Everybody is talking about the rumored BlackBerry 9000. More specifically, they are talking about if it should have a touch screen or not. Two years ago this wouldn’t have even been an argument worth blogging about. After seeing first hand what the iPhone can do, the argument is definitely a valid one.
I would agree that if you have to bang out a lot of long emails, a touch screen isn’t as optimal as a QWERTY keyboard. Not even a touch screen as good as Apple’s. The benefits, however, of a large touchscreen when doing everything but typing are undeniable.
Why not split the difference?
Give me a large touchscreen that makes viewing email, web browsing, making calls, looking at pictures, etc., etc., etc., easy. Give me a slide-out keyboard for those times when I need to bang out a lengthy email.
This seems like a way to get the best of both worlds if you ask me…
HELL NO! Most of us buy BB’s because those devices with sliding keyboards have terrible ergonomics. You can’t type on a fold out, slider keypad while walking down the street. The device becomes too cumbersome, the balance is all out of wack. RIM would be fools to follow M$haft designed devices.
I’d have to disagree with the original poster. It’s not hard at all to type on a slider keypad while walking down the street, people do it all the time with their Sidekicks.
As a IT Dept head I have a Blackberry 8820 for work, and my personal phone is a Cingular 8525.
The only different in using both devices is that it’s easier to use the bang out a msg on the Blackberry while driving… and you’re really not even suppose to be doing that…
Finally in regards to the news item, I’ll be replacing my long enjoyed 8525 with it’s sucessor the AT&T Tilt. Similar features to the 8525, with the addition of a tilt up screen AND Blackberry Connect 4.0.
blackberry have been experimenting with touch screens for years – if you look in the programming libraries there are several references to a touch screen interface (has been for over 3 or so years)
Man I totally agree with hellno’s response.
I want access to my berrry as soon as I look at it. Not sold on doing the extra work to get to my keyboard. No touchscreens and no sliders.
On a side note, yesterday as I walked through teh streets of NYC, I saw some girl drop her iPhone…hard on teh concrete. whatever plastc case she was using came apart as it hit the ground. The phone landed face down. I really would have liked to have seen how it functioned afterwards, or if the face suffered many scratches. Which is why I do not want a touchscreen.
AF – You consider sliding out a keyboard to be unacceptably onerous “extra work”?
My only gripe about a slider would be weight and thickness. I don’t want my phones getting bulkier.
Yep REV I do. My opinion. I like to put my BB out of my pocket and type away.
Personally I’d love to see a BB like this.
I want the added screen real estate and without making the device much larger or the KB too small, the KB has to be a slide or flip-out design.
If the BB is going to embrace more multimedia capabilities, either video playback or powerpoint editing/presenting, it will require a larger display.
LOL the picture is a windows smartphone. If you at the picture you can see the Windows Logo on the slide out as well as the menu keys on the front.
Too big and too thick! I would really really like to see a touchpad style BB that could realistically trounce the iPhone. It’s not like RIM doesn’t have a enough money to be able to do the R&D for one….
If it was a big, thick device then I do not want it. I have no issue with Rim coming out with a device like this as along as it is an additional unit and they continue to make devices like the 8703 that I currently carry. Some users might like a slide out keyboard design and some would not. No reason why both can not exist.
Mark, no one said that was the real thing. Its a photochop speculating what it could look similar to.
Robb,
That is blasphemous even posting a picture of the RIM OS running on a POS windoz device. Because M$ can’t get anything right is the big reason why RIM is where RIM is.
The key would be in the execution of the design. So far the slider smartphones have not been so impressive; they are big and clunky, the sliding mechanism often breaks, and what you end up with is not the best of both worlds, but the worst. So I’m open to the idea, but it had better be done a quantum leap better than the current versions of this design. Ironically, if anyone could get the design right, it would probably be Apple.
AF,
That’s cool. I just could not tell if you were being serious. I don’t see a slider as too much extra work, if in exchange I get a huge touchscreen (relatively speaking).
But I agree with Robb that as the BB transforms into a much more media-rich device, certain “givens” need to be altered.
For example, 3G. Why don’t any BBs have it? Because it’s perceived as overkill for a device that is used primarily for e-mail.
But as people start using their BBs for other things, like listening to music, watching videos, and heavy web browsing, form is going to have to give way to function.
As such, I fully expect to see RIM to develop future models that give us more unobstructed viewing space to accomodate a BB’s heightened media capabilities.
Absolutely NOT! RIM should not follow HTC or even the iphone.
Blackberrys are great because their simple and get the job done with ease. I tried the HTC Tilt yesterday, and it’s terrible, sluggish and the slideout keyboard is a pain to use. RIM should stick to it’s original DNA with the arrival of the 9XXX series. 3G, a better camera, Video, better memory, wrapped in a thin light shell will do just fine!
I understand what sean is stating. One danger for RIM is that they chase other competitor’s designs and in their pursuit lose what makes them so great to begin with.
I also believe that one problem for any non-Apple competitor in attempting to do multimedia-oriented phones is that no one will be able to outdo Apple on multimedia, thanks to Apple’s years of experience with their iPod/iTunes ecosystem. I mean does anyone seriously believe that any vendor will come up with a better music/video player on a phone than what Apple offers? If you do I have a bridge to sell you.
Then there’s the integration with iTunes; let’s face it…iTunes is by far and away what most people use…it’s kind of like MS Outlook Exchange at work. So Apple has that end locked up already. Add in the new Apple WiFi iTunes store, which in one stroke blows away all of those silly music purchasing systems that the cell carriers have been offering, and you begin to see that it will be very difficult to outdo Apple on multimedia.
Adding further to my train of thought, I would add that RIM needs to focus on doing things better and different than other companies, just not copying their designs and giving them a little different spin. That is the way to greatness, and that is what has worked so well for RIM, Apple, etc. Companies do best when they don’t so much as worry about copying the competition but coming up with something different and better.
Hello,
How can I sync my old Blackberry data to my new Blackberry?
Thank you,
Norma.
I think it would be a hot phone but I dont really like big bulky phones…I love my BB pearl and think it should just have more mega pixels, be able to take a video, and better memory. I think BB are fine the way they are now.
Love the idea, definitely not feelin’ the BB gettin’ bulkier. larger viewing screen is always a plus for all medias. I own the 8700 the pearl the curve and they’re all satisfying. touch screen is definitely a luxury and i sure wouldn’t mind it. it’s all about being efficient, compact, and having options. i must say my curve is pretty d*mn sexy! this new touch screen concept could use major cosmetic work. =]
I have experience with both Blackberry 8700 & 8800 and the HTC Tilt.
Personally I like the keyboard size of the Tilt, however this keyboard seems difficult to accurately type messages. Not only does it appear sluggish when performing multiple keypreses in rapid succession. Unlike the Blackerry, in which you can hold a specific button to capitlize this letter, the Tilt requires the typical PC input keypress of Shift-letter. Often times the shift command is either not immediately recognized or it remains active a little too long, which will capitalize your next letter resulting in many backspaces to correct this.
Just my 2-cents and personal experiences.
This is the only reason i don’t have a Blackberry yet. I’m waiting for that awesome touchscreen. I currently have a LG Voyager and its great. I could have bought a Blackberry but the deciding factor was the touchscreen. Can’t wait to make the jump to a PDA.
Why does a phone have to be compaired to a media phone? This RIM isn’t built to blow the iPhone out of the water, nor is it trying to “out do it”. Rim simply just does, they see what the customer wants (via touch screen) and they get the job done. (among other awesome features with BlackBerry)
As far as how it looks? Well…it is a bit bulky, but it is also like a mini computer, oh wait…and it has a touch screen!
So it works.
As a heavy typer and an owner of both the Tilt and Curve, I would gladly give-up my Windows mobile Tilt for a BB with a slide-out qwerty, reliable OS, and multi-day battery life. As for the size increase, I imagine the BB would be the thickness of the 8700 (this should please all the BB traditionalists).. As a BB Admin, I appriciate the possibilities available for a device with a large tough screen and secure access to our enterprise network. Dont’t resist change that fits a need!!
i think that this new blackberryd should be made
As a Windows Mobile devotee, I have consistently resisted getting a Blackberry for years. But if RIM ever creates a Blackberry with both a touchscreen and slide out keyboard — while keeping the “bulk” factor to a minimum, of course — they will make a Crackberry Addict out of me! (Bonus points if they improve the schmaltzy Blackberry web browser). I have really TRIED to like the iPhone, but I type a tremendous number of emails for work, and I just can’t get with the touchscreen keyboard. (That’s the same reason I’m passing on the Blackberry Storm; well, that AND the lack of WiFi). Pretty much every person I know over the age of 21 (myself included) finds it nearly-impossible to type large amounts of text ACCURATELY using touchscreen text entry. I’m a huge fan of TouchFlow and touchscreen technology, but not at the expense of a slide-out keyboard. Maybe I’m spoiled, but I want to have the best of both worlds. And in a sleek, sexy package, too!
Here’s an idea (that perhaps Mia, Matrix, Tiffany, Garran, and others might be interested in):
What about a Blackberry with a touch-screen SureType keyboard and a slide-out query; a cross between the Storm, Bold, and an HTC? Expanding upon the design of the Storm (whose querty keyboard lacks the ability to keep up with my fast thumbs) with both a quick access and and a long-winded keyboard. Obviously RIM should not put all their focus on one design, but instead give options to capture the needs of the entire market. Between the Bold and the Storm, my Tilt is on its last leg . . . RIM, it’s time to put it down . . .
Ive got the storm. The touch screen typing is almost as fast of my world edition. The only feature I miss from my old Blackberry is the scroll ball. I allows for very fast cursor positioning which no touch screen interface allows. The next couple of patches should eliminate some of the little annoying glitches and then the gets top marks from me.
i love this phone its awsome
I’ve just found this site get-an-iphone.com, can I really get an iphone for free?.
Chloe