[Tom]

Originally Posted by Skive

I'm not arguing about that it isn't heading towards release, but realistically rim employees having them is not proof of that since plenty of them will have had them for a while since they are basically a captive pool of beta testers, even if the ones you talk to are too stupid to understand the initials nda anyway. :lol:

haha, they arent too stupid, it really doesnt matter what they tell me as their names will never be released by anyone.

We will see. :D

[SuperFly]

I've actually seen and played with one of them (there are two designs - different carriers have ordered different styles I guess) - not my cup of tea, but I guess I can see the appeal to carriers who want to target more consumers (rather than corporate customers). I personally prefer the second design (which is more square than the one in the picture on here) but they still look like big clunky phones. I bought the BB for the keyboard, and even though the predictive text on the Charm is pretty damn good, it's still not natural typing like on a regular BB. I'll keep my current model until they ship a bluetooth enabled one...


Rumour has it so far 2 carriers have orders placed (significant orders) for shipment around Christmas....can't back that claim up though, just a rumour.

[JE$U$]

I think it's hideous...RIM should spend their time upgrading their current Blackberry style devices and leave the consumer devices to the Nokia's and SE's of the world! Hell, next thing you know they'll be putting cameras in the Blackberry!

[kirson]

I think the discussion on cameras in Blackberry's has been explored in full -- simply won't happen. There are too many corporations that don't allow ANY cameras in the work place. This is one of those cases where the consumer gadget actually causes a corporate problem. My guess is that RIM NEVER goes there.

On the other hand, there are many consumer gadgets that have no impact on corporate issues at all: sound, image, PIM functionality, Bluetooth (kind of -- once security issues are addressed) -- I hope/believe that RIM will slowly but surely offer these options on future devices.

[Skive]

Originally Posted by SuperFly

Rumour has it so far 2 carriers have orders placed (significant orders) for shipment around Christmas....can't back that claim up though, just a rumour.

It's bound to be the case that they have some kind of deal like that, otherwise they would have been selling the device to multiple carriers and then far more information would have leaked out by now than it has.

[Skive]

Originally Posted by JE$U$

I think it's hideous...RIM should spend their time upgrading their current Blackberry style devices and leave the consumer devices to the Nokia's and SE's of the world! Hell, next thing you know they'll be putting cameras in the Blackberry!

Err, have you not read the stuff about the 7290, they are upgrading their existing hardware and with 4.0 they are upgrading the software, however as well as the blackberry is selling there is a large part of the phone market they are missing out on, this 'charm' is clearly intended to get them a slice of that market and to get the carriers a bit more money per user from some of their non-business customers.

[Skive]

Originally Posted by kirson

I think the discussion on cameras in Blackberry's has been explored in full -- simply won't happen. There are too many corporations that don't allow ANY cameras in the work place. This is one of those cases where the consumer gadget actually causes a corporate problem. My guess is that RIM NEVER goes there.

While i agree with you that its not likley that they will sell a blackberry with a camera in a blackberry, we might see things like camera addons, such things would be ideal for real estate agents, insurance claim people etc. as they could take the pictures they needed and email them off directly. Obviously that kind of thing would be a niche use, but as long as theres a market and it can be exploited without harming the core value of the blackberry i wouldn't be surprised ot see that kind of thing happen.

[JE$U$]

Yes, I've read about the 7290. I realize that there is a demand out there for consumer devices, but I just think RIM should stay out of that market. Let Nokia, Motorola, SE, etc. license the Blackberry technology so they can install it on handsets and so carriers can offer the services (and collect the incremental revenue) from customers. RIM should keep focussed on business devices and not get distracted by trying to compete for a market they don't understand. Mercedes Benz should not make a $10,000 car, even though there is a good market for cheap cars. Hyundai should not make a $100,000 car, even though there is a good market for pricey cars. The best way to ensure the best products is to choose a market/strategy and focus all your efforts on it....IMHO.

[Skive]

If rim simply stuck to a single market then the company would stagnate and also the blackberry wouldn't exist as it wasn't their first product.

They are licensing their technology to the other phone makers, but while they are confident that they can make good hardware to fit a market then it makes no sense not to compete.

Incidentally, your analogy is rather wrong since the gap between the two devices will not be anywhere near as wide as that, realistically the 7290 and charm will be using fairly similar code with the obvious exception of the predictive text and other stuff that the charm will use.

[JE$U$]

To each his own....

[udontknowjack]

The charm will only be sold by one carrier as that carrier has exclusivitey on it. I think the charm will have a valid business and "prosumer" niche. I think executive will like it as it looks more like a phone. Better than putting a "brick" to your ear as I've heard it said. I love my BB but I really think I will want to switch to the charm when it comes out. I is pretty cool.

As far as camera and mp3 players on a Blackberry. RIM has not only said no but "hell no" time and time again. The Blackberry is a corporated device and as such they are building it for corporate use and RIM sees no corporate use for cameras or mp3 players. If you want that, then get a crappy treo.

[bb_tech]

The charm will be sold on at least 2 carriers. The names of the carriers will remain nameless