Friday Fun Photo - Is this the BlackBerry London??

Take this for what you will, but forums member czhy6618 has posted up the above image of what claims to be the 2012 BlackBerry London. We're thinking this is more of a Photoshop than an actual retail box, but you be the judge. In case you don't already know, the BlackBerry London is the codename for the first BBX BlackBerry 10 device we saw way back in November. The image here does look pretty darn close to the original photo leaked phot0, so we're not really sold that it's totally legit. 

Check it out, analyze it then drop a comment with your thoughts. Don't forget, BlackBerry World 2012 is only a few days away so hopefully we'll have plenty of BlackBerry 10 fun to report in the next week :-)

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In a recent interview with FireceWireless, AT&T chief marketing officer David Christopher weighed in on the current situation at Research In Motion. Christopher noted that AT&T believes consumers want choice, which is why they hope that RIM will bounce back. "We want RIM to succeed. We like choice," Christopher said. "They have a strong base. But they have to innovate quickly and execute.". Currently AT&T carries five BlackBerry smartphones, all of which are the latest BlackBerry 7 devices (Bold 9900, Torch 9810, Curve 9360 and Torch 9860) with the exception of the older Curve 3G. 

With the upcoming release of BlackBerry 10 devices like the BlackBerry London, things should certainly pick up across the board for both RIM and the carriers. If the things we've heard and seen thus far are any indication, the next generation devices from RIM will no doubt be strong sellers against the likes of the iPhone and Android devices. Newly branded RIM CEO Thorsten Heins has already said in his interview with Kevin that there are new structures in place which will help greatly in bringing products to maket on time -- so combining the new strategy with BlackBerry 10 phones, RIM should have no problem with either innovating or executing as we move forward. (Take THAT AT&T!)

Source: FierceWireless

Since we first posted our 2012 BBX BlackBerry Preview some new info has come to light that changes things up a bit. For the most part we knew what was coming device-wise but our timeline was a bit off. Now some other devices have come into play and some dates have been shuffled around a bit. We can expect to see some new BlackBerry 7 devices in the Curve line, a new updated BlackBerry PlayBook as well as at least one BlackBerry 10 (oh yeah, RIM changed the name of BBX to BlackBerry 10 too) phone hit before the end of 2012. Keep reading and we'll take a look at what to expect in the coming months.

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Things are looking pretty good for the BlackBerry 10 Smartphones rumored to be released in 2012. A few weeks ago, we got our first look at BlackBerry London, and then a sneak peek at the BlackBerry Milan. Both phones feature a distinctive angular styling with some nice silver accents. Design aesthetics aside, one question on our BlackBerry tour of Europe remains prominent: where are the buttons?

Except for the keyboard, one of the most-recognizable aspects of a BlackBerry is its buttons. Call, menu, back, and end/home are so crucial to the BlackBerry experience that it's hard to imagine using a Research In Motion Smartphone without them. And no trackpad either? How in the world does RIM expect people to use these phones?

The buttons on a BlackBerry make it very easy to use the phone with only one hand. Everything is but a thumb movement away. Without the almost iconic buttons, will you be forced to do everything on the BlackBerry with two hands? Will people be required to do the BlackBerry Prayer every time they use the device?

As both a BlackBerry PlayBook owner and a Torch 9860 user, I have a little experience in using full touchscreen devices. I'm confident that after a short adjustment period, most people won't even miss those buttons - one-handed use or not.

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On a day when shares of Research In Motion closed almost 10% down after the company adjusted its forecast, the timing feels right to take a look at what's in store for RIM in 2012 on the BBX device front. As Chris pointed out in his finance editorial earlier today following up on RIM's announcement, it's fairly clear that BlackBerry 7 Smartphones, while doing ok, are not quite the cash cow RIM was hoping for. 2012 needs to be a year dominated by hot selling BBX devices.

As for BlackBerry 7 Smartphones, with the recent releases of the BlackBerry Bold 9790 and Curve 9380, we are now caught up on the BlackBerry 2011 Roadmap we posted way back in early February of this year. Between the Bold 9930/9900/9790, Torch 9860/9850/9810, Curve 9380/9370/9360 and the exclusive P'9981, there's really no shortage of BlackBerry 7 Smartphones to choose from.

But what's 2012 going to look like for BBX?

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December is here which means it's time for yet another amazing CrackBerry Santa contest. With BlackBerry 7 Smartphones already on the market and much of CrackBerry Nation having already upgraded to the latest phones available, we decided the ultimate BlackBerry present to give away this Christmas would be something not yet available.

The Prize: 2012 will bring forth the release of the next generation of BlackBerry - the BBX Smartphone (or SuperPhone as I like to call it). We've already seen photos of the first BBX BlackBerry, which goes by the codename "london", and while it hasn't been officially announced yet, we know it's coming early in the year and that's what we're giving away! That's right. This holiday season one lucky CrackBerry member will win an IOU for a free BBX BlackBerry. As soon as it's available for purchase, we'll buy one and get it to you, just like that.

How to Enter: To enter, all you need to do is login to CrackBerry.com and leave a comment to this post and you'll be entered to win. Easy. And if you're not already a member of CrackBerry.com, what are you waiting for? You can register here for free! Contest open worldwide. We'll announce the winner New Year's Day. Please just leave ONE COMMENT per user (if you leave more, only the first will be counted as entry).

That's it. Good luck. And on behalf of the team at CrackBerry.com, Happy Holidays!!!

So the word floating around the interwebz today is that the official product name for the first BBX Smartphone from Research In Motion (currently codenamed BlackBerry "London") will be the BlackBerry SurfBoard. Personally, I don't believe it. I have more faith in RIM's marketing and branding department than that, whether or not RIM already has thet trademark on the name. And if it is true, let me just say right now that has time to change it, and should change it.

Take a vote on the poll above and let us know where you stand on this name issue. I really hope that when we see the first BBX phone get announced by RIM in 2012 it's to a name other than SurfBoard. /end rant 

Source: BBOS via TechCrunch

On Monday we caught our first glimpse of BlackBerry "London", but the photo only showed off the front of the phone. We've been scratching our heads all week trying to figure out what the back of the phone looks like... could the first BBX BlackBerry be hiding some secret new feature that will help it leapfrog the competition when it hits the market?

We know QNX has a history in automotive, and between London's angular corners and silver/black color scheme and futuristic look, we couldn't help but be reminded of the DeLorean from Back to the Future (see pics).

Then it hit us. We know what BlackBerry London is packing on it's back... Mike Lazaridis has managed to shoehorn a flux capacitor in there! 1.21 giggawatt BlackBerry anyone?? :)

* Update: Checked with some of my sources and the photo above is definitely legit. That's not to say things won't get tweaked up by the time it goes into production runs, but it's definitely a legit BlackBerry design. *

Exciting day in BlackBerry land! CrackBerry fans have been waiting a long time to get a good look at the first BBX BlackBerry, and today we finally have our first glimpse. The Verge posted the photo they were given of what is apparently a dummy model of BlackBerry "london" with a fairly big disclaimer that it could be fake. BGR followed up with a post saying it's legit and it definitely matches the evolution of the description of what we've been hearing on the first full touchscreen BBX phone (remember - the original Colt was scrapped). 

So **assuming** the first full touchscreen BlackBerry with BBX will hit the market looking more or less like the phone in the picture above, the thing I want to know is what do you think?! Love it? Hate it? Not sure?? With the silver framing it definitely gives off a feeling of the Porsche P'9981 BlackBerry, but it's not so hard to imagine the device in a more traditional all black color scheme.

Overall I think I'm liking it. There's a lot of bezel, but you're going to need a decently sized bezel to take advantage of all the swipe gestures in BBX. It's an edgy look and I think RIM needs their BBX phones to be a little edgy to stand out in the crowd (hhmmm... BlackBerry Edge might be a decent product name for this one?!). Vote on our poll above and let us know where you stand on it so far.

All I know is seeing this makes me want to jump on a plane tomorrow and fly to Waterloo to try and get my hands on one!

* Update from Kevin:  Checked with some of my sources and the photo above is definitely legit. That's not to say things won't get tweaked up by the time it goes into production runs, but it's definitely a legit BlackBerry design. *

Whoa! Here we go. For the past little while we've been hearing plenty of code names floating around for the next generation of BlackBerry devices. The BlackBerry Colt of course, was one of the first ones, but there have been a few others. Milan, Lisban and more specifically, a device codenamed 'London' was suggested as being tested internally and that -- is what is purported to be shown above. When it comes to specs, it is said to be running a a TI OMAP dual-core CPU clocked to 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage with an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front facing camera.

Looking at the device, it shows clear signs of the Porsche P'9981, but has a more toned down look to it. The information suggests it is boxier then the image would have you believe as it can stand straight up on one of its sides. While fun to look at, it's noted as being a dummy model which could explain the screen looking much less than bright and vivid, but clearly the intention here is to show it running on QNX / BBX.

So, is this a next generation BlackBerry that will reach consumers' hands? Possibly another Porsche design or -- the remains of one? We're not sure. Either way, it's not as offensive to me as the P'9981 -- but what do you all think?

Source: The Verge