somehow i have this feeling that RIM aren't quite sure what to serve up to the market, therefore it keeps hitting the market with new handset from the same series. no? then why did it announce the...

BlackBerry Bold 9790 and Curve 9380 Smartphones 900x720px
(photos: Blackberry) BlackBerry Bold 9790 and Curve 9380 Smartphones | US$tba | ae.blackberry.com

somehow i have this feeling that RIM aren’t quite sure what to serve up to the market, therefore it keeps hitting the market with new handset from the same series. no? then why did it announce the Bold 9790 and Curve 9380 Smartphones just months after the announcement of Bold 9900/30 and the Curve trio? haven’t BlackBerry users have enough to choose from already? apparently not. anyway, i don’t even want to begin to detail the difference between them. the BlackBerry Bold 9790 here takes on the more traditional route with the combination of a 2.45-inch high resolution touchscreen display (480 x 360 pixels at 246ppi) with a tactile keyboard, along with a optical trackpad. running on the latest BlackBerry 7 OS, the 9790 is powered by a 1 GHz processor that promised to deliver “fast, smooth performance for browsing the web, running apps, working with documents, and enjoying multimedia.” it has a 8GB onboard storage that’s expandable up to 32GB via a memory card slot.
[ad#Google Adsense-text-468×60]

other features include a 5-megapixels autofocus camera with flash, VGA video recording, GPS (with aGPS), and WiFi. it all sounds good but do i really want to do the aforementioned things via such a small display? five years ago, perhaps but probably not in today’s context. the BlackBerry Curve 9380, on the other hand, breaks the Curve family tradition by going all touchscreen. it features a 3.2-inch high resolution display (480 x 360 pixels at 188ppi), a 5-megapixels camera with flash (and of course, video recording too), GPS with aGPS, WiFi (b/g/n), NFC, sensors like accelerometer and magnetometer, and comes preinstalled with social networking apps such as BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, et cetera. though, hard specs remains unavailable at this point. after reading through this article, tell me you aren’t confused at what’s RIM is offering. more images and an official PR information after the break.

[toggle title_open=”Hide Press Release” title_closed=”Show Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Research In Motion Expands BlackBerry 7 Portfolio with the New BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 Smartphones

Jakarta, Indonesia and Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced two new smartphones based on the BlackBerry® 7 operating system (OS) – the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9790 and BlackBerry® Curve™ 9380.

The new smartphones offer impressively slim and stylish designs with enhanced communications, multimedia, productivity and social connectivity features. The BlackBerry Bold 9790 is both powerful and compact, offering users a fully loaded, high performance smartphone with the dual benefits of a high resolution touch display and a highly tactile keyboard. The BlackBerry Curve 9380 is the first-ever BlackBerry® Curve™ smartphone with a touch display. It continues to deliver the powerful social experiences, ease-of-use and smaller handset size that distinguish the BlackBerry Curve family, while also offering Curve users the choice of a larger display and an all-touch design.

“We are very excited to expand the BlackBerry 7 portfolio with the new BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380,” said Carlo Chiarello, Senior Vice President, Handheld Product Management at Research In Motion. “BlackBerry smartphones offer a uniquely refined mobile communications experience that people love and we think many customers will be thrilled by the faster performance, beautiful touch displays and compact designs available with these new BlackBerry 7 based models.”

BlackBerry Bold 9790 Smartphone with Touch Display and Keyboard
True to the BlackBerry Bold brand, the new BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is powerful, full-featured and built with premium materials and finishes. It combines a high-resolution and highly responsive touch display with a highly tactile keyboard and a precise optical trackpad, but comes in a narrow design that is easy to carry and exceptionally comfortable to hold.  With the BlackBerry 7 OS and powerful 1 GHz processor, the BlackBerry Bold 9790 delivers fast, smooth performance for browsing the web, running apps, working with documents, and enjoying multimedia. It includes 8GB of onboard memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB of additional storage.

All-Touch BlackBerry Curve 9380 Smartphone
The finely crafted BlackBerry Curve 9380 is the first all-touch smartphone in the BlackBerry Curve family. It features a highly responsive and brilliant 3.2” high resolution display and comes with preinstalled social networking apps, including BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger), Facebook®, Twitter™ and Social Feeds apps, that offer a fun, easy and smoothly integrated mobile experience. This compact and stylish handset also features a 5MP camera with flash and video recording, allowing users to easily capture and share their favorite moments with family, friends and colleagues.

Powerful BlackBerry 7 OS
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 are both powered by the new BlackBerry 7 OS, which delivers a faster and richer user experience with improved browsing, voice-activated searches, and support for Augmented Reality and NFC (Near Field Communications). It also includes the ability to manage personal content separately from corporate content, and comes with a variety of personal and productivity apps out of the box.

NOW READ  Huawei Mate 70 Series: A Smartphone Odyssey From Cutting-Edge To Luxe

BlackBerry 7 also introduces an enhanced browser that provides a significantly faster, more fluid web browsing experience. The browser includes a new JIT (just in time) JavaScript compiler to improve the load time speed of web pages and it offers optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences. The popular universal search capability has also been enhanced with support for voice-activated search, so users can simply speak to begin searching their device and the web for information.

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphones include built-in support for Augmented Reality and NFC, allowing users to connect with the world around them in fresh new ways. With the Wikitude Augmented Reality application, users can find nearby BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) contacts in real-time, read reviews on restaurants close to them, or get the story behind an interesting landmark and points of interest. NFC also enables many new and exciting capabilities, including the ability to make mobile payments, pair accessories or read SmartPoster tags with a simple tap of the smartphone.

BlackBerry 7 includes a number of preinstalled applications and integrated functionality for increasing productivity and easy sharing and collaboration right out of the box. The Premium version of Documents To Go is included free of charge, offering users powerful document editing features as well as a native PDF document viewer. BlackBerry® Protect is pre-loaded*, offering customers the peace of mind that personal data can be backed up and secured in the cloud.  BlackBerry® Balance is 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. The Social Feeds (2.0) app has been extended to capture updates from media and favorites all in one consolidated view. The Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones (2.0) app introduces features like Facebook chat and BBM integration that makes it easier for users to connect with their Facebook friends in real time.

Availability
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphones will begin to be available from various carriers around the world over the coming weeks. Availability dates for specific devices from specific carriers will be announced in conjunction with RIM’s partners.

Additional Information
For additional information please visit www.blackberry.com

* BlackBerry Protect will be pre-loaded where available. Check with your local operator for availability.

About Research In Motion
Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws.  When used herein, words such as “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”,  “may”,  “will”, “should”, “intend,” “believe”, and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by RIM in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that RIM believes are appropriate in the circumstances.  Many factors could cause RIM’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those described in the “Risk Factors” section of RIM’s Annual Information Form, which is included in its Annual Report on Form 40-F (copies of which filings may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov).  These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on RIM’s forward-looking statements.  RIM has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.
[/toggle]

SOURCE: RIM
via TechCrunch