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Exclusive: First Image of BlackBerry Milan - next generation BlackBerry 10 slider!!

by Kevin Michaluk on 7 Dec 2011 12:02 PM
405
 

BlackBerry Milan

Well that didn't take long. Last week we posted our BBX (now BlackBerry 10) Roadmap Preview for 2012, where we dropped a number of new codenames into the mix beyond the already photographed BlackBerry London. Lisbon, Nevada and Milan were among the codenames of upcoming QNX-based phones mentioned, but the details we're still pretty slim. 

With the first image of BlackBerry Milan above, things are getting more clear for the next generation of BlackBerry 10 phones. While we don't have any specs just yet for Milan, the photo above says a lot. It's a slider BlackBerry, featuring the physical full qwerty keyboard that BlackBerry addicts know and love. And I'm hearing all of these next generation BlackBerry devices sport amazing displays (higher pixel density than the iPhone 4's retina display), which will really add to the sex appeal here. It's interesting to note that the design on this one seems to merge together two looks: at the top are rounded corners, similar to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, while along the bottom we have the sharper edges simliar to the photo of BlackBerry London. There's still time for RIM to tweak things up before locking down final hardware design for manufacturing so I'll be curious to see if things change up from here at all by the time we get this phone in our hands.

This image also gives us a big hint as to how the traditional BlackBerry experience will evolve on BlackBerry 10. Gone is the optical trackpad, call, hang-up and menu and back buttons from the main navigation area of the phone (where the BlackBerry logo is in this image). This means we can assume a much more PlayBook like experience moving forward, even on BlackBerry 10 phones that have a full qwerty. Expect a lot of bezel gestures! Just looking at the phone you know some of that one-handed ease of use of the traditional BlackBerry experience will be sacrificed here, but I don't think many people will care about that given how much more modern and intuitive the touchscreen user interface will be.

Overall, pretty damn exciting. A full, BIG touchscreen along with a physical keyboard on the next-generation BlackBerry 10 OS could be the ultimate phone for a LOT of people out there in 2012. Keep it locked to CrackBerry for more info as we get it!

 

PS. If you haven't entered yet, be sure to check out our CrackBerry Santa contest where you can win an IOU for a free BlackBerry 10 Phone of your choice. All you gotta do is leave a comment to enter!

Filed Under: News & Rumors, Devices; Tags: BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry Milan
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405 Comments

Posted by brianr549 Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

I will have one of these!!!

 
 
Posted by Deathcommand Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Poker face keyboard..?

No smile.

ALSO why is there no TrackPad?

 
 
Posted by Rob Robertson Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

If you look closely there is a trackpad on that picture. It's called the screen.

:)

 
 
Posted by Deathcommand Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Well Maybe most people don't know it, but I use my trackpad so much. with a 9930.
Alt+TP is copy
Lshift+TP is paste.

I will miss my Trackpad.

 
 
Posted by maxb1ack Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

I'll my TP as well.. RIM did think about bezel scrolling... I wonder if its still in the works

 
 
Posted by Joel_Zimmerman Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

The screen doesn't fill all of the needs of the trackpad. I like it that I am able to have a pointer while browsing because it's able to pinpoint what you want to select of there are loads of buttons on a website close together. It saves me from having to zoom in and press it. A downside to Google Maps on my 9900 Is that it has no central cursor so I can't pinpoint where I want to select for my location unless I zoom in about six times.

Ah well, hopefully there will be another BBX phone out by July 2012 :)

 
 
Posted by recompile Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 77 days ago

No kidding -- without a trackpad, this thing is going to be completely unusable.

Why would RIM abandon one of their biggest UI advantages?

Here's hoping it makes an appearance before launch, along with the classic hardware answer/hang-up/menu/back buttons.

 
 
Posted by joeku Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

awesome.
I'm so done with the trackpad

 
 
Posted by HUJIANMING Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 77 days ago

HAH IS SO HUGE

 
 
Posted by seemsixty7 Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 76 days ago

The trackpad gives the ability to move around in text as well, vs a finger tapping the screen, The current button set on the Blackberry means I can access menus and actions quickly vs having to touch hold and wait for a contect menu to realize I want it to pop up. I love my playbook, but the fact that I can get real accurate until the little drag tabs come up in text sucks. I'd love a virtual trackpad and a better keyboard on my playbook.

 
 
Posted by Steve Rizla Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Probably the same reason why the PlayBook doesn't have one. There's no need for a trackpad (or any other physical button/control) anymore.

 
 
Posted by rfalter Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

It's a picture of a prototype of a prototype Einstein.

 
 
Posted by MaxPayne79 Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

yeah i agree, i need a track pad. once bb gets rid of the trackpad, i'll just get an iphone or shitty droid. trackpads make the blackberry a million times easier to navigate then any other touchscreen phone. you need a track pad. the left convenience key was extremely useful as well and they got rid of that already. not a fan of where it's heading. bb's are all about convenience. if u turn them into every other phone, then i'll get something with way better hardware and software. :(

 
 
Posted by Kekus Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Personally, my 9900 is the ideal device for me. Full keyboard, convience buttons, trackpad. If I want games or entertainment I'll use my Playbook.

Bold 9900 + Playbook (w/ 2.0) = Best of both worlds!

 
 
Posted by shiekoselim Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

exactly what i'm rocking!

 
 
Posted by cfx_will Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Same! I find that playbook copy/paste system isnt that good. i like the trackpad for it pinpoints to misspellings and certain things that are too small to click. Works very well for 9900 since the screen is too small.

 
 
Posted by imcurved Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

I prefer the smiley style keyboard of the Bold. RIM please keep it if you can.

 
 
Posted by deRusett Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

You're pretty confident.

I am looking at it going yuck! looks pretty but the following bug me

NO optical track pad, the playbook lacks fine motor abilities, the phones make up for it, losing that on the phone reduces it's appeal, BUT I can hope they allow an app developer to make an on screen thumb pad, I'd pay for such an app.

Next the Keyboard, though the layout of the ALT characters are BlackBerry, the key position is strait across, not in the traditional arch of the BlackBerry, the keyboard will be the same discomfort at the Motorola Droid Pro+ and will tarnish the Blackberry Keyboard name.

I'd expect from the image it will be rocking a 4-4.3" screen, so the Keyboard will be similar in size to the Bold 9900, which will be very nice seeing as the weight and lay out of the device will make it hard to use 1 handed, making it a 2 handed device, in landscape the user can use on screen keyboard, portrait physical keys, I like the idea.

over all RIM I really hope this is far from the final engineering drawing and things like key positioning and height are really looked at, and PLEASE have more gestures than the Playbook has

 
 
Posted by gunnz Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

help me understand why you need a trackpad for a touch screen phone as big as that???

 
 
Posted by recompile Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 77 days ago

Because my fingers are MUCH larger than many of the click-targets (on the web, for example). Because fingers suck for precision tasks like selecting text or re-positioning the text cursor.

How about, it makes it possible to comfortably use the phone one-handed?

I could go on and on and on ...

 
 
Posted by con4n007 Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 76 days ago

Time to diet !!

 
 
Posted by Skeevecr Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 76 days ago

A trackpad is just handier than reaching all over a large touchscreen if you were trying to navigate while holding your phone in one hand.

 
 
Posted by biggulpseh Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

The thing is, the absence of an optical trackpad will not bother 99.9% of potential buyers. The only real advantage of having an optical trackpad is for the quick selection of text, and I feel as though this is a rare enough occurrence for RIM to justify not including it in the design. Besides, the screen looks to be huge, so the accurancy of finger-pressed would be increased.

As for the keyboard, the 'straight-across' keyboard seems to be a result of the design of the bottom of the phone, which is not curved like other Blackberries before it. To be honest, I feel as though this is a more modern design change which will be a refreshing departure from the mundane design of most of the previous Blackberries. Not sure about the usability of an uncurved keyboard, but I doubt it will be as challenging to type on as you describe. But I'll leave the final judgement for when I give it a try.

 
 
Posted by gunnz Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

thank you....a touch screen and trackpad are not needed.... its funny that ppl want rim to keep doing the same thing but in doing the same thing theyve been doing theyve become the newest nokia...they need change to gain back their market share...and this phone and the london are steps in the right direction. side note... the best selling phones have no keyboard and no trackpad....iphone and galaxy (android)...time rim starts gravitating towards producing similar products

 
 
Posted by coopere Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Quick selection is faster without a track pad, you just select the area and the options come up. Have you ever used an iPhone or Android device. They don't have a trackpad because its useless

 
 
Posted by Deathcommand Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

I have used and owned all current mobile phones.

TrackPad has always been faster.

 
 
Posted by gunnz Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

this is a bold face lie......u have to scroll to intended selection....how can scrolling be faster than simply touching where u want to copy??

 
 
Posted by Mathrin Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Because you have to:
1. press the screen, wait for the options to come up,
2. pick select text,
3. move the first indicator to the beginning of text you want to copy,
4. move the second indicator to the last part you want to copy,
5. press the screen and wait for options,
6.choose copy text.
All that takes time.

Trackpad
1. Scroll to beginning of text.
2. Hold shift and highlight.
3. Press shift and click.
No waiting = faster.

Now STFU about stuff you don't know anything about.

 
 
Posted by bobby_boy Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Most people need two hands to use an iphone, with the BB trackpad its easier to navigate using one hand

 
 
Posted by DarshOne Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

+1000000

 
 
Posted by BashBerry15 Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 77 days ago

You very clearly have never used an iPhone properly then. Simply touch the start of the text you want to copy with one thumb, and touch the end with the other thumb. If needed, drag the indicators to adjust. The options to cut/copy immediately and automatically pop up (at least in any app where you are composing/editing text) Copying from safari can be a different story.

Granted, the trackpad method is also very quick, and can indeed be faster for many users.

But your gross exaggeration of "waiting for options to pop up" and nonexistent extra steps on the iPhone is outlandish.

Next time consider your own ignorance before telling someone else to "STFU"

 
 
Posted by KiDPaul Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 76 days ago

+1

 
 
Posted by cfx_will Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

it's also about precision. :)

 
 
Posted by coolaide Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 76 days ago

I have in front of me a Torch and a samsung infuse. While one handing them I can not reach the far edge of the screen on either phone. but with the torch I can use the track pad to make selections and still only use one hand. with my infuse I have to free my other hand to make the selection. There have been times when I would have like to keep my hand where it was and just had a damn trackpad.

 
 
Posted by Skeevecr Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 76 days ago

The combination of both a trackpad and a touchscreen is faster though, you can still use a similar method that you describe, but when that doesn't work properly (happens plenty of times on android and ios) you can easily go in and use to trackpad to select it more precisely.

 
 
Posted by diegonei Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

I think it looks great. Can see myself buying that thing!!

 
 
Posted by feldmen01 Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

I wouldn't worry too much, it's a leaked photo with no signs of a final design. If they can get the gestures right, you will not need the trackpad.

My only concern is the size of the side bezels, how are you supposed to swipe those?

 
 
Posted by anastasiophan Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

The bezel on the PlayBook is only sensitive about as far in as the bezel is on this phone. It senses a swipe from a couple pixels off screen to a couple pixels on screen in order to make the gesture work.

Theoretically, you don't need a bezel to have PlayBook like gestures. You could just program the OS to sense a swipe from the outer most pixel of the screen inwards.

 
 
Posted by feldmen01 Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Do you know that for sure?

After watching videos of the android player, it looks like people swipe the bezel right across the blackberry logo and it registers.

And regarding not having a bezel, that would be catastrophic to the useability of the phone. Think about trying to pan around in a website. If the phone worked as you described, you would be switching applications all the time when you get to close to the edge of the screen. The bezel is important in my opinion.

 
 
Posted by anastasiophan Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

I'm not a big fan of the iPhone notification system, but if you have used it, then you will know that what I described is possible.

 
 
Posted by feldmen01 Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

I have played with an iPhone for probably 2 minutes in my entire life... but if what you say is possible, then I will not dispute it.

 
 
Posted by seb.hebert Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Once again, a very well put comment by deRussett; and I agree on most of what you said. I believe that an optical trackpad would be a great addition to this device; it would allow for careful manipulation of text entries as well as easier copy and pasting (nothing easier than copy/paste on a BB with Shift+Trackpad)

Also, a slight curve on the keyboard layout would be nice. I hope this device doesn`t end up too thick and that case manufactures have an easier time creating sturdy cases for this model as opposed to my 9800 which went through 3 cases (sliders suck for cases).

 
 
Posted by maxb1ack Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

totally agree with you on keyboard. there seems to be too much un-utilised space around keys

 
 
Posted by kojita Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Agree on the keyboard and the trackpad, those are BB trademarks, they can't afford to loose them, they are soooo convenient

 
 
Posted by mortys11 Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

DOES THIS HAVE NATIVE EMAIL?

OR IS THAT COMING IN 2013?

LOL....SUCKERS!

 
 
Posted by feldmen01 Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Pardon me, but I believe your caps lock button is stuck...

 
 
Posted by ahmed.atiya1 Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

Idiot...

 
 
Posted by world traveler and former ceo Thursday, Dec 08, 2011 77 days ago

+100000

 
 
Posted by Jahvid Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

I'm looking forward for the release of the new BBX (blackberry 10) phones. I am currently waiting to upgrade my phone until then. I am anticipating that these phones will be the best in the smartphone market and that RIM will once again rise to the top!

 
 
Posted by rfalter Wednesday, Dec 07, 2011 77 days ago

That upgrade could be a looooooooooooong time coming. I cannot believe all of the comments and arguements about what is clearly nothing more than an artist's rendition of someones idea at RIM. Do you SERIOUSLY think you will see this anytime in 2012? Trackpad.....if that was the only thing holding it back, it would be a miracle.....I am sure the software for BBX/10 phones has 3 lines of code in it, they can't even get native email on the PB yet. What a bunch of maroons.

 
 
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