We already had an inkling that the upcoming BlackBerry Bold 9930 and the touchscreen slate 9860 “Monaco” would be finding their way to Sprint this year, and a glimpse into Sprint’s CelleBrite point of sale system confirms that they’re on the way. The two have been floating around inside Sprint since earlier this month, and though reaching the point-of-sale system signals that a launch is soon, we shouldn’t expect anything before September. RIM has already gone semi-official with the BlackBerry 9850, having released a device simulator to app developers – there just hasn’t been a big unveiling yet.
From what we’ve seen, the BlackBerry 9850 will crank up the processor to 1.2 GHz, RAM to 768 MB, have 4 GB of storage on board (plus the obligatory microSD memory card slot), Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS, and EV-DO 3G. The camera will clock in at 5 megapixels, have an LED flash, and be able to capture video at 720p. On top of mobile hotspot capabilities, and having the biggest, highest-resolution screen on a BlackBerry to date (3.7 inches and 800 x 480), the Monaco will also follow in the 9900’s footsteps with near-field communications and a magnetic compass.
The 9850 has the tall order of reinvigorating RIM’s touchscreen slate smartphone lineup, which some might see as tarnished after the Storm series. The 9850 looks like it will at least be able to match up with the competition in terms of specs, but OS 7 will still be more or less the same experience as we’ve seen on BlackBerry for the last couple of years. Anyone expecting a giant change in experience will have to hold out until next year when dual core devices comes out that can handle the QNX operating system found on the PlayBook tablet.
Personally, I’m more excited for the Bold 9900 than this thing, but are any of you BlackBerry fans hankering for Storm sequel that doesn’t suck?
[via CB]