTY, while portrait mode drops you to SureType to squeeze in all the buttons. It's straightforwardly utilitarian—taking up a massive amount of screen real estate, it definitely lacks in the glitz department. Here's a shot of the SureType keyboard:

CrackBerry also reiterates the past bit that it'll be a glass multi-touch screen with dual tactile feedback—it pushes in just a bit like a giant button and has localized haptics (it vibrates where you push it). However, the BlackBerry button will still be in heavy use to navigate around the OS. No further info on the delayed/not delayed spat, or on the name. We've heard that its carrier name is actually Storm. [CrackBerry]

BlackBerry Thunder Touch Keyboard Aims to Be Best Ever: Like a Giant Button With Haptics

matt buchanan — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:00:13 EDT

The BlackBerry's keyboard is an object of worship, and RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis has publicly said the iPhone's touch keyboard sucks. So, the BlackBerry Thunder's touch keyboard had better be the best one you've ever smeared your fingerprints on. According to Crackberry, it has two big tricks: The screen itself is "sort of like a big button," so it pushes in a little bit with a clicky sound, and it buzzes where you push it (localized haptics). There is one big limitation though.

You can use either the full QWERTY or SureType keyboard. But, SureType is for portrait mode, and QWERTY is for landscape. Supposedly you can use either one anytime, but if you only want to use QWERTY, you're going to be holding your phone sideways a lot. One thing that isn't confirmed yet is whether or it's multi-touch (we hope it is). It does use WebKit for the web browser engine (same as Safari), so if there's multi-touch, the browsing experience will be similar to the iPhone's.

We won't know whether this really adds up to the best touch keyboard ever until we put our hands on it, but it's pretty reasonable to believe this is one area RIM won't be cutting corners. [Crackberry]

First Pics of Touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder in Action

matt buchanan — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:28:56 EDT

Finally, pictures of the touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder in action. BlackBerry Sync has a pair for us: One showing the music player (which will have an integrated carrier music store, but hopefully not Verizon's UI, ugh) and another apparently recording a video. It's definitely super polished, as we'd expect from a phone BlackBerry's ballsy enough to call "Apple killer." Hit the second shot below.

[BlackBerry Sync]

Touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder Is BlackBerry 9500, Has Higher Res Screen Than iPhone

matt buchanan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:01:16 EDT

A bit more tricklage on RIM's "Apple Killer," the touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder: The official model number is the BlackBerry 9500, and the touchscreen is a bit higher res than the iPhone's (360x480 to 320x480). It'll be running OS 4.7.0 (the Bold runs 4.6). As we inch closer to the September release date expect to hear a lot more, since RIM's ship ain't exactly the tightest one on the seven seas. [BlackBerry News]

Wall Street Journal: Touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder Due by September

matt buchanan — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:10:00 EDT

The Wall Street Journal confirms all of the details unearthed a few days ago about BlackBerry's touchscreen Apple killah: Dubbed Thunder, it's only got four physical keys and it'll be exclusive to Verizon Wireless in the US and Vodafone abroad. They also toss in a launch date—Q3 of this year, meaning September at the latest, practically right on the heels of the BlackBerry Bold. Looks like RIM is seriously stepping up its game—whether or not it's 'cause of the iPhone, we like it. [WSJ]