Research in Motion and their BlackBerry line have not really been in the news lately unless you are talking about who is losing market share in the mobile industry. Today, it appears that RIM is getting ready to release the new BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 within the next few weeks. Just scanning some news I can see that one or the other will be released without a camera and is targeted towards those that work in environments that are banning Smartphones that come with that feature. This new released Smartphone will be the thinnest release from BlackBerry to date.
Another fantastic bit of information is that this version of the Bold will be the first Smartphone from BlackBerry that will run the “BlackBerry 7” operating system. According to reports the BlackBerry Bold 9900 will be the GSM version and the 9930 will be released as a “world phone” with CDMA support. It also appears that this updated version of the Bold is not the only new option you will have from BlackBerry. A couple of months ago RIM mentioned that they wanted to release another 7 Smartphones before the end of 2011. Looks like the BlackBerry Bold will be the first one available.
The release is set for “late summer” and if that happens, that won’t leave the company a whole lot of time to release the other six smartphones. This phone was actually shown to the public in May and a ton of leaked images and other information followed, but there hasn’t been any confirmation on the exact release date. RIM does have the new Smartphone listed in its online store, along with accessories, cases and skins. There are also third party companies seeking parts for the new handset which is another indicator that a release date is not that far off.
Other than that information, there wasn’t much else to read about the new phone from RIM. Rumors and leaked information come and go, but even Verizon’s video tutorial for the Bold that was posted by mistake has BlackBerry fans excited for something new, finally. BlackBerry has released a Smartphone without a camera in the past and this version of Bold looks to be the same. RIM is targeting companies and businesses that do not allow cameras on the premises and with secrets getting leaked a lot, that number might be rising in the future since everything can be photographed or caught on video.
