RIM’s next-generation BlackBerry smartphones are well on their way, with plenty of hands-on pictures and video lately, and now some official-looking TV spots for two devices: the Bold 9900 (code-named Dakota), and the Touch 9860 (code-named Monza). The theme for both of them depicts a city bustling with a wide variety of communications, with hints of the augmented reality and near-field communications features that we’ll be seeing in the new handsets.
We’ve seen the specs, but just to review, the Bold 9900 will have a 2.8-inch 640 x 480 screen, 768 MB of RAM, a 1.2 GHz processor, 8 GB of storage memory, and a 5 megapixel camera. By comparison, the BlackBerry Touch 9860 will have a much larger 3.7-inch 800 x 480 screen, only 4 GB of strage (plus microSD card), and skip the physical keyboard, but will otherwise be identical specs-wise. The biggest addition in both of them will be the magnetic compass which will enable augmented reality applications, and the NFC chip so you can tap your phone on sensors to pay for goods, or, as depicted in the commercial below, do Bump-style file transfers.
These ad spots are pretty slick, and do a pretty nice job of highlighting both what the BlackBerry lifestyle is like, as well as how the new features fit into that overall image. We’re expecting these to be announced next month at BlackBerry World, and launching sometime over the summer. I’ve got my fingers crossed for the Torch 2 9810 as well, but with these ads, at least the Touch and Bold 9900 are looking solid. Without further ado, here are the ads. Anyone excited for ’em?