It looks like the highly anticipated BlackBerry 8700, a.k.a. the BlackBerry Electron, could be officially announced tomorrow. RIM CEO Jim Balsillie was quoted in a MarketWatch article saying “the most substantive architechural-design changes” will be announced this week.
Russell Shaw, from BBHub, thinks that with the teaser that a new design will be released this week, and a tendancy for RIM to make big announcements “during or on the same day as” earning calls, which happens to be tommorow at 5:00 p.m. EST, that the big announcement countdown is in hours, not days.
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Here are some more bad pictures of the BlackBerry 8700, a.k.a., the BlackBerry Electron. Actually, I think that they are the same ones that came out last week but someone lightened them up a bit in Photoshop.
By now, you have undoubtedly heard the rumors about a next generation BlackBerry called the BlackBerry 8700 that is supposed to come out sometime this autumn. Thanks to Howard Forums member Flip_Side, we may just have an actual photo of a BlackBerry 8700.
The new unit definately has the traditional BlackBerry form factor but the buttons are more rectangular than oval. The display is supposed greatly enhanced from previous versions but you cannot tell it from this picture. We will put up clearer pictures as soon as they become available…
If you follow the popular BlackBerry message board BlackBerry Forums, you may have noticed a thread started last week by forum member athreya where he states that a new device called the BlackBerry 8700, a.k.a., the BlackBerry Electron is soon to be released.
I would like to state that like Russell Shaw over on BBHub, I haven’t been able to confirm this rumor from any other sources, less the Rumor Mill Section on BlackBerry Forums, however, athreya, is pretty credible and was the first to reveal the plans for the BlackBerry 7290.
The new BlackBerry 8700 will be a powerhouse compared to earlier model devices and a welcome addition for those that like to do a lot of web surfing. The Electron had been long rumored to be Broadband-capable and indeed will support EVDO, wireless Broadband, and EDGE for Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and Cingular respectively.
The BlackBerry 8700 will also sport:
- 64 MB of RAM
- A Faster Processor
- Built-In GPS
- Native attachement viewing
- Spearkerphone
- Built-In Instant Messaging
Some of the other rumored features such as Wi-Fi, digital camera, and VoIP support didn’t make it into this version. I am hoping that spell check and the ability to uses your 8700 as a wireless modem for your laptop will be included. I guess that we will have to wait and see.