Different pictures, same ugly design.

So nice looking, I want :D

Second! lol

Im curious about one thing, If its like the bold then this keypad is going to be uncomfy. Im a big fan of sliders myself and I know that sometimes it can be a pain, but a Blackberry Slider? its kind of sexy!

the idea is sick but the desighn it couldve been sooo much more slicker

Touchscreen?
Hopefully it is with that large of a screen, but im not a fan of moving parts on cellphones.

I think if the screen came more out to the edges, it will make it better. I would pick one up, hopefully it will come to T-Mobile!

The first two comments sum it up pretty good I think.

Kevin, I hope you're wrong! I've been waiting for something like this to come out for verizon, but you broke my heart when you said it was being tested on ATT :(

There seems so be so much wasted screen retail with the bezel and buttons

I like it! Best of both worlds although a horizontal design would be better

It just looks...awkward... I would rather have just a touchscreen with a Bold-keyboard. That trackpad placement seems like it could be uncomfortable, personally.

I'd try this out...

Or at least the next step up, for those that want a full keyboard but hate the "accidental butt dialing" (ie: my parents).

new Blackberry designs to Samsung. 2007 Samsung.

I have never met a company with such BRILLIANT products that is so averse to a bit of modernity......sigh...FYI this is UGLY

Looks like it would be top-heavy when typing. It's a toss-up for me on the looks tho.

If it is gonna be a touch screen then why have a track pad??? seems useless and waist of screen space!!!

...or is it just me?

It looks like the bezel around the slider looks to have a blue'ish hue to it. The phone looks nice; I don't know what people are talking about. Sure...it isn't AS sexy as it could have been; but not bad at all.

I can't believe the the negativity these pictures have caused.

I personally do not need to play games on my phone, or watch videos, or play farmer. I use it to respond to emails quickly and efficiently and to text/msg.

I should say I love my 9700!

i wonder if making it blacked out would improve it somewhat.... no. i'm still not liking the slide out at all. it's just not blackberry to me or something.

If the bezel was Matted black I might be a little goo goo for it. just no real estate for typing

actually nice design

I hope the internal specs are as nice as the design

I must have this phone! Big screen with a physical keyboard. This is what many people have been waiting for in a bb for a long time. For all you that think this cell phone is ugly, I don't get it. I just hope it will have a cdma version.

it has potential but still needs some work in my opinion;I'll stick w/my Storm and wait for the Storm3

The pictures definitely look much better quality and clarity. but i am still not a huge fan of this design, it just doesn't look like a BlackBerry... but sometimes pictures can be deceiving!! Oh well, alot of people do seem to like the way RIM is headed. They are expanding their product lineup to attract newer customers...hopefully it will work out in their favour.

[url=http://www.simplyfoodndrink.com]food[/url]

Besides, a horizontal wider and larger keyboard with large keys could be way better. Are they really gonna release it like this? Like my old HTC. Yuk!

why cant it just be like a storm with a slide out keyboard...

thanks for the information

wow, look at how small the LED light is on this phone! thats bad!

Not sure what to think just yet. Will def need to see additional pictures and different views. One thing is for sure, the screen coulda been a bit taller and wider and it needs to be high res. 360x480 on that physical size is not gonna cut it. Most other manufacturers are running WVGA on a lot of their devices. 800x480 would be ideal. Question, anyone have any idea if the OS will include a virtual keyboard or not? Having a slightly wider screen would help with the virtual keys from being squished together. Makes for easier typing.

Hmmmm, yesterday I thought it looked pretty good, but now not so much. Are these pucs stetched? That thing is so long you'd need two hands just to hold and stabilize it. Seriously it looks like it is twice as long as the Storm with the keyboard out...holy crap!

Edit: never mind. When I commented earlier I was looking at it on my handset and in the mobile site it looked stretched. Now that I'm on the computer it's much more reasonable. I think it could still use some refinement, but boy am I glad to see that it's not really nine inches long when extended. Imagine the jokes if you carried it in your front pocket...lol!

i hope that the final version we also have a FRONT FACING CAMERA and some 4g in it (and what salomondrin first said the "Mr. T" is suppose to be a CDMA phone and the bold with the touch screen is suppose to be a GSM)i really hope Sprint gets this because WE are gettin upset with the line up theY call phones for Sprint.

It would better if it open from the side. It seems it will be like 3ft long when its open will see.

agree with google123 above..with such a large screen, why is the resolution so low? It's gonna be one blurry screen with that resolution..

not too impressed with a slider BB.

I like the GENERAL IDEA of this phone...but not the actual phone itself.

The design seems really rudimentary, so I'm hoping its just a prototype. All the unused space around the screen and keyboard is completely unacceptable.

I'm sooooo not feeling that.... I'm very disappointed. Waaaay too much chrome and it's the same design as a freakin' Samsung Propel. The major players are going with the landscape qwerty slide. This just fails on so many levels. Looks like my 9700 is my last Blackberry... *sigh*

Seems like you'll have to have the phone slid open just to make a call. Who's idea was it to have the mic where the keyboard is?

I hate it. Either totally touchscreen or keyboard, not both. I don't really care either way because i'm getting the Nexus One when it comes to Verizon!!!!

to me it seems like its going to be difficult to text on because the bottom of the phone has an arch like the RaZr. seems like its going to get in the way of the space and shift buttons.

That better not have the shurepress keypad

It all depends on how thick this thing is, I don't cry about the weight like others. Also, details on OS are vital to success.

I kinda like this design but would prefer a horizontal slider...

I kinda like this design but would prefer a horizontal slider...

Portrait sliders are sooooooooooooo much better than landscape....

I've thought of this exact design and have been waiting for it. My next blackberry! Unless it turns out to suck for some unforeseen reason, like trying to make it a slider phone AND touchscreen.

I've had Blackberry's from 7200's and 8400's through a pearl, 8800, 8300 and now my 8900. Much as I love the 8900, I've been thinking that a larger touchscreen might be nice, but that I'd also need a real keypad. So the general idea IS what I've been thinking about, but...

The vertical sliders I've been before wound up being uncomfortably top-heavy when you try to thumb-type on them. Don't recall which phone I used like that, but I do recall it being a bit annoying.

If the keyboard were wide (sliding out sideways) when the phone was "landscape" oriented, it would probably be easier to hold and operate when open. The phone would potentially feel less top heavy and I believe it would be easier to keep a comfortable grip on it.

I've been a die-hard BB fan for several years after having had a dozen other cell phones prior to Blackberry's. But I'm keeping an eye on android these days, and thinking that something like a Nexus 1 with a slide out keyboard, and at least the 1 GHz snapdragon processor would have great potential. I love my BB -- love the reliable and fast push messaging -- but I'm also anticipating Google bringing very slick integration of Google Apps to Android, along with fast email, Google Voice, etc... The decision becomes less obvious to me -- and I suspect that Google's innovation will be very aggressive.

I'm not ready to switch from Blackberry...yet. But I can see the possibility. Hoping that OS 6 and something like this new slider may change my mind -- and hoping they don't take forever to get there. Would feel weird to leave my Blackberry behind, but for the first time in years I'm seeing that as a possibility...

Let's see what this next device looks like, and when it will arrive...

ridiculous. I thought blackberry was a business phone RIM?

Looks like they're trying to compete with the android phones with that sloppy design.

I think a touchscreen would be better with a palm style design. Same blackberry just make the screen touch for those that want it and have it turn on and off for battery life and avoiding butt dials. Like all them lost prototypes blackberry magnum?...

Sliders are so outdated.

THE ONLY FATHOMABLE REASON I WOULD BUY THIS POS design.

I'm a diehard BB fan. I've converted many to the BB platform from the clutches of the evil jesus phone.

But, this?! This an abomination of design.

Like others have said, "trackpad on a touchscreen? for why?"

It looks like it will be too top heavy upon opening to type. I doubt RIM hired an ergonomics professional for the design of this monstrosity.

If OS6 and WebKit were on it and the reviews were favorable, I'd contemplating getting ridiculed from my friends and family everytime I whipped out this phone. And it hurt to call this design a phone.

i like my bbs.... but damit that is ugly

my .02

i feel like there could be as many issues with this as there were with the storm 1, the fact that RIM changes some devices (Storm and Bold), after the 1st generation...kinda makes me wonder what itll be like when it comes out, then what itll be like when they decide to come out with a second device.

I think it looks cool.

Like others have said, looks like the bezel is rather oversized and 360x480 seems like a pretty low resolution for a bigger screen like that.

These people who say it looks great??!! Seriously? Go look at all the other sliders out there. 90% of them are cheap and not well constructed. Sliders seem to be the rave of 13 year olds everywhere. Have you seen a Pre lately? Cheap.

all it really is:
blackberry trying to get after a younger crowd i believe. i would look into the mechanics of it first tho

it reminds me of my eten m600............

These ones?

C'mon!

Wow so much negative comments about this.... Personally i like it a lot, and if it comes to AT&T i will get it in a heartbeat

It was ugly yesterday and it's still ugly today.

Not sure what all the hate is for. It looks pretty interesting to me. Running OS 6, I'm sure it has some surprises in store......

theres no way on earth this is a blackberry its more of a breakberry. any phone with sliding parts is a no go for me, its weak, cheep and it could never withstand drops also what case will protect this? all those moving parts, keep it real dont be a clone a cheep one. RIM you can do much better than this or swwuk. looks like the days for good designs are over, the optical pad is cool but this design gots to go. im never going to waste money on something like this. I had a tilt ppc that pic reminds me to much of it. and it gave to many problems, so i know where this is going. however good luck.

ugly square looking. Come on Rim thats why we like bb's because they do not look like this ugly square thick thing in these pics. If rims going to do it they need to do it right with a sleeker very thin phone(like iphone thin) other wise its going to be a no go for most of us.

Any idea wat carrier this wood be on???

I don't get it, its big, its ugly and it doesn't look like a Blackberry. It need to slide out the other side, like the Droid.

Being the ONLY IT guy in my office I get to play around with a lot of my co-worker's devices. I just set up a Palm Pre to work with our Exchange Server a couple of weeks ago and I think this new BB is VERY similar to the Palm Pre.

I worked with the Pre for a couple of hours and I liked the overall size of the phone and the slider mechanism actually worked well to. What I didn't like was the Palm Pre keyboard because the keys were SMALLER than the keys on my Bold 9700 AND the bottom edge of the screen is too close to the top row of keys so if you're typing on the keyboard your thumbs will hit the bottom edge of the screen.......NO GOOD!

The touchscreen on the Palm Pre was fun to play around with but I'm not sure if I would want a Blackberry with a touchscreen.

However.....my Wife's mouth is watering for a touchscreen Blackberry and she is totally excited about this build.

...and ugly!

No thanks. Next BB please!

It looks okay when it's closed, but I really don't like it when it's open.

These pics are much better and have now peaked my curiosity.

u aint got no alibi. u ugly.

I smell ocean-tooth 4.0 on this device

Ain't that a coincidence

SMH

This makes me love my 9550 even more. OH NO THEY DIDN'T go and put a 75'FORD LTD bumper kit on this joint, but wait, they did. Damn,damn, damn.... Oh well there's always the new browser to look forward to.

I like the concept but why would you have that long a screen and have a vertical sliding keyboard its going to make the phone kind of awkward to use. Also if its a touch screen why have the optical track pad when you can just touch the screen to navigate. I'm hoping this is just a prototype.

Fucki*g UGLY!!!!! WTF????????????

I think I saw the exact same model in "Chuck - Season 3, Episode 8" which aired March 1st 2010. It didnt look bad infield, I kinda liked it, although I dont dig the design...

Haaaha I'm gonna laugh if I see people talking with this huge brick up to there face. Its so big! As she says.

who comes up with these poll answers?? Horrible.

I live in Sweden and own a 9000 and love it. (Even though there is no BB App World available for us in Sweden)I use it for work, but a little for play as well. However, in a few months I will get a new phone and I would love to stay with BB and specifically something with both a large screen with high res. as well as physical keyboard. However; Why wouldn't RIM go for landscape qwerty and landscape screen mode? Some would claim that "it wouldn't be true to the BB from factor" or " It wouldn't be a typical RIM device". I say: considering the competition and the user-experience the above features offer, it doesn't seem like a good idea to go the same way Palm gone. Now THAT is not much BB either. To me, it is also about evolution. Holding to old ways has never been a good solution.
Another concern is the lack of good balance while holding the device while typing which I do a lot. The screen seems to heavy because of its form factor and seem to provide a lack of good balance while using the physical keyboard. I think BB has a great OS, but the UI, and hardware need enhancement to be a serious contender also in the non-business market. And what about the bad YouTube experience with that awful resolution? I demand more and am ready to pay for more. So let's go RIM!

I like touch screens myself. More easy to navigate and really does make a smartphone truly smart by just giving your the usable buttons that you really need. Some people have trouble typing on a full size keyboard on a screen, but the slide out keyboard works out well. Though I would like to see it horizontal than vertical. It's reminding me of those old late '90s phones and I thought this was 10 years past that. I think I'll wait 'til the second coming of this phone, if RIM does that.

I think it's precisely what's needed. Handheld devices should be touch screen - it just makes sense - and physical keyboards are irreplaceable.
Could it look a little more attractive? Probably, and like any line will improve with every iteration but it's a great start and i would get one at day 1!

Shouldn't there have been an 4th option in the poll for preferring a side slide out key board?

This phone looks sick!!!! Things I'd love to see on this phone...
1) Mms built into the threaded text (like windows phones)
2) BB 6.0
3) 5.0 mp camera with dual led flash.
4) More built in effects for the camera like fish eye & other fx.
5) Better processor like a 1 gig snapdragon or at least 800 gig.
6) A 1850 mghz battery.
7) Solid metal battery cover.
8) External micro sd slot.
9) 16 gig internal memory with up to 32 gig external.

I doubt these will be added but I think all those factors would make this phone the best on the market.

Why not just charge it up?

its gonna be way to big!
having a storm and half a bold makes it huge when slided out!

way to big for me!

dont see the appeal of a slider id prefere the bold with a bigger touchscreen instead aka magnum/dakota style

Is it touchscreen?, if so that would be a major bonus, I have the 8900 curve but like the Storms bigger screen for browsing the web in landscape mode, but don't like composing emails on a touchscreen, this looks as though it has merged the two, if this is the case then I personaly would have this phone, (in my opinion, the iphone/storm.. touchscreen only, not for me due to lack of keypad, but love the screen size, the pearl..seriously too small for serious browsing, the curve/bold great on both counts, although the screen could be larger, but not the handset, so this is where the new phone fills the gap)

but i think it looks hidious...c'mon...bold slider..its a joke><

Imate PDA2K made by HTC had the same design and flopped badly, I cant understand why RIM have to make the same mistake as this design is not convenient at all when it comes to typing on such design.

You have to hold the both sides tightly to type, what a person would do whether to concerntrate holding the device or concerntrate on typing?

The best solution for Touch plus physical Keyboard is to use the design of PALM 750.

It was highly successfull as well as convenient to type.

I kinda like the design of this one. But I'll wait till I know what the specs are. By the way, everybody is saying that a horizontal slider would be much better, but with that, what about the keyboard size? Personally, I had a horizontal slider (HTC) and typing was not really convenient because of the keyboard size. How do you see this keyboard then? More Boldesque or Curvesque?

What RIM needs is a better internet browser, not a slider gimmick. It doesn't matter how big the screen is in a slider form, if the browser is still the same, slow, antiquated one we love to hate. While we're on the subject of new technologies, why hasn't anyone come up with a trackball replacement that can function as trackpad? I mean, the trackball right now comes off and is replaceable; so why can't someone build a product that replaces the trackball with a trackpad?

Wow sure looks like the phone i had 5 or 6 years ago. Anyone remember the windows based VX6600 by Audiovox. This is not a new design it's an old stollen idea that was top heavy when slid out. Sorry how about something really new!

What's up with the "green phone button up/green phone button down" jazz? Can't RIM settle on which direction the phone-like-u-shape should face? Oh, by the way...it's a nice looking phone.

I dunno. These pics are a little better, but it still looks "funny" as in something's not quite right. I worry about balance (I know that was a bit of an issue with the Flip). I also worry about the durability of the slider mechanism.

Personally with a screen that large I would think it would be a landscape slider. This allows for a wide-screen experience for media as well as browsing and emails. It would also allow for a slightly roomier keyboard without trying to jam it all into a width restricted by the slider mechanism.

Good concept. Can I see the next version please?

Looks like the pocket PCs that i used to buy a long time back, it has 0 innovation, looks stupidly large, scratches easily with all that chrome looking body.

And why isn't RIM producing anything with a Video call capability? the real 3g stuff !!!

Come on RIM wake up and do something extra, i have been a loyal blackberrian for the past 2 years, from the 8320, 9000, 8900, back to 9000 and then 9700 and now again back to 9000.

This phone does not make sense at all, add more ram and space? where is the real upgrades like what we had on the bold !

I seriously doubt that thing will be a Touchscreen phone.

This is definitely not a touchscreen phone. RIM would not have included a track pad. They have also stated that surepress is not going away and you can easily see that the screen cannot be depressed. These are for people who want the screen realeastate without having to deal with touchscreen. Thet are catoring to the physical keyboard lovers with this one.

I am wondering if this phone is gong to be a little top heavy when typing on the keyboard. It would be a pain having to hold up the weight of the screen as you type.

i agree with most, I think the design needs some work. If it slid out sideways instead of long ways it may have a better look to it. I like the fact that it doesnt have sure press, but in that case yeah, im wondering what the track pad is there for.

Or is it just a slider with a big (well really not that big from the looks of it) screen and a touchpad???

Don't get me wrong - I love BB's but I think they need to hire a designer for more contemporary looking. There has not been any significant changes for many years. Even Storm... still the same look.

Notice the green phone button? the Green picture is pointing up, isnt it pointing down and more phone shaped on Blackbery? It is on my Storm.

I have been using BB for 9 years, last keyboard device was the Tour before I moved to the Storm 2. I tried the full keyboard on the Storm 2 at first but found a lot mor errors than with the physical keyboard so I went to the the 'reduced keyboard' format and havent looked back since.

A friend of mine has the Droid and never uses the slide out keyboard, he loves the reduced keyboard on mine and is trying to figure out how to get it, or something similar, on his Droid.

Voice input has also improved a lot (Bing works great) so it's touch and voice for me all the way.

T

I just purchased my first Blackberry Smartphone (9630 Tour). It is awesome, can't believe it took me this long to get one. Everything about it fits into my lifestyle, whether business or pleasure.

YOU KNOW I SAID I WOULD BUY IT IF IT CAME TO MY CARRIER. LETS SAY IT GOES TO ATT, I WOULD SAY GOOD BYE TO SPRINT GET THE WIFE HER STUPID I PHONE SHE JUST HAS TO HAVE, AND SAY HELLO ATT.

If I could have one of every BlackBerry out there, I would!

The more i see pics of this device the more i think i want one!

um im assumiing it has a micro USB port, why doesnt the guy just plug it in and charge the battery if it is dead?? Or does he mean dead as in it doesnt work???

I'm having a love/hate feeling about this but uhh has any1 noticed the talk key is upside down?!? Let me not get my hopes up like with the Magnum :/

Like many other readers, I'd prefer it to be more of a Storm with a slide out horizontal keyboard. However, the more I look at this design, the more I am accepting of it. The only part I'm not liking is the top of the phone. The top looks too industrial compared to more modern models like the 9700. It also has that really small indicator light from the 8520. Given the model number of 9700a, I'm going to believe that the specs will be on par with a 9700.

It's almost there, but I hope RIM's design team steps in and makes a few changes.

if the phone cannot be powered on how do we know it is not surepress. surepress screens lock and do not click when turned off, is this not correct??

OMG , somebody shoot that phone , its not a phone its a "thing" an an ugly one at that , and the talk key is upside down even wtf is that about ,lol :p

... the final product and functionality remains to be seen.

I kinda like the idea of using it in the compacted mode to read email and surfe the net, use the phone etc... then just slide out the keypad when i want to reply, chat, etc....

Length wise or side slide, if its only out when typing it sounds functional...

I certainly would not be impressed if i have to hold the extended keyboard to my face to make a call......

I would rather see a horizontal slide with a larger keyboard????

This is a great idea but I think that a horizontal keyboard might be more liked and efficient

Im not sure why i would want to have a trackpad and touchscreen....I can sorta see the reasoning for it but it just seems wierd. Do storm users normally wish they also had a trackpad with the touchscreen

i'd buy this right away if it was available...

I have been waiting for the touch screen to come to Tmobile for years I will take one now!

If memory serves me right, this looks like the htc blue angel. there were sim versions and cdma you can check it out at http://forum.xda-developers.com/

big screen on the phone. it has a 400 mhz cpu and little memory but you were able to put aps on the sd card. I have two of them collecting dust. folks at xda have the newest wm 6.5 running on it.

That thing has a chin like it was an google phone. I kinda like it. Just need to make one or two major changes and we are good to go.

wish is slid up the landscape way, this is similar to the samsung flight...not feelin it.

I'm pretty sure it is a touch screen with a trackpad. Look at the samsung moment. It runs android, full touch screen, full physical keyboard & track pad. The track pad w/ touch screen & directional keys on the keyboard back web browsing easier cause you have more options.

Is that the mic under the left caps button? If it is, are you even going to be able to be heard on it when it's closed?

i want one now!!

I think people are forgetting one important thing here... its not even a phone yet! Its the first attempt at a slider.. of course its gonna have things that could be changed. RIM tried to be creative and give us somethin new and all people do is complain. I'm very excited to see the end result!

It seems like RIM threw a Bold 9700 and a Storm 2 in a blender and came up with this.

Honestly, I like it. I think you get the best of touchscreen use with the availability of a keyboard and trackpad.

I'm looking forward to it. Here's hoping it comes to Verizon.

Big screen with pull out keyboard equals AWESOME!!! Naviagte on the web with that screen and type faster with the keyboard. I have tried typing on the touch screen is just not the same as physical keyboard. Best thing to ever come out!!

The poll mixed liking the design with a definite purchase if the device becomes available. Bad polling, imho. :)

I like the device.

But, there is more to a device than the form factor. Once I move to Android, I'll gladly watch developments on the BB side, but it will take a great deal more than form factor to bring me back to BB.

IDK man. I don't mean to sound too skeptical...but it looks kind of fake to me. Almost looks hand made. Look closely at the keyboard. It doesn't match the housing. Also, the ear speaker looks a little funny and the fact that the screen isn't powered on doesn't help. I'd like to see some pics with the battery door off and/or the screen powered on.

Isn't the led also the ambient light sensor? wouldn't it being smaller be a disadvantage for auto dimming option? just my 2 cents. And I think its an ugly BB.

Yes we need more screen real estate, excellent move RIM. If we could just get you to Drop the OS for the touch screen phones and move to something like Android or Maemo with the Blackberry App suite snapped in. What a product!!

So before I got my BlackBerry Storm about, 6 months ago, I'd been using a LG Dare for a year and a half (Yes I am Very fond of Touch Screens... looking for a touch screen laptop now any suggestions?). I have to confess, the upgrade has been a very very good one. After using the standard touch screen on the Dare then switching to the SurePress screen on the Storm it is very unlikely I will ever prefer a standard touch screen again...
As for how this ties into this Slider BB... If I were to design a slider BB it would first of all have the SureTouch screen as on the storm and storm2 because it is so much more user friendly, for me at least, than a standard touch screen. Also rather than sliding vertically as this one does, it would slide horizontally and tilt as with the HTC Tilt... That would be my Ideal BB Slider Phone...

People, this phone is ugly because of the 3 different colors they used on it. If every part of the phone was as black as the trackpad, on they didn't have that much space to surround the touchscreen it would be good.

Well, it's simple...

If you like/d the form factor of the Palm PRE...

But didn't like its cheesy cheap plastic-y construction -

And didn't like its inferior keyboard -

And didn't want to invest the time and energy learning a completely new and slightly complex OS -

And didn't want to give up your beloved BB email -

Then this is a very cool phone.

And.....

If your sick of all your friends with iPhones or Droids making fun of your tiny and insubstantial browser -

And if you are honest enough to admit that while RIM does certain business and communications functions, both software and hardware, very very well, but by the same token their technological innovation - not to mention their simply "FUN" factor - has been on the less-than-adequate (pitiful) side lately....

Then this becomes an even cooler phone.

No, sliders aren't original.

But the combination of a superior/superb physical QWERTY keyboard - plus a (hopefully) rocking, powerful and innovative new BB OS (6.0) - plus the imlementation of a new BB Webkit-based browser which (finally) will be competitive with other smartphone offerings - plus a larger screen that really works (no offense Storm owners) -

All of this means that, originality aside, this new BB phone could really rock.

Assuming that you're the kind of person to and for whom all of its features make sense.

I am.

So my only comment about this new BB slider is.....

Finally!

-Miguel

P.S. It had better come out on T-Mobile....or else!

It reminds me of an HTC Windows Mobile or Pocket PC Phone I owned quite a few years ago.

I love the way it looks I want it... Where can I get it???? Email me lgreen2211@gmail.com

looking at the second picture, it looks like, although closed height is close on par with the 8900, that picture laying down this slider looks considerably thinker than the 8900, which could be a big deal killer for a lot of people. I really hope this isn't the final build from a hardware standpoint. i agree with a lot of the commenters that they should really roll the dice with a design. oh well. i'll just wait for 5.0 for my tour and stay happy since the cb say this is most likely a gsm phone.

It's an updated samsung I-730.

http://www.wirefly.com/catalog/verizon_wireless/samsung/i730/

I have been wanting a blackberry on att with a larger screen. I think this model would fit perfectly. I also like the looks and portrait design

whats it look like from the back??

I just hope to Holy-Hell that they put all the goodies into it instead of half-you-know-what with the, ohhh, no WiFi...or, oh, 1.3MP camera w/o video. Another cool idea would be a spinner keypad that rotates 90 degrees to give you a panorama screen instead of tabloid! Not that I'm defecting from the BB, but the orientation sensor in the iPhone would be really cool here too!

UGLIEST PHONE EVER

People, quit mentioning the upside down talk/green button! Its how rim does it now. See the Bold 9700 for example! Its not upside down!

My initial reaction was no. Now I'm thinking, "eh, I'd like to play with it". What turns me off is the idea of losing that 'one-handed experience'- and having to stop walking or whatever, slide it out, and do stuff, as opposed to my usual 1 hand fury! I don't really think it's ugly, and beyond that the os and core apps updates (read:BROWSER,DANGIT!) would be the selling points. I love the big screen. So is this thing going to be too top heavy and beastly for me to use it like I do other berries?

Now I love my blackberry phones and concepts, but this phone appears to be to long. Similar to old school cell phones! I wouldn't mind the touchscreen part but I wish the keyboard was horizontal. If this were released, I would not buy this.

I love the opportunity to have a touch keyboard, and a physical sliding keyboard. However, this tiny keyboard doesn't work. If they went with a landscape style slider I would most definitely consider it as my next blackberry. I will not even consider this one. Storm 2 style with slide out landscape keyboard!

me using blackberry phones alot just leads me to believe that they will make this phone AMAZING!!! blackberry phones are beyond great. so this should be just as equally awesome.

I personally think they need to make a cross between the blackberry curve/tour and the samsung alias. A phone that still looks like the original yet opens up like a laptop to a full screen and a full qwerty keyboard with a track pad on both for a more laptop type feel and familiarity. Add to that a more powerfull processor and an all together more powerful and faster phone to compete and blow the competition out of the water. Thats just one mans opinion though.

Ridiculous and unnecessary. Next, please.

it looks nice, but i would actually have to type on it first. kinda looks like the part of the phone where the keyboard is, is kinda slim and wouldnt make for comfortable typing