Canadian mobile giant RIM has announced its latest line of BlackBerry Bold and Torch smartphones, introducing a total of five devices that will all be powered by the company’s latest BlackBerry 7 OS.
The smartphone vendor will roll out two new BlackBerry Bold models – the 9900 and 9930 – each sporting a large keyboard and touch display.
The BlackBerry Bold 9900 will be RIM’s thinnest BlackBerry yet, with a thickness of just 10.5mm, and will be the flagship device to combine a keyboard with a touchscreen display inside BlackBerry’s Bold unique design.
The Bold 9900 and 9930 will launch with full support for Near Field Communications (NFC), which will allow smartphone owners to pair their accessories, read tags and make payments in the near future. Both will combine a keyboard and touch display, with the 9900 including a brushed stainless steel frame.
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RIM also unveiled and three BlackBerry Torch models – the 9810, 9850 and the 9860. The Torch 9810 sports a 3.2-inch high-resolution display, a slide-out keyboard and launches as a small upgrade to the Torch line. However, the new BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones will include the biggest screens ever on a BlackBerry device, shipping with a 3.7-inch touch display.
The devices are optimised for web use and social interaction, as well as delivering powerful gaming experiences. They will also supports HD recording at 720p, including A 5-megapixel, zero-shutter lag photo camera.
All devices will be powered by a 1.2GHz processor paired with 768MB of RAM.
Of course with the five new smartphones comes the release of BlackBerry 7 OS. The platform has been upgraded to deliver faster web browsing, deliver Liquid GraphicsTM technology with each smartphone coupling a dedicated graphics CPU and processor to deliver smooth graphics.
BlacBerry Messenger gets an upgrade, incorporating BBM within third-party applications, updated social feeds and a new Facebook client to allow smartphone owners to keep up with their friends in real time.
RIM adds:
BlackBerry 7 OS also includes a number of other pre-loaded applications and integrated functionality for increased productivity and collaboration right out of the box. The Premium version of Documents To Go is now included free of charge, offering users powerful document editing features as well as a native PDF document viewer. BlackBerry® Protect is also pre-loaded**, offering customers the peace of mind that personal data can be backed up and secured in the cloud. BlackBerry® Balance (announced May 2, 2011) is now integrated in BlackBerry 7, allowing users to enjoy the full BlackBerry smartphone experience for both work and personal purposes without compromising the IT department’s need for advanced security and IT controls. And further, the popular universal search capability has been enhanced with support for voice-activated search, so users can now simply speak to begin searching their device and the web for information.
Each device is expected to become available later this month, helped by 225 carriers worldwide.
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