Review Perhaps sensing that it’s on the verge of losing the smartphone battle, BlackBerry manufacturer RIM has all but swamped the market recently with a rash of handsets, each offering something a little bit different. The Curve 9380 is the midrange full-screen model, smaller and cheaper than the Torch 9860, and with no hard Qwerty keyboard.
It’s very compact and sleek, its aluminium and glossy black plastic casing measuring 11mm deep with gently curving sides and weighing just 98g. The 3.2in touch screen is big enough to view movies on, just about, but it’s let down by its unexceptional resolution of 480 x 360 pixels. By contrast, the 9860’s 3.7in screen is a good deal sharper, packing in 800 x 480 of the little devils. Read the rest of this entry »
Hands on RIM has launched the BlackBerry Curve 9360 in the UK, featuring BlackBerry 7 OS and BBM6, the company’s fuel in the crowd jewel-in-the-crown messenger service.
Curve handsets are RIM’s most popular smartphone both globally and in the UK, and the company has high hopes that this revamp will sustain its appeal. Indeed, at the UK press briefing this morning it was evident that the BB’s adoption in the yoof market is a driving force. Read the rest of this entry »
Review With Android steaming ahead of Apple in terms of sales, and Windows phone 7 soon to launch on Nokia handsets, RIM has got its work cut out to make sure BlackBerry can stay relevant and desirable in these fast-paced times.
The company has just announced three new handsets, including a couple of full-screen Torch models. But the first out of the traps is the Bold 9900, which combines a touch screen with a hard Qwerty keyboard. Does it mark a bold new step for BlackBerry? Well, not really… Read the rest of this entry »
Review The PlayBook is described by makers RIM as the first professional-grade tablet. RIM, of course, is best known for its e-mail handset, the BlackBerry. A good deal larger and minus the distinctive keyboard, RIM’s Playbook is a handsome machine, well-designed and with great build quality.
The 7in display is pin-sharp and has a wide bezel, neat speakers mounted on the front edges and a tactile rubberised back. Like the iPad, the battery is sealed and it comes in similar capacities to Apple’s beauty: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The original BlackBerry Storm launched around this time last year as Research-in-Motion’s premier handset and quickly lost no time in dividing opinion along Marmite-style lines. Mostly, people either loved or hated its innovative SurePress ‘floating’ touch screen, which made crystal clear the distinction between a brush a press by requiring you to depress the glass screen cover for it to make contact and access functions. For some, it just felt wrong, like something had come loose, but to others, it made perfect sense.
Missing link: RIM’s BlackBerry Storm 2 9520, now with Wi-Fi
With the BlackBerry Storm 2 9520 the floating screen has been retained and updated, and RIM would have us believe that it’s better than before. To pique interest beyond the Marmite divide, the new Storm has also got Wi-Fi and more Flash memory, plus a little bit of social network integration.
Unusually for a next-gen phone, the Storm2 is actually slightly bigger than its predecessor, though there’s not much in it. At 112.5 x 62.2 x 13.95mm it’s gained 0.5mm in length and a mere 0.05mm in thickness, and at 160g it’s 5g heavier. The new screen looks much the same at first glance, but sits closer to the edge of the casing, so there’s less room for it to collect dust and grime in the corners, as the original Storm was prone to.
The handset is a little less blocky in appearance, the original’s strident chrome striping having been toned down a bit, and the buttons on the sides (volume rocker, Camera shutter, programmable voice notes button) now all sport BlackBerry‘s generic black rubberised plastic coating. Read the rest of this entry »
