Is This The BlackBerry 9000?

Will be interesting to see what else it has to offer outside of what they currently have today.

Whats sort of interesting is that crappy keyboard is clear in the picture but the Blackberry Logo looks to be smudged, and unlike current BB’s. Photoshop?

“I am sure that RIM will have some other features that will make everyone want a 9000.”

Or not…..

As you said above Robb, RIM got most things right with the Curve, this device pictured above (fake?) doesn’t seem to have any thing over the Curve nor does it have anything for the iPhone in that form factor. Perception means alot, at least till the device can prove itself, and RIM BB9000 with Moto Q2 style isn’t gonna turn many heads.. With the iPhone being introduced for almost a year now, and being on the market for almost half that, not one mobile device manufacture has come up with a product even close. The touchscreen is like a fine wine, it gets better with age, it’s quickly becoming the feature customers are looking for. Apple raised the bar with the iPhone. RIM is going to have to do something and show they have the technology and the device design to compete whats picture above shows neither.

hellno: to add to your remarks about how no “mobile device manufacture has come up with a product even close” to the touchscreen iPhone: there is a good reason why.

A company cannot just magically conjure up this technology overnight. Apple has a multiple years headstart in their touchscreen technology. Their OS is an offshoot of their desktop OS, which has been in development for even more years. Their design expertise stretches even further back.

No vendor can make up for that advantage quickly. And by the time any vendor does catch up to where Apple is today, then Apple will have gone on to the next level. It’s like with the iPod; as long as Apple is a company determined to push the envelope, which they will be for at least as long as Jobs is around, then no one will come close to the iPhone in creating a touchscreen device.

Thought I agree…
jhp2 I DO NOT agree… Facts are much better than fiction

2008… iPhone & The Mobile Landscape
http://www.iphonefreak.com/2008/01/2008-iphone-the.html

Another interesting read:
Using Apple’s iPhone in the Enterprise, Microsoft and RIM can’t even take enterprise users for granted now.
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/RDM.Tech.Q2.07/42942B05-388C-437C-AC72-90E2407F3078.html

@ thought part 2

If apple had such a headstart in touchscreen technology, then they’d have had a tablet out on the market a lot sooner than the iPhone. Hopefully that will change this month when they announce the ‘new’ laptop.

Q: Will there be an iPhone?
Jobs: “One never knows. We don’t usually discuss products we haven’t announced.”
Q: What do you think of the tablet PC?
Jobs: “We’re not sure the tablet PC will be successful. It’s turned into a notebook that you can write on. Do you want to handwrite all your e-mail? We have all the technology ourselves to do that – we just don’t know whether it will be successful.

Brad Hamilton:
[dumping out cold fries] “I shall serve no fries before their time.”

Apple could have had many tablets out on the market, we’ve all seen the windoz crap tablets out there but this is Apple we’re talking about and Steve Jobs has a knack for “I shall serve no fries before their time.”

But 3rd parties will:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Modbook

bluehorseshoe,

You missed my point that touchscreen technology between Palm and Apple is completely different, and on that level the OS doesn’t matter.

M$ was never ahead of Apple or any other company in technology, just in sales. Everyday people are learning they made the wrong choice and have been dumping $$$ for M$ inferior products for all those years.

So if you and Robb wouldn’t trade the cream of the RIM crop (IMO) the Pearl and Curve, why is the BB community so crazed over RIM’s answer to the iPhone? It’s a buz, on one hand I too don’t think RIM should or even try to come up with touchscreen answer to the iPhone, but on the other hand RIM will have to at least try and do so just to keep up, giving RIM fans a alternative, and like you said “maintain their current market” We’ve been through this a few years ago when the RIM fan base freaked at the Pearl and no more scroll wheel. RIM knows they need to innovate or end up like Palm….

bluehorseshoe: I have to say that I agree with hellno: RIM buying Palm would be more of a headache and waste of money than its worth. Palm has very little to offer in the way of touchscreen technology compared to the iPhone.

As for a tablet, I think Apple could do one, but to slightly change hellno’s phrase, Steve doesn’t want to serve any fine wine before its time.

Isn’t it interesting that even on a site dedicated to the BB, we often end up discussing Apple? I bet this is also true on sites that discuss Windows products, etc. But on Apple sites I don’t think they spend much time discussing the BB.

What this means to me is this: right now in the consumer electronics field no one has the brand value of Apple. Apple seems to be the gold standard and only getting stronger every day.

The BB is a beloved device; RIM has a great market and an important application. For portable email there is nothing better. But Apple is in its own orbit when it comes to capturing the imagination of the average consumer.

LOL…@ hellno

I guess I need to explain things as if I were speaking to a 5 year old.

First off, I’m not suggesting that the Palm OS be used as a replacement, but rather the point that the knowledge base of touchscreen technology can be purchased and utilized to expedite the process of getting the technology with their current platform to marketplace. Now, of course I wouldn’t expect you to understand any of this because I already have read your posts and pattern your writing to the editorial expertise of anyone at the NY Post. Buying Palm is only an example of how a company can take a knowledge base and turn it into the marketplace in a short period of time. An option, not a solution.

Secondly, the advantage of the iPhone is it’s browser, music and video capabilities. What else does it have over the BB? Let’s list the issues with the iPhone, shall we?

1. Touch screen keypad. Depends on the person, but I, like many others prefer the physical touchpad itself.
2. Non-swap battery. After watching one of my favorite movies on the iPhone, I can only hope I have enough juice to field a couple of calls without running to an outlet. Nice going.
3. No 3G. It’s been out for how long, yet not part of the package? Imagine how much faster you’d get those pages with 3G. Better yet, the ability to use it as a modem for your laptop if the need presents itself.
4. No memory expansion. Great, now that I’ve loaded the 8G with a movie or two and a bunch of songs, how else can I expand?
5. Security. It’s a derived from their OS. It’s going to be a target. People have already hacked it. It’s a hackers dream like MS’ OS.
6. AT&T. Sorry, but many like them, and many don’t. For those that don’t, it becomes an issue.

Now, how you determine that the iPhone is much more than consumer? That’s right…I heard Goldman Sachs is handing them out so their employees can watch videos all day on their phone. Lockheed Martin is also using them so employees can take photos of important government documents and contracts. Or how about it just being a target for hacks due to it’s popularity and the fact it’s interface is their OS?

The iPhone will touch compnaies that don’t require some of the lockdowns and concerns I briefly mentioned above. But for the rest of the corporate world, unless they come out with a ‘corportate’ version, they won’t touch RIM.

@ Thought

Getting products to the marketplace, in a short period of time…impossible? Tell that to Google.

back @ hellno

MS and it’s ‘inferior’ products? While I’m not a fan of MS, over 90% of the world is connected to them. I haven’t exactly seen a robust Apple network out there. And in most cases…there’s an MS component included. And how about MS Office? Are you kidding me? Who comes close? I’m not a fan, but I’m not an ignorant fool either.

That’s it. Done here for today. bluehorseshoe out.

I think both hellno and bluehorseshoe have their points. While the iPhone is the gold standard for consumers, I also believe that large companies requiring security lockdowns will stick with the BB. Not to mention that most companies do not want to give their rank and file employees a phone that may be as big a distraction as the iPhone.

However, with regards to bluehorsehoe’s observation that Google has indeed brought products to the market in a short time; I would contend that they have an advantage in turnaround in that they only produce software, and for the web at that, where they do not need to develop the underlying software languages or OS’ used. With mobile devices, you have to develop hardware, which typically takes longer. And you also develop the underlying software OS, which again takes less time than developing for the web.

As an example, a good young computer whiz or two can get on their computers and develop a really good web app. But they cannot develop a viable pocket computer for the market.

So you can put out cool stuff on the web in a lot shorter time than building a new device with operating system. Also, Google is the trailblazer, much like Apple, already in first place. So they don’t have to fight from behind. With Apple, as other companies strive to catch up, Apple is not staying still, and is going to the next level.

So the BB isn’t going away anytime soon; they will own the corporate market for some time now, even though Apple may make some inroads. But on the consumer side, the iPhone will definitely remain the gold standard.

What I continue to point out is Palm’s touchscreen technology would not “expedite the (the) process of getting the technology with their (RIM’s) current platform to marketplace.” Or be of any value to RIM, SInce Palm’s touchscreen technology is not up to date, and is not as advanced as Apple’s multi-touch. RIM sure doesn’t need Palm to help RIM continue being RIM. Palm shows year after year that they are broken and as a RIM customer, I wouldn’t wish Palm on them. Palm would be a money pit, and a crutch to RIM.

Hellno,

BTW, this is not a calendaring solution for users at organizations that use Exchange
“That will mean iPhone users will only get calendar information when they sync to their computer, although live access to their inbox via Exchange’s Outlook Web should be serviceable using the iPhone’s Safari web client.”

Given the limits of OWA and the fact that not all users have OWA accounts, it is a non-starter. And the author’s solution?
“In the near future, Apple will be releasing its iCal Server, which offers an open source, standards-based CalDAV calendaring solution to workgroups. IT groups interested in avoiding the trap of proprietary vendor lock-in would benefit from considering alternatives to Exchange Server, in large part because of its expense.”

You mean to tell me that they are relying on MS IT shops to adopt another solution for calendaring? Right…..

iPhone is a good start. But until it works with tools that are already deployed, enterprise adoption will suffer.

Hellno,

Read this again,

“Apple currently only provides its own client for provisioning and revocation, and it is designed entirely for the needs of consumers. It’s iTunes, and it sets up iPhones directly with Apple’s own provisioning servers.”

Get the consumer part? Do you really see an IT department using iTunes to provision devices? iTunes?

provisioning devices can be done in other ways. The old traditional way required some IT departments to make themselves involved. Many business users don’t need IT departments help in setting up smartphones. Where is the IT line? Do IT departments need to be involved with mobile devices?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=6064
“There are applications you can think of–field technicians in areas with poor connectivity who need access to large amounts of data–but those are probably the exception, not the rule. Most road warriors could use Web-based tools with little loss in productivity. I have been amazed at the richness of some of the iPhone applications that I’ve seen and it’s only been a few months.

Creating Web-based applications and data might not work for every enterprise, but if it works for you, then the iPhone, and it’s future copycats, might prove to be a superior platform. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because the iPhone doesn’t work like the last generation of mobile devices that it’s not right for your organization. Regardless, the iPhone portends changes for the mobile market and it’s worth paying attention to what that means for your enterprise.”

Nemertes Research Group Inc. sees the following impacts:

For enterprises: Users will ask for the iPhone, but wait until security, usability and management issues are resolved before deploying. Also consider waiting until Apple resolves the anticipated “version 1.0” bugs.

For vendors: Smartphone competitors will stress enterprise feature sets that Apple currently can’t match. Expect downward pricing pressure on RIM, Treo, Motorola and Nokia (NYSE:NOK) smartphones.

For investors: Just as the success of the iPod led to a robust ecosystem of third-party products, we expect the same to happen for the iPhone. Look for opportunities to invest in companies bringing accessories to market, especially those that can solve enterprise challenges.

That’s funny. Business users don’t need help in setting up smart phones? Where do you live? In a box? Get with reality, while one or two maybe gadget freaks who can handle their own, most employees don’t have a clue on setting up and connecting to the workplace, etc. They weren’t hired to do that, its the IT departments job.

I can see it now…

Download iTunes, activate phone, download music, use corporate credit card, don’t bother opening excel documents, no can do. Please don’t call IT, studies show end users don’t need help.

Sincerely,
Hellno
IT Manager and idiot at large

Hellno,

re; “Where is the IT line? Do IT departments need to be involved with mobile devices?” They draw the line when they want to manage the corporate IT environment and keep a consistant image on their systems. The companies I have worked for, do not allow admin rights in many cases making installing iTunes impossible. Many do not want it on their for productivity reasons. Lastly, the IT department gets involved when you want to access the organization’s applications, Calendar, email, etc. It is theri job to be involved if you are trywant to access the company’s assests. They also get involved to help the inevitable person who has trouble installing and provisioning a device. And if that organization does not have iPhone skills, they will not support it. These are all issues that had to be addressed when I was selling BB’s and Treo’s as well as wireless WAN connection cards.

Are you in the corporate world?

Bluehorse,

Point about Hellno is well taken. Never understood why he lurked on a BlackBerry blog when he was an iPhone fanboy.

Your points about using iTunes in the workplace for provisioning are right on. The iPhone will likely morph into a more corporate friendly device. But as Hellno’s on articles discuss, there are issues like provisioning, calendaring, and push email that need to be addressed. These are reason several of my peers at work use an iPhone for personal use but a BlackBerry for work.

I am often struck by how his comments seem to reflect someone who is not yet in the corporate world.

@ hellno

Let’s skip the question if you work in a corporate environment. The question should really be…”Do you even have a job?” You simply don’t understand the difference between an article that someone writes and perhaps doesn’t use (like most Wall Street analyst for example) and real life experience. Believe everything you read? You really need to get in touch with reality. And nobody is knocking the iPhone, it’s a great consumer gadget and phone, the same way the BB is in the corporate world. Yes, I’m sure some companies will use the iPhone, just as people use the BB for personal use. Just like my girl Lindsey Lohan. LOL…

Hellno,

No one disputes that people want the iPhone for the corporate world. The point is that it currently is better suited for consumers. You are correct, I do not own an iPhone as my primary need is for a business device. I checked it out and even used one for a few days and found the iPhone wanting vs. the Blackberry in several areas such as keyboard, data speed, push mail capability and dare I say it, network coverage with ATT.

Overly glorify the corporate world? Hardly. However, it is a place many of us visit each day for many hours. You?