“Research In Motion Ltd. debuted a BlackBerry with new software and slide-out keyboard,” Hugo Miller and Greg Bensinger report for Bloomberg.
MacDailyNews Take: A slide-out keyboard? How quaint. Even Android phone makers have begun dropping that anachronism.
Miller and Bensinger report, “The BlackBerry Torch has a touch screen, like the iPhone, and a full Qwerty keyboard similar to those on RIM’s most popular BlackBerry models, the companies said today.”
MacDailyNews Take: RIM’s most popular BlackBerry models. You know, the ones they’re forced to move with unending “Buy One, Get One Free” promotions. Because of Apple’s iPhone.
Miller and Bensinger report, “The phone has a new operating system and Internet browser, and will start selling Aug. 12 for $199.99 with a two-year AT&T contract.”
MacDailyNews Take: The browser is based on Apple’s WebKit work and why would you buy RIM’s thing when you could get an iPhone 4 for the same price? Answer: You wouldn’t.
Miller and Bensinger report, “The phone may help RIM regain lost market share by combining the iPhone’s fingertip Web surfing with a physical keyboard useful for typing long e-mails.”
MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, just like no pseudo multi-touch fake iPhone with a physical keyboard has helped any company regain market share lost to Apple’s iPhone. RIM is like a horse-drawn carriage maker who starts making an automobile that drops horseshit every block in order to make their luddite customers feel comfortable. A slide-out physical keyboard is stupid, wasteful (both in space and margin), superfluous, outmoded, and it’s already been proven by RIM and others not to work in “takin back share” from Apple’s iPhone.
Miller and Bensinger report, “For AT&T, the device helps expand the carrier’s smartphone choices beyond the iPhone. Rival Verizon Wireless plans to begin selling the iPhone in January, people familiar with the plan said in June.”
MacDailyNews Take: Note to building superintendents at RIM, Google, Motorola, HTC, and other would-be “iPhone competitors'” headquarters: Bar the window ledges before January or prepare for extensive sidewalk cleanup.
Miller and Bensinger report, “RIM’s share of global smartphone shipments fell to 19.4 percent in the first quarter from 20.9 percent a year earlier, according to researcher IDC. Apple claimed 16.1 percent of the market, up from 10.9 percent a year earlier.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Listen, RIM, you had a good run, but nobody needs yet another pretend iPhone with yet another fake iOS, especially from a little outfit that still hasn’t even recognized the death of device festooned with little plastic buttons.
Wow, lamer than I expected!
#FAIL
To the average Serious Small Business Man and Executive at a Medium-Sized Corporation this will look like innovation.
Again I love my iPhone4 !!!!!!!
RIM’s mistake is they should have included two keyboards for multi-typing. Then you can make a copy of everything you write.
I’ve played with my wife’s BB, issued by her corporate masters. I’m struck by how teeny-tiny the usable portion of the screen is, and how difficult it is to point to anything using that ridiculous clitoral pointing-device.
On this thing, the screen is just as small, and the indirect pointing device is still there. All they’ve done is hide the keyboard in the rear by making the phone fatter.
Bu-bye, RIM, I wish you had done better, I really do.
Not even close RIM. Being from Canada, I’m rooting for these guys to hang in there and create some buzz in the market. There doesn’t have to be just one winner. The only buzz here is the sound of this company spinning in for a crash landing.
Hmm.. I do find that “clitoral pointing-device” intriquing, though…
I-did-not-Know-that!…
Ha!
It is to laugh.
Torch that turd!
RIM:
Retching-Indigesting-Manifested
“RIM is like a horse-drawn carriage maker who starts making an automobile that drops horseshit every block in order to make their luddite customers feel comfortable.”
That’s damn funny.
Screen resolution = 480×360
What an epic fail.
All things Digital called it the cataract screen. Quite funny actually
I don’t think it looks that bad. I mean its no iphone four but at least its not a shameless copy like android
Like “a freakin’ beard of bees!”
And it still has a Clitball!
Bwahahahaha!!!
I’ll give you an example of how pathetic Blackberry is.
Me, as an Apple user, I get irritated at Apple’s arrogance sometimes, and only stay with Apple because OSX is so great.
So I went to Blackberry’s website to give them a suggestion – and, oh my goodness, it was a nightmare. Suffice to say, I gave up after many minutes.
This is in contrast to Apple’s relatively good suggestion page.
Ah, life carries on.
As a hardcore Mac user since 1986, I wish some other companies would now give Apple a run for its money. It’s getting too big for its boots.
The reason people might buy this is because it will be available in stores. You will be able to walk into any AT&T store or Best Buy and pick one up. No hassle. The iPhone 4 will continue to be on back order for the foreseeable future.
Because anyone with an IQ of 70 or higher would rather wait a couple weeks for an iPhone 4 than get a BB.
Full Keyboard or no, that is not the issue.
Until an Apple competitor is able to duplicate the iTunes ecosystem (that means software delivery and product syncing with the Cloud and each other) they have nothing.
Therein lies the problem for all Apple competitors. Apple’s music business (software and player) controls 76% of worldwide digital music. Nobody is going to give up all those music/app/podcast/audiobook downloads (that links computer/music player/cell phone and tablet together) in favor of a new (even better) service.
Once within the walled garden, the desire to leave is greatly diminished by the enormity of effort required to get out. That assumes, of course, that they want out.
So over time, Apple will continue to extend its products deeper into the marketplace, further cementing Apple’s growing position.
That’s the beauty of Jobs’ vision, because all this started when Jobs returned back in ’97. Now think of the difficulty a fragmented Android/Win 7 ecosystem is going to have duplicating Apple’s fully integrated ecosystem, not to mention convincing consumers to leave Apple’s.
Don’t be so mean everyone. the new Torch is RIM’s effort to keep the enterprise user base it has, not really to compete with the iPhone. and if they did a competent job of it – haven’t seen any actual hands-on reviews yet – it will succeed at that limited goal.
i think RIM learned from its Storm fiasco to stick to what it is good at, which is smart business for them. the general consumer market will always be a secondary objective for them. bet you their rumored pad will have a physical BB-style keyboard too.
What’s in a name? Torch is emblematic of RIM current and future position in the smartphone market. They are burning market share to Apple and Google, developers are migrating to these platforms, consumers are embracing touch and gesture based interfaces but yet RIM fails to innovate. The slide out keyboard was perfected by Nokia several years ago. Sure there will be some consumers that will buy the latest shiny gadget but this product launch and RIM OS upgrade really underscore how behind they are to Apple and Google. If analyst look into the real numbers, RIM has uncontrollable bleeding, limited margins. While their OS upgrade moves them in the right direction, its little too late. They are marginal third tier player in SmartPhone market at best. There running the race like a marathon and innovating at a pace where competitors have lapped them several times in the past year.
Looks a bit retro. I think I used a Windows mobile phone with that design several years ago.
@ Bubbles: ” that ridiculous clitoral pointing-device.” Too damn funny, but not true. An actual clitoral pointing device is significantly more intriguing and functional.
How big is it? Seems the screen is kind of small or else the whole phone is huge. Where can one find the specs for this beast? Maybe it is a foot tall and is actually a combination iPhone/iPad killer?
If Apple would only open up the iPhone to all USA carriers then it would be game, set and match. Please Apple, T-Mobile!
Wow, that’s pretty sexy, for 2001.