* Update, March 17th 2009: READ OUR HANDS-ON REVIEW OF THE BLACKBERRY 9630 WORLD EDITION >> *
(The CrackBerry World needs to see a photo of a real 9630...
If you have one you can send it in here!)
BGR posted some new details yesterday about the eagerly-anticipated upcoming full-qwerty BlackBerry, codenamed "Niagra".
Word is the device model for the Niagra will be the 9630. The device is a bit of a Bold/Curve 8900 hybrid, so both 9030 or 8930, while sorta logical device model extensions, don't quite fit the bill. The 9630 model number makes me really curious as to what the branding of the device will ultimately be. I sort of always assumed this would be the CDMA Bold, but maybe it will go to market otherwise.
Other BIG news for at least the Verizon version of the 9630... it'll be a World Edition phone and apparently will NOT have WiFi. We know that at least some pre-production versions of the Niagra have had WiFi on them, so if Verizon releases it without WiFi you know it's not a technical limitation on RIM's part.
BGR's source also said the OS on the device is version 4.7.1, though depending on release date it could hit as the re-branded OS 5.0 (tied to the release of BES 5.0). 4.7.1 seems a little strange to read when you think of the Storm's touchscreen OS as being version 4.7, but it makes sense when you take the Application Center (not app storefront) into account. Thinking back to my interview with RIM's Jeff McDowell at Dev Con, it was said that the Application Center would ship on all devices with 4.7 and newer, and I'm sure Verizon and other carriers will want it on this device.
No word on official release date yet. Jump over to BoyGeniusReport for more details.
