RIM Updates Smartphone Offerings with the BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Pearl 9100

April 26, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke

With the Wireless Enterprise Symposium 2010 (WES 2010) getting underway today in Orlando, Florida, the BlackBerry crowd already has something to get excited about. The latest offerings from the original smartphone giant will include the Bold 9650 and Pearl 9100. Both continue previously established lines but promise to add design and feature improvements that improve the overall BlackBerry experience.

Both phones are scheduled to go on sale in May 2010. Pricing details haven’t officially been made available, but both should be competitively priced, considering the stiff competition within the smartphone market from other products, like the Apple iPhone and Google Nexus One. For consumers who prefer a full QWERTY keyboard or, in the case of the Pearl, any physical keyboard at all, the updated BlackBerry offerings give hope that their needs haven’t been completely ignored. So what are the specs and cool bells and whistles?

According to Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion, the Bold is the perfect choice for the smartphone crowd. In the company’s official press release, he says, “Whether at work or at play, the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 offers a truly impressive communications, multimedia and connectivity experience.” With the impending release of the Apple iPhone 4G, with OS 4.0, new Android-based offerings like theHTC Droid Incredible and EVO 4G, and the Dell Thunder, Lightning, Flash, and Smoke models scheduled for 2011, the Bold will really have to deliver the extra punch to sway consumers who are on the fence regarding their next choice for a smartphone.

BlackBerry Bold 9650 Specifications and Features¹:

Stylish design (4.4” x 2.4” x .56” and 4.8 oz.) with glossy black finish and chrome highlights
Large (2.44”) high-resolution display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi), able to display pictures, videos and web pages with impressive contrast and detail
3.2 MP camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording
Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for the Bluetooth® Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP)
BlackBerry® Media Sync for easily syncing photos as well as iTunes® and Windows Media® Player music with the smartphone*
Easy mobile access to Facebook®, MySpace and Flickr®, as well as popular instant messaging services including BlackBerry® Messenger
Support for BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones
Full HTML web browser, streaming audio and video via RTSP
Built-in GPS with support for geotagging, BlackBerry® Maps and other mapping applications
Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.1).
Support for high-speed EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America, as well as UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad
Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery for 5 hours of CDMA talk time

While the BlackBerry Pearl may not be considered one of the top three smartphones in the market, there is a distinct appeal to a certain segment of consumers. Many want data and social networking functionality but don’t want a full QWERTY keyboard to use it. This is a case where size, form, and functionality come into play equally. For these people, the Pearl is the perfect choice. With a slimmer design and updated features, it may be exactly what “in-between” smartphone users want. To this end, Lazaridis, says, “Considering the fast growing consumer interest in smartphones and the fact that more than three-quarters of the people in the global mobile phone market are still buying handsets with a traditional alphanumeric keypad, we think the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G addresses a substantial market opportunity.”

BlackBerry Pearl 9100 Specifications and Features:

Elegant candybar design measuring 4.25″ x 1.96″ x 0.52″ (108mm x 50 mm x 13.3 mm) and weighing only 3.3 oz (93 grams)
624 Mhz processor with 256 MB Flash memory
360×400 sharp-resolution display (238 ppi)
Optical trackpad that makes navigation fast and smooth, plus a comfortable keyboard that enables quick and accurate typing
Media player for videos, pictures and music (music plays up to 30 hours), plus dedicated media keys integrated along top of the handset
3.2 MP camera with zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording*
Built-in GPS for location-based applications such as BlackBerry® Maps, as well as photo geotagging
Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) – first BlackBerry smartphone to support ‘n’
microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB cards
Premium phone features, including voice activated dialing, speakerphone and Bluetooth® (2.1) with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including systems that support the emerging Bluetooth Message Access Profile standard) and other Bluetooth accessories
Access to BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones
Support for BlackBerry® Media Sync for easily syncing photos as well as iTunes® and Windows Media® Player music with the smartphone
BlackBerry® OS 5
Support for tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks
Removable, rechargeable 1150 mAhr battery that provides approximately 5.5 hours of talk time on 3G networks

The Bottom Line:

There is little doubt the new offerings will be stronger in features and faster in performance. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, RIM has made solid products for many years.

For some, though, it really won’t matter how the Bold 9650 or Pearl 9100 compare with other current and future smartphone products. Why? There exists a dedicated segment of consumers who will undoubtedly continue to upgrade to the latest BlackBerry offerings, based on the company’s long-standing tradition of dependability and functionality. By keeping the drama to a minimum and the upgrades constant, BlackBerry promises to continue satisfying both the corporate and personal smartphone consumers that have come to depend on them for their smartphone needs.

Sources:

RIM Introduces the New BlackBerry Bold 9650 Smartphone

RIM Introduces the New BlackBerry Pearl 3G Smartphone

(¹Technical specifications courtesy of RIM Press Releases listed above.)

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