We heard yesterday that the BlackBerry Storm 3 was going into production, but on top of some fresh pictures and a full spec sheet, the disheartening news that it’s not landing until September 2011 came out today.
- 1.2GHz processor
- 3.7-inch 800 x 480 capacitive display
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- Tri-band UMTS/HSPA
- 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording
- 8GB eMMC (storage for apps and data), 512MB of RAM
- microSD slot
- Magnetometer
- Proximity sensor
- Accelerometer
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- 2.4GHz b/g/n and 5GHz a/n Wi-Fi + UMA
- 3G Mobile hotspot
- Optical trackpad
- 1230 mAh battery
- BlackBerry OS 6.1
- OpenGL ES 2.0
The specific branding for the device is actually still up in the air; if RIM wants to get away from SurePress, it may ditch the Storm name in the process. All we really have for now is the Monaco codename (Monza for the global version).
As for the specs, there’s no NFC on there like many of the BlackBerrys leaked yesterday, but it does have the 3G hotspot, magnetometer, and OpenGL support. OS 6.1 will enable augmented reality applications, and UMA support is a nice touch for making calls over local Wi-Fi networks. The WVGA is a significant upgrade for RIM, who has so far stuck with HVGA. I hope it doesn’t negatively impact battery life too badly, especially at the larger screen size.
Right now, this is a respectable handset, but it sure won’t be by the time September rolls around. Maybe RIM’s saving on parts by being late to the game, but by next fall the BlackBerry Monaco will be obsolete in more than a few ways. The only thing we can hope for is that the release date rumour is bunk and we see the Storm 3 sooner, like early summer or late Spring. This thing has looked more or less the same since the fall, right? Does it really take a full year after having a complete physical device to get it shipped out the door?
[via BGR]