No really ?

If i have to hear or see another thing about "bb 7 phones announced" i'm going to jump out a window. Weren't these phones announced months ago for crying out loud. Enough already and just sell them. Its getting old......already.

> Blackberry 7 Smartphones Announced

Unless we are on Verizon.... :(

YES, YES..........................YES!! I have no life.

Fiddy sixty

awesome podcast , luv it :)

Welcome back Craig. Can't wait to see some sweet BB7 unboxing and review videos. I especially can't wait to manhandle one.

Your podcast suggests that the devices allows RIM to compete today. Perhaps that is true, but I think you guys are missing the point. It's not about necessarily being first. RIM needs to engineer devices well and that takes a lot of lead time. Remember, it's not about the latest and greatest. If you want that, go see Android and their reliability nightmares.

The leading three Android manufacturers are falling over themselves to have the latest and greatest hardware. They don't really care about supporting it for more than 6 months because they release so many devices. They're very disposable, and as a result, they don't have time to engineer the device and test things well. It's always a rush to market to beat the other Android competition to the punch.

Apparently, Samsung is now the #2 smartphone manufacturer. Certainly that's true according to the numbers. People continue to praise Samsung and HTC and how much cash they've got. They're making that cash off consumers racing for the latest hardware. These companies don't even care how well it works, because they'll have 8 more devices next quarter -- that's how many devices Samsung is planning on before Christmas!

Seriously, what does Samsung, HTC, and Motorola have without Google's Android. ZERO! Without Google, these companies are out of the smartphone market without any clothes on. They fall flat on their faces.

It's unheard of in Android world to hold on to a device for 3 years. That's how long I've had my BlackBerry Storm! It still works fine. I use the Opera Mini browser with BB OS 5 and it's as good as the BB6 Torch browser. If only my Storm had more RAM and a faster processor, I wouldn't be so desperate for an upgrade.

If you want a perfectly engineered device, RIM is actually ahead of Apple! See Consumer Reports recent article on reliable smartphones. Look at how much heat Apple got with their iPhone 4 antenna issue. When was the last time RIM had a subpar device (from a hardware engineering perspective)?

With the PlayBook, RIM was able to go after the latest and greatest hardware, so they were advertising dual core 1 GHz CPUs before the competition! Even so, they played with it and perfected the hardware while the software was coming together. With the PlayBook, the OS was brand new, so it took time to make it right. Today, it is almost there. I don't think it needs native email or Android to be there. It needs some minor tweaks such as auto-correction, and a bunch of little nice-to-haves.

I'm sure RIM has already spec'd out the hardware for the QNX superphones -- probably dual core or quad core devices. I'm sure they'll want QNX to rock hard and blow away the competition. I know the QNX developers under Dan Dodge will see to it that the new mobile QNX OS is not short changed by sub-standard hardware.

Finally, it pleases me to hear Kevin say how well the 9850/60 fits in the hand. That will likely be my choice despite the solid glass-feeling virtual keyboard.

I just heard the Mobile Nations podcast and it was really good, very good and interesting opinions, but this one really feels amateur, when the people who is supposed to be the experts confuses the model numbers and forgets specifications you know they are not doing their homework.. also, how many times can you guys say 4G? would have been fun to have a video podcast with a counter like that souh park episode...

just some constructive criticism. :-p

I don't understanding the branding concept with the Torch. This is the time for RIM to show they are remaking themselves effectively and instead they made a foolish branding decision. They easily could have called the the 9850/60 Torch Pro, Torch Max or any modifier for differentiation from the slider. Instead they reverted to numbers for distinction, which is cool for we BB insiders but bad for the masses.

Also, if the new Curve drops with 4g or some features not on the 99XX, well then which BB is the premium model? Still, if I decide to go for it and not wait for QNX super phones, which will likely be late 2012 or early 2013 at the earliest, I'll have to make a decision between 9930 and 9850 but am leaning toward 9930 on the heels of my 9650.

You continue your facade of not having a 9900, but we know the truth. ;)

Thanks guys, great podcast and I hope you have as much fun doing it as it seems.

I wanted to comment on your choices of preferred new handsets. I was surprised to see the high degree of interest in the touch only 9850/60. Given that you're all hardcore RIM users, having no keyboard would simply be completely counter to the "RIM experience". Why I find this interesting is; Apple has always maintained physical keyboards are old technology and eventually no handheld devices will have one. I'm wondering if your reaction isn't a microcosm of the Blackberry community embracing this evolution and the possibility that Apple has been right all along. It certainly would partially explain the overwhelming success of the iPhone form factor.

I also found your comment regarding the layoffs and how you where there for the final week of the "old RIM". I'm not a fan of mass layoffs because it's never the people who caused the problems who get affected. I only hope the company's "spiritual heart' wasn't taken out with all the terminations.

Thanks again guys for the great job.

Now that you can stream in one tab and surf in another on the playbook, i can toss the podcast in the background and keep surfin'. Love it!

None of the BB7 devices are going to be 4G, not even by any chance. T-mobile, AT&T, Bell, Rogers etc. are calling them 4G, because Bold 99xx & Torch 9810/9860 has HSPA+ (according to spec sheet). That's where the "LIE" lies.
North American GSM carriers are calling HSPA+ as 4G, in addition to LTE. This (HSPA+) has been accepted by the ITU. Now, let's come to the definitions of HSPA+ & what speeds are defined.
• HSPA+ is 3GPP Rel.7, which has 2 parts- HSDPA part & HSUPA part.
• The HSDPA part of HSPA+ needs to be Cat.13 (downlink 17.6 Mbit/s) at least, the commonest implementation is 21.1 Mbit/s.
• The HSUPA part of HSPA+ needs to be Cat.6 (uplink 5.76 Mbit/s) at least.
BB7 devices (new Bold/ Torch) use Qualcomm Snapdragon 8255/8655, this support up to HSDPA Cat.10 (downlink 14.4 Mbit/s). Though Qualcomm wants to call it HSPA+, it’s not. These BB7 devices are in fact HSPA devices, not HSPA+ devices. So, they are not”4G” (You can call the “Faux G”) devices.
I’m so annoyed by these carriers’ lies, and so astonished that people like you, the journalists/ experts are giving in to these lies. It’s your job to keep our eyes open, don’t give into their (carriers’) propaganda.