BlackBerry Slider Spotted in the Wild

The BlackBerry slider of which we’ve been hearing whispers has made its first public appearance in these two blurry, but telling pictures. As you can see, it’s got a trackpad, a Bold-style fretted keypad, navigation keys in a unified, and a single-button style for the navigation keys much like the Storm2.

If we’re to take the specs that were leaked out earlier at face value, this slider should have OS 6.0, Wi-Fi n, have a 360 x 480 screen (possibly a SurePress touchscreen), and run on GSM networks. If it does, indeed, have both a trackpad and touchscreen, it will make for an interesting combination for a BlackBerry, but not entirely unfamiliar in the grand scheme of manufacturers. The prototype of the apparently-discontinued Magnum opted for a touchscreen without a trackpad, which could have also worked, but for fine cursor manipulation, the finger isn’t ideal.

I might take this opportunity to toot my own horn a bit for calling a BlackBerry slider at WES ’09, although that was really based on sheer logical might rather than any kind of insider information. Personally, I think a slider makes good sense for RIM. Ever since the Storm, they’ve been experimenting with new form factors, and so far, the Pearl Flip is the only one to really make a stab at the feature phone crowd. Even if all of the specs under the hood are ho-hum, your average consumer will be more interested in how it feels and looks, rather than counting than comparing RAM or processor speed. It’ll be interesting to see if it does, indeed, pack OS 6.0, but so long as it has Wi-Fi, 3G, and GPS in there, the slider should do just fine.

Another pic of the device closed after the jump… Videos and more pics are on the way, apparently, so stay tuned!

[via BBLeaks]

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.

abe

please please how do i get updates on this article i need to know if this is coming to tmobile. if someone, anyone could help my i would be most appreciated. thanks ahead of time. lol
Chris

Most likeley, no promises though, it will be available on any network and come unlocked. I doubt it will be a Verizon Exclusiv. at least, not if RIMM wants to maximize its customer base. I have the original Storm and its with Verizon and all I can say is: ” I F-Ing Hate Verizon!!!
I keep getting icons and shortcuts to junk I dont use from verizon. I have Flicker,Google this and google that, Google IM and Yahoo IM and AOL IM and BING and just all this junk items I cant stand.

I set them to Hide and put them in a junk folder, but knowing they are there, slowly consuming resources as I get more and more is driving me crrrRRRRAZY!!!!

I also hate how i cant remove Archived icons from AppWorld.

Its the little annoyances that really get me. I hope RIMM makes the Storm 3 or whatever it is, more versatile and more access for users to be able to control files on the phone.

I used to hate the word Blackberry because everyone was saying and talking about it all the time. then I fell in love with the look and feel of the Storm.

I want to remain a blackberry person as well as many people do, I hope the new BB is hefty like the storm and has alot of the little issues cured.

And Flash is a must as well as Wifi.
We will forgive that incident with the storm 1 not having wifi as long as they never EVER do that to us again.
Chris

Yeah, a pysical keyboard wil always be desired as it helps the brain. Feeling the keyboard as you type assures your mind you are actually typing, not feeling it slows you down cuz your mind isnt really sure if you hit it or not.

The worst thing after using a storm for so long, was trying to configure my girlfriends Mytouch. I kept forgeting the screen didnt click. Also, i hated it because once you touch the screen on a regular phone, thats it, its final. You accidently touch something and screens change, somethings selected or closed.

With the Surepress, you have to push with intention to select. I like that. I also like the metal back plate and the sturdy, heftyness of the storm. I held the Mytouch and i thought i had a toy cell phone, feels like im gunnah break the thing.
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