Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

RIM debuts 3 new BlackBerry touch phones to compete with the iPhone (pictures and specs)

Jeffrey Van Camp
By
blackberry-os7-handsets-august-2011

In a series of press releases today, RIM has revealed more about its BlackBerry 7 OS and given us a good look at the first three phones that will run on the new operating system: the BlackBerry Bold 9900, the BlackBerry Torch 9810, and the BlackBerry Torch 9850. Yes, the names are so boring and difficult to remember that we’re having trouble remembering which is which, but the phones are using a new interface modeled after RIM’s BlackBerry Tablet OS, which RIM hopes will help it better compete with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android phones.

BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930

The Bold 9900 was unveiled back in May, but RIM has released some better images and more detailed specs on the device, which has a nice stainless steel frame. Following the traditional design of the Bold line, the 9900 has a 2.8-inch 640×480 (VGA) screen with a full QWERTY keyboard in tow. The device has a 1.2GHz processor, 8GB of onboard storage and a MicroSD card slot if you want more. The rear camera is 5MP (no front camera) and it can record 720p video. We also know from the unveiling that the phone will include a NFC chip, which means it could be used as a wireless credit card, assuming RIM has a plan to utilize this technology on a broad scale. The phone will support 3G on Sprint and AT&T. 

blackberry-bold-9900

BlackBerry Torch 9810

Following the Torch, which came with BB OS6 last year, the Torch 9810 has a 3.2-inch “high resolution” touchscreen (no actual resolution is given), a 5MP rear camera with autofocus and “HD” video recording (no specifics given), and a vertical slide-out QWERTY keyboard. RIM has improved the processing speed of the new Torch, up from 600MHz to 1.2GHz, likely responding to complaints that the last one was rather sluggish. It doesn’t appear that the new phone will have a front-facing camera, so all of you video chatting business executives may want to look elsewhere. 

Related
blackberry-torch-9810

BlackBerry Torch 9850/9860

Finally, the Torch 9850 is the first decent looking fully-touch phone from RIM. The phone has a 3.7-inch screen, which is the largest of any BlackBerry smartphone, but relatively small compared to the 4.3-inch Android phones that dominate the market. The phone comes with Liquid Graphics technology, which supposedly means that the screen will be more responsive, a 1.2GHz processor, and 4GB of internal storage with a MicroSD slot if you need it. Like the other models, it will have a 5MP rear camera with autofocus, but doesn’t appear to have a front-facing camera. 

blackberry-torch-9850

BlackBerry 7

RIM claims that BlackBerry 7 will redefine the platform, offering much better web browsing and 40 percent better performance than BlackBerry 6 smartphones. It doesn’t, however, mention if the phone will utilize gestures in the fluid and intuitive way that the BlackBerry PlayBook does. We don’t yet know more about the OS or how it differs, but look forward to trying it out soon.

Recommended Videos

Check out more pictures of the new BlackBerry smartphones.

Editors' Recommendations

Jeffrey Van Camp
Jeffrey Van Camp
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…
T-Mobile tells its BlackBerry users to buy iPhones, then apologizes
T-Mobile CEO John Legere

T-Mobile's brash marketing tactics have landed it in hot water with BlackBerry this week, and now it's paying up in the form of a $200 trade-in credit for anyone who wants to buy a BB.
The spat between T-Mobile and BlackBerry began when T-Mobile emailed its BlackBerry customers to suggest they switch to an iPhone 5S. Somebody at BlackBerry got the email and BB 's head honcho, John Chen, took to his company's blog to denounce T-Mobile's marketing tactic, calling it "inappropriate and ill-conceived."
Feeling the heat from this backlash, Mike Sievert, T-Mobile's Chief Marketing Officer, acknowledged that the company heard Chen, and plenty others, loud and clear. "The passion we've seen from the BlackBerry Loyal over the past couple days has been amazing," wrote Sievert. "I want you to know we've heard you."
In a 633-word blog post, Sievert outlined T-Mobile's plan to make sure the BlackBerry faithful are content. If you want to upgrade to any phone sold by T-Mobile, you can trade-in your BlackBerry in exchange for $200 credit toward any manufacturer's phone. If, on the other hand, you want to upgrade to a BlackBerry Q10 or Z10, an additional $50 in credit is tacked on.
This offer applies for T-Mobile stores, but if you can't find the BlackBerry device you want in-store, the company offers free expedited shipping for that device.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere joined his Chief Marketing Officer in trying to change the company's tune towards BlackBerry, saying that T-Mobile is focused on "choice and freedom." In the process though, Legere managed to sneak in a toasty burn:

Was going to engage John Chen on Twitter, but turns out he’s not here. I'll check MySpace. Don’t worry @BlackBerry Something in the works!
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) February 19, 2014

Read more
BlackBerry boss ‘outraged’ by T-Mobile’s ‘ill-conceived’ anti-BB iPhone promotion
BlackBerry Q10 review back

Understandably annoyed at T-Mobile's move late last week to email its BlackBerry customers and suggest they switch to an iPhone 5S, the boss of the struggling mobile firm took to the company blog Tuesday to thank BlackBerry users for expressing their "outrage" directly to the wireless carrier through social media, adding that "we are outraged too."
John Chen, who's been in charge at the Canadian mobile maker since taking over from Thorsten Heins in November, said T-Mobile was badly mistaken if it thought its proposed deal was, as the carrier called it, "a great offer for BlackBerry customers."
In his message to BlackBerry users, Chen said he was puzzled as to why T-Mobile failed to contact him "before they launched this clearly inappropriate and ill-conceived marketing promotion."
Throughout the 275-word blog post, Chen spoke of BlackBerry customers' loyalty, partnership and commitment to the brand, which, he said in a somewhat biting remark, drew "a sharp contrast with the behavior of our longtime business partner."
He even offered a teaser to BlackBerry users with T-Mobile, saying an offer was in the works "designed especially for you."
The backlash from BlackBerry users in response to T-Mobile's iPhone 5S offer forced boss John Legere to acknowledge their anger via his Twitter account, saying, "We give our customers choices, but you don't have to give up your loyalty. We will continue to support."
The carrier announced back in September that it would no longer stock BlackBerry phones in its network of stores because they were failing to sell in any significant quantity, though T-Mobile's David Carey said at the time that this was partly because BlackBerry was selling primarily to businesses rather than consumers visiting its stores. It's still possible, however, to order a BlackBerry phone through the carrier and have it shipped.
Chen, whose monumental task to turn the company around won't have been made any easier by T-Mobile's recent offer, closed by addressing T-Mobile directly, saying he hoped the two companies "can find a way forward that allows us to serve a shared customers once again."

Read more
BlackBerry takes a mulligan, re-releases BBM on Android and iPhone

Get ready BBM die-hards! After a failed attempt at releasing BBM for Android and iOS last month, BlackBerry announced in an official blog post that it will take a second crack at it today.
BlackBerry's Andrew Bocking revealed that the embattled Ontario-based firm will be launching BBM for Android and iPhone "over the next few hours," noting that the app should begin to show up in the Google Play Store, iPhone App Store and "select" Samsung app stores throughout the day. In the announcement post, BlackBerry attempted to put a positive spin on BBM's first failed launch by noting that "in just seven hours, about one million Android users were using the unreleased version of BBM for Android." Bocking went on to say that "more than one million people have found creative ways to 'side load' BBM on their iPhone."
How To Download BBM For Android, iPhone
BlackBerry provided instructions for how to download BBM. They're pretty straightforward, though a little unconventional. BBM fans, you can head over to the official BBM site using your device's browser to download the app. Once installed and opened, sign up using your email address. From here, you'll be put on a waiting list. When you get to the top of the list, you'll receive an email informing you that you can start using the app.
For what it's worth, when we searched for the BBM app in the Google Play Store on our phone, we couldn't find it. However, heading over to BBM.com indeed did the trick, immediately prompting us to open Google Play and download it. Strange, but at this point, whatever works.
Between BlackBerry's flailing mobile hardware business and last month's BBM release miscue, the firm and its devotees are in dire need of some positive news. Whether they actually deliver this time or not remains to be seen.

Read more