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We’ve been seeing a lot of an in-the-works device from RIM sporting both a full physical QWERTY keyboard and a clicking touchscreen, code-named the BlackBerry Magnum or Dakota. TD analyst Chris Umiatowski has it on good word that there will be a BlackBerry that has those features as well as an optical trackpad. At first, I thought having the two input mechanisms would be redundant, but a lot of Android handsets are pulling it off these days. The absence of any kind of directional navigation was the key characteristic of the previously leaked device (above), although it was said that it was a prototype that would never see production. Either a newer version of the Magnum will include a trackpad, or that’s what differentiates the Magnum from the Dakota. One way or the other, we apparently won’t see anything until Q3. Umiatowski also expects the 9100 Striker, successor to the Pearl, to be released in April, which lines up nicely with RIM’s dedicated BlackBerry show, the Wireless Enterprise Symposium.
[via Reuters]
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
