BGR reports, “The new browser that RIM has skinned up, complete with tab switching, new favorites, and multitouch. Yes, multitouch. The browser looks like it’s coming along quite nicely, all WebKit!”
“RIM has finally implemented system-wide kinetic scrolling with rubberbanding,” BGR reports. “This makes the experience a bit more fluid when scrolling through lists, web pages, emails, and the like. There is also multitouch system-wide, from the web browser to the photos application, and yes, pinch to zoom is in there.”
BGR reports, “The photos application we saw looks quite a bit like the iPhone’s layout, big tiled square photos that appear in thumbnail view with very small borders, and you can flick that list up or down to navigate… The usual top and bottom UI bars are still here, but if you tap once, just like the iPhone, that view will hide and you’ll have a fullscreen shot of the picture you’re looking at. There was pinch to zoom on the touch screen device we saw (sorry, we can’t comment on the device), but there was absolutely no fluidity when panning around photos. That’s something a lot of manufacturers miss… We have been told BlackBerry OS 6.0 will be in market in the June / July timeframe.”
Full article, with screenshots, here.
MacDailyNews Take: RIM is not alone; Apple long ago beat the pride out of this sort of outclassed also-rans.
Is this gonna be another target for a lawsuit?
Lawsuit in 1,2, 3…
Can I still “click” the screen if it has multi-touch?
Oh oh! Maybe they’ll include “multi-click”!
Sue them back to the stone age.
Woo hoo, viva 2007.
“Welcome to the party, pal!” — John McClane
This will be a busy spring/summer. What with the new Androids coming out on Verizon, the EVO on Sprint, and iPhone 4G (Verizon and Sprint) on June 22 (maybe), Apple better be hiring a new crop of lawyers for all the iPhone wannabees.
Has RIM done anything about that nasty security issue on Webkit?
What? Nobody knows what to do until Apple does it, then copy it?
We all saw how well that worked against the iPod.
Out of everything that’s obviously wrong here, I think it’s the lack of shame that confounds me the most. Hopefully I’m not alone on that perspective.
GRAY POWELL ALSO WORKS AT RIM???!!!??
It is certainly a lucky thing for tech that Apple exists. They show the way, and then the copy cats copy what they can, change some little things, maybe even make a few perceived improvements, and keep the heat on Apple.
This may be a good thing overall, because if you learn to use the Apple device, then you can use the others – somewhat….
Creativity is such a rare experience on the PC side of life. Sort of like watching Black and White TV, oblivious that color TV is an option.
Didn’t the BB CEO, NoBallsilie, just say that people don’t want a touchscreen?
click. (wait). click. (wait). click. (wait).
@McFly: GRAY POWELL ALSO WORKS AT RIM???!!!??
Awww, the poor bastard’s gonna live with that for the rest of his life. Henceforth it’ll be, “Crap, I pulled a Powell!”
New RIM phones and Blackberry OS 6.0. what, no buttons?
Rim is a buttoned-down phone company. RIM even has button icons in it’s logo for God’s sake. At its core, RIM is not a touchscreen company, and never will be. RIM executives have been pooh-poohing Apple’s touchscreen since it came out, and now they want us to use THEIR touchscreen? I don’t think so.
When Apple does innovative products, everyone rushes to copy and respond. But being first, Apple has already staked out marketshare and mindshare. With Apple’s continuous product improvements in hardware, software and firmware, they obtain a lead on the rest who are condemned to play follow-up.
In the next six months, there will be German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean tablets, plus American models from everyone from established smartphone and computer makers to third parties like Garman. I wouldn’t be surprised if there will be 25+ competitors…running on a variety of chips and operating systems and pushing different app stores.
The market is going to be incredibly fragmented, confusing and frustrated. There are going to be a lot of disappointed consumers.
Go check some of the comments on the site from the Apple haters. They have no idea what the iPhone really is.
I say let them stick with those Crackberry’s and that oh-so-superior interface.
take a look at the BB 9670 Flip at Boy Genius… it is stunningly ugly. as a developer I am very happy that RIM is finally adopting a modern smartphone browser, Webkit, as BB has singlehandedly held back mobile app development with its archaic crap browser.
oh dip – they tried coverflow on the music player. I can just hear steve talking to counsel – “There’s a patent for that!” – a design patent granted april 8, 2010.
I can just hear them at RIM, but we’ve been working 2 years to copy the coverflow UI for our OS, how did we know they were going to patent it – no fair.