Mobility Watch

In spite of high-powered competing devices from Motorola and Nokia and Samsung, BlackBerry dominates the portable email device trade for business.  There are lots of good reasons - in particular, the fact that BlackBerry provides a level of control and security for corporate IT departments that no other manufacturer has matched.

Motorola isn’t going to let that stand.  Moto is preparing to roll out the Motorola Q Pro, aimed straight at BlackBerry’s core business.  Expected in the first quarter of 2007, the Q Pro will enhance both the hardware (the phone) and the corporate IT software behind it.

We don’t know yet what hardware changes will be made to the original Q handset you see here, other than a new black case.  (HSDPA and WiFi capability are question marks.)  But the software at the corporate IT end will consist of what’s being called a Mobility Suite, allowing remote device management, application management, even the disabling of the camera - overcoming a major stumbling block with many security-conscious corporations.  In the handset itself there will be a firewall, data encryption for email and the ability to work within virtual private networks.

So while BlackBerry is now going after individuals and small business users (with devices like the Pearl) where Motorola has been dominant, Moto is doing everything it can to get a piece of BlackBerry’s big business trade. 

Expect pricing somewhere north of the $200 price point for the current Motorola Q models from Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

[via Buy Windows Mobile]

BlackBerry’s new Pearl has been enormously popular - attracting customers who thought the typical BlackBerry was too clunky, or who wanted a camera with their BlackBerry.

Now Samsung’s new clamshell-BlackBerry is finally available from T-Mobile.  The T719 is, as we reported in August, a slim clamshell GSM quadband phone with a 1.3 megapixel camera, that also incorporates Blackberry Connect technology and comes with a SureType abbreviated QWERTY keyboard just like many BlackBerrys have - including the Pearl.  (Samsung actually got a license from BlackBerry to incorporate the technology here.)

What the Pearl has, that this new Samsung doesn’t, is a memory card to facilitate multi-media capabilities.  No BlackBerry web browser in this Samsung phone, either.  The price with contract, however, is $199.99 - right in line with the Pearl, and Verizon’s Motorola Q.

Decisions, decisions.

[via Engadget Mobile]

Not long after the ultra-sleek BlackBerry Pearl came out, rumors began flying about a similar style makeover for a BlackBerry with a full QWERTY keyboard.  (As opposed to the abbreviated SureType keyboard on the Pearl.)

Now it’s more than a rumor, there are pictures.

Codenamed Indigo, this new baby is slender like the Pearl, with the same Pearl-like trackball device replacing the familiar scroll wheel and Back key.  No sign of a camera on this one, however - and it’s not clear whether it offers any kind of music/video player or removable memory capability like the Pearl.

Anyone thinking about buying a Pearl, Motorola Q or anything else in this league may want to stand by for Indigo, especially if you believe every letter of the alphabet deserves its very own key.

[via BlackBerry Cool]

Just like for owners of Barbie dolls - owning a BlackBerry is not truly fulfilling unless you own all the cool accessories that go with it.  This one might really be worth it.

The Toronto Star reports details of a recent patent application by BlackBerry parent company RIM, for a wireless anti-theft device.  If your BlackBerry becomes separated from the anti-theft device, you’ll have only a limited time to enter an authentication code.  If the time runs out before you enter the proper code, the BlackBerry will be disabled and any data loaded on it would be unusable.

Experts suggest that the kind of users who might want this feature would probably number between 100 and 500 thousand.  Including, no doubt, owners of the new BlackBerry Pearl who’d like to keep everyone else’s mitts off it.

[via Toronto Star]

BlackBerry’s 8703e, the CDMA version of BlackBerry’s flagship 8700 line, has just been announced by Sprint for launch; Verizon made a similar announcement a few days ago.

It has all the features of the GSM version - familiar BlackBerry form factor, QWERTY keyboard, QVGA display, and tried-and-true push email technology, plus EV-DO data capabilities (that means speedy 3G downloads) for Sprint and Verizon customers, plus modem tethering and GPS abilities.  Sprint customers can get it starting in October for $349.99 with a two-year contract - right in line with Verizon’s pricing.

Meanwhile, rumors abound about BlackBerry coming up with a new model, adapting its new Pearl form factor to accomodate a full QWERTY keyboard, but keeping the new trackball user interface (which helps keep the phone slim and trim).  The same rumor mill (thanks, Boy Genius) offers screen shots of a new operating system for BlackBerry’s 8700 series, that includes features like push-to-talk capabilities.  When will all this be available?  Yet to be determined, from what we hear.

[via Phone Arena]

Internet spies appear to have stumbled across a Cingular developer’s site - and in the process, discovered a roadmap of upcoming devices.  That roadmap includes the BlackBerry Pearl (which we’ve reported upcoming for T-Mobile) and the Samsung Blackjack SGH-i607.  According to the report, leaked to Engadget Mobile, the Pearl is coming to Cingular in the 4th quarter, while the Blackjack could materialize as early as this month.

The i607 Blackjack appears to be Samsung’s answer to Motorola’s Q with one important added feature:  WiFi.  We gather it’s a mirror image of the previously announced Samsung i600 (pictured here) - a Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 device with GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSPDA but in a quad-band configuration for Cingular customers. 

Since this is all unofficial, back-channel stuff, we have no reliable pricing or availability information yet.  But we’ll get back to you.

[via Mobility Today, Engadget Mobile]

Launch date for BlackBerry’s Model 8100, “Pearl”, is now set for T-Mobile September 12th.

The BlackBerry Pearl got a huge style transplant and wound up with a gorgeous glossy black finish, huge screen, and dramatic new features including its pearl-like trackball which replaces the traditional BlackBerry scroll wheel.  It also goes beyond traditional BlackBerrys with its 1.3 megapixel camera and media player with microSD card capability. 

Its also stylishly thin (about half an inch thick) with a smaller-but-still-workable version of BlackBerry’s SureType hybrid (two letters per key) keyboard.

Its $199-with-service-agreement price tag puts it at a competitive price point with Verizon’s Motorola Q; but with one obvious advantage.  It’s a BlackBerry.

[via MobileWhack]

BlackBerry seems to have a “thing” about not offering a clamshell form factor.  As a result, BlackBerrys always look like BlackBerrys.

So Samsung generated a fair amount of buzz at this year’s CTIA when it demoed its new T719.  It’s a quadband GSM/EDGE clamshell phone that incorporates BlackBerry capabilities and even licensed BlackBerry’s SureType keyboard technology so it could fit a modified QWERTY keyboard into a reasonably sized clamshell phone.  It was promised for T-Mobile in 3rd quarter of this year.

Now Phone Arena reports it’s “coming soon” and that the retail price for this Samsung/BlackBerry will be $299.99 - if true, that’s disappointingly high, considering the $199.99 price point set for Motorola’s Q and some of its competitors.  But if you want to be the first to carry a BlackBerry in a sleek, slender clamshell, watch this space and we’ll let you know as soon as T-Mobile sets the official date. 

Here comes another Microsoft Mobile QWERTY-keyboard Smartphone, built to carve out a piece of the territory held by Motorola’s Q, Treos, and those ubiquitous BlackBerrys.

Photos of HTC’s new Excalibur were leaked to PDAGeek.  It’s actually a bit smaller than your typical BlackBerry or the Motorola Q.  We’re told it’s a quad-band GSM device (T-Mobile probably, Cingular possibly) with WiFi, but no touchscreen.

Don’t see a camera however, and memory capability isn’t mentioned.  We’ll pass along further scuttlebutt as soon as we hear it.

[via PDAGeek, Mobile Gadget News]

Details are leaking all over engadget about BlackBerry’s new attempt to go multimedia & stylish.  It’s called the Pearl (a.k.a. the Stealth and the 8100), and yes, it will have media capabilities and external storage like the Treos and the Qs of the world. 

Unlike the Treos and Qs, it will make do with a SureType QWERTY keyboard (two letters per key).  And instead of the right-hand scroll wheel navigation control, there’s a trackball in the center of the device.  But its microSD storage, zoom camera with flash and media player add up to a very competitive device.  And, it’s a BlackBerry, and that gives it instant credibility with zillions of corporate IT geeks everywhere.  It’s rumored to be on the shelves at T-Mobile by mid-September.  At an expected price of $199 for new activations, it’s right up against Verizon’s pricing of Motorola’s Q.

But will it be more stylish than the Samsung T719 BlackBerry capable device that was promised for T-Mobile this year?  We’ll see.  And of course, if you’re willing to sacrifice the multi-media capabilities for a full keyboard, there’s always BlackBerry’s 8700. 

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Seems everyone’s getting into the Blackberry/smartphone lookalike act-alike groove.  The Motorola Q and Samsung’s SGH-i320 are just two recent examples.  Here’s Sony Ericsson’s latest entry into the category - the M608c.  It’s now being released in China, but we understand from Mobile Whack that it’s also recently received FCC approval, so it may show up in the U.S. soon, possibly for GSM carriers Cingular or T-Mobile.

The M608c went with a modified-QWERTY keyboard a la Blackberry’s SureType, with each key representing two letters instead of one.  Touchscreen navigation is included - and Blackberry is clearly the target here, with push email and corporate intranet access high on the specification list, plus Opera’s web browser.  If you prefer the Symbian operating system to Blackberry or Windows Mobile, this may be the phone for you.  (We don’t see EDGE capability or Wi-Fi, however.)  The final price point will have a lot to do with how successful this phone might be in the U.S.   

[via Sony Ericsson, Mobile Whack]

PC Magazine has just reviewed a couple of blackberrys. If you are a blackberry fan or are thinking about buying a blackberry or a similar PDA phone, I suggest you visit their article.

These are comprehensive reviews and I really applaud the editors of PC magazine for coming up with a very good resource for blackberry.

They reviewed the following:

Blackberry 8700c
A lot like the 8700g, but without the IM client or Yahoo! Mail support, and on Cingular.

Blackberry 7130c
The best-looking Blackberry by far, perfectly balancing small size, ease of use and design. A good choice if you don’t need a full keyboard or use Yahoo! Mail.

Blackberry 7130e
EV-DO makes the Web browsing on this Blackberry positively exhilarating. Now available on both Sprint and Verizon.

Blackberry 7130t
A smaller form factor Blackberry for T-Mobile users, which supports Yahoo! Mail accounts.
Blackberry 7100g
A basic e-mail phone, easy to use and pocketable, but outmatched by the newer 7130c.

Blackberry 7290 (T-Mobile)
An old-style Blackberry with Bluetooth, giving you the best of both worlds: a big keyboard, but no need to hold a pancake to your head.

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