BlackBerry 9100 to exceed iPhone's specs?
updated 11:15 am EST, Fri November 30, 2007
BlackBerry 9100 Specs Leak
Research in Motion's previously leaked BlackBerry 9100 will race to beat Apple in technical features ahead of an upgrade to the iPhone, BGR claims in an alleged leak. The device will have a touchscreen with the same 320x480 resolution as the iPhone's and will have 3G cellular Internet over HSPA -- a feature that is not only absent in the Apple phone until sometime next year but which is new to any BlackBerry, the alleged leak's source points out. Internally, the 9100 will reportedly have both real GPS and Wi-Fi. It may similarly be slightly faster with a 624MHz Intel XScale processor instead of the 620MHz ARM chip from its Cupertino challenger.
RIM's future smartphone will not strip any of the features already present in the latest BlackBerry OS for the sake of its touchscreen and should have at least the 2-megapixel camera of all current BlackBerry models, though technology advancements and cost reductions may see a 3.2-megapixel sensor instead. Concerns remain as to whether RIM will follow in Apple's footsteps for control: the large screen suggests the removal of a physical keyboard but might not rule out the possibility of a slide-out keypad, which would represent another first for the company.
An announcement for the phone is predicted for winter or spring of 2008, though the leak comes too early for any prices or actual launch dates. The claim is still unverified but comes from a historically reliable source.












faster!
11/30, 11:32am reply
wow! 4MHz faster!! wonder how many FPS it gets in DOOM?
for me, anyway, the appeal of the iPhone is the integration with Aperture, iTunes, etc. easy of syncing with a Mac w/out reliance on 3rd party sync apps.
scottnichol
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 1999
good for everyone
11/30, 11:43am reply
This is good news if true... obviously the iphone is making all the cell phone manufacturers and providers rethink their business models and products.
Competition is good- it will only make Apple improve their products faster to keep ahead. In the same way the new zunes actually competes in the same market space-it will make for better ipods.
mmintler
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2000
design
11/30, 11:55am reply
it's all about design. the specs being better is good, but people don't really buy the iPhone just because it does more, or it's faster. They buy it because they think it's better in a more general usability sense. It does the stuff they want, better than other things that may be capable of similar things.
Clearly, with the number of iPhone knock-offs and attempts to out do the iPhone since it has been released, the rest of the industry is scrambling to compete with it. Funny when you think of how many of these guys were dismissing the iPhone as irrelevant when it was announced.
gudin
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2000
sony playstation
11/30, 11:58am reply
Sony Playstation 3 is beefier than XBox and no one cares. Ninendo Wii has the slowest chip and it beats Sony PS3 in sales.
coffeetime
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2006
It's the syncing, stupid!
11/30, 12:01pm reply
I don't care what features the device itself has, if the syncing with my Mac is half-assed or requires me to buy 3rd-party software, no sale.
I don't own an iPhone yet (waiting for the second generation at least), but my Sony-Ericsson K550i works well enough with iSync for contacts and calendaring.
Blackberry simply licensed a crappy 3rd-party app and called it their "official" Mac support, and it BLOWS-- I tried it on a client's machine.
phillymjs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jun 2000
higher specs
11/30, 12:14pm reply
its all good and well but everyone knows the iphones party trick is also its looks. there are loads of ipod competitors out there but apple remain no 1 due to the looks and being the 1st.
dom2cool
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2006
BB is still top choice
11/30, 12:16pm reply
Regardless of the 9100 coming, I wouldn't trade my Pearl for an iPhone. I love mac products, but when it comes down to what I need to run a business and keep organized, my blackberry is superior - and coverage for AT&T in Vegas is just Horrible.
AsiaLV
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2007
bb core is old, old, old
11/30, 12:55pm reply
I tried a Verizon BB 8830 for 36 hours before going to buy an iPhone. It was the same clunky core as it had been 8 years ago when I had my first one... the only difference was color menus and blue text. Most of my emails have some html, which the bb can't show. Most of my important emails have a .pdf .doc or graphic attachment, which the bb can't show. I mean, for pete's sake the main mail list still truncates subject lines... go into a store and use one... it is night and day. The only bb advantage for an individual I can see is that they have contracts worldwide for data, so no additional cost to get your email in Europe, Asia etc. I am very happy with my iPhone, and I expect that to have a future... until RIM overhauls the basic bb core there is no comparison. Just send your bb friends a pdf and watch them head for a computer to read it.
tfantz
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2007
Forget that!
11/30, 03:20pm reply
Most of these changes are useless. But there's one that will mean the most to all users!
Updated copyright dates for 2007
Woohoo!
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001