O-oh, looks like Apple's magic power is running out..

The things that bothers me most with the new BBs are the lack of front camera as much as the lack of flash support. I can live without a little slowest CPU (since 1.2Ghz is very good anyway), and the 720p recording.

availability - *sniffle* aww someone give the pre3 a cuddle

I have been hesitating between a BB7 device and the originally supposed "iphone 5" recently, now thanks to their 4S, no bothering any more. i definitely want a new BB!!

I wouldn't get too excited about the bbx vs. Iphone 4s. By then I think it will have to stand up to iphone 5. I'll be impressed if the phone comes out as soons as advertised and I hope it happens. The only problem is that RIM hasn't given us a reason to trust one of their projected release dates.

Two things. I totally agree with the article saying they did just what RIM did just updating an existing model. I wonder if the press will start calling for sell off of Apple now, lol.

Additionally, as boring as this update is, I can't help but notice that its still ahead of RIM's flagship model. Disappointing.

I was a bit worried while waiting for the new iPhone 5 which I presumed was going to be the new benchmark. But it hasn't happened which makes my BB9900 all the more impressive - sure its behind in a few areas but most of those are not that relevant [like front facing camera or the primary camera that is 8MP or more] to me.
If BB can bring out its next gen phones before June next year [ which i guess is the earliest an iPhone 5 will appear] then they will easily be back at the top in terms of specs.

I am a BB and Apple fan but today Apple disappointed me.

There's allot of disappointment out there right now with the way things panned out with the iphone S. Especially with the people that sold their iphones in anticipation of an iphone 5 with a new design. I hope the BBX devices are sweet, but in the mean time, the Bold 9930 is the King of style and getting Sh*t done.

The biggest problem of the Bold 9900? The crappy camera and weak battery. Very disapointing, RIM...

Meh....I'll stick with BB.

Cheers for that though Apple...good work...

well now that we see the specs for iphone 4S, im pretty sure that the new BBX superphone will have better specs...it has too!!

Yes, thanks for pointing out that blackberry still falls short in every category. I love my bb,would take it anyday over an iphone, but I'm just sayin, there's plenty of room for improvement...

Innovation running out? This has a dual core processor and that is nice but my BlackBerry Bold just zips through everything.
The BBX phone is going to crush this and we will get a glimpse this month.

The BB still has better e-mail, messaging, and security.

The main problem with apple is that they want to rope you in to their eco-system and pretend they have a sense of inevitability but android is already kickiing their ass. I call it iClaustrophobia when you try to use a friends charger at work and they don't have an apple plug.

The BB manages information better and the shortcuts are all about efficiency.

I love my blackberry but it sucks to see their specs are still below the competition. I would love my new torch to have a dual core processor.

Love my BlackBerry but damn those SII specs are nice.

Omg what a dead phone. Everyone was excited and now look at this shet!

I am surprised at Apple today. While the 4S is "better" than the 4, the 4 compared to the 3GS was a huge jump. I mean the jump from the 9900/9930 from the 9780 was huge as well.

I guess people are used to Apple just blowing away people's minds.

Its all good though. These new 4S's will still sell like hotcakes anyway.

I don't believe that people are bashing Apple for this update. It's been obviously a commerical decision and why do people want a quad core in a mobile phone? It sounds to me that people see the contemporary mobile phones as status objects. Every phone fullfils a purpose for me. That is email, bit of internet and, unthinkably making phone calls!

I can't believe that people don't see that. Nowadays the hype created exceeds the realistic expectations quite dramatically. Interesting to monitor but if people don't like it they can stick with their old phones which still do the job and get over the created desire to buy a new phone. Same for some BlackBerry users who are ditching RIM because of their phone line up. A phone is there to make phone calls. And a BlackBerry is great for emailing and has cought up with web browsing. Would I switch to android because of a monster LCD screen for surfing? No because if I do surf it's for fun and everywhere else I've got my laptop, am driving etc.

Stone me for this but thanks to the forum hype and the daydreams of most of us we're disappointed if we've to face reality.

Here is apples problem.

People that don't care for video games or movies on their phones as the top priority will see the OS7 devices and love the keyboard, the replaceable battery option, the SD card option. Also the security and real time push info.

People that want to play games and videos on their phone as the top priority will see the top of the line androids and go with it. Look at the specs on the SSI.

Apples new iPhone is about as boring as they come.

Sorry Apple, you painted yourself into a corner with your standard model so apps would work well. Now you can't change without losing your app advantage.

Waiting for the day the media jumps all over Apple for this release. There is nothing innovative about the phone. I hope they preach about how Apple needs to just shut their doors now since they arnt cutting edge and its just the same old iPhone.

RIM's developer conference in a couple of weeks will not look so bad now. As far as timing goes.

even the plain iphon4 beats the bb 9900 in every way, not to mention 4s

I really like the OS7 phones but still waiting to see the qnx blackberrys and yes theyt are lacking the front facing camera.. But iphone 4s having a 8 megapixel camera now that is impressive but still identical to the iphone 4.. Hmmm I bet the qnx blackberry gonna get 8 megapixel camera and and front facing camera then that's a for sure gonna get one :)

LOL !! Love the 'never' designation for Flash on the iPhone.

Kevin,
You should do a comparison to the 9850/9860 devices alongside the new iPhone 4s specs.
Full touch screen vs full touch screen. I get compliments on my 9850 all the time when people realize its a BB device. The resolution of the screen is incredible, and has decent battery life for the abuse I give it daily.

If they tweaked the design, and called it 5, would it have made it a better phone? More productive?

No. They have stuck with a design that the majority like, good business decision.

If the Torch had these specs, I dare say most would be thinking all their christmas's had come at once!

This phone is not going to feel a lot different from the regular iPhone 4 in the real world. Sure it has faster CPU and gfx but most app developers don't tap into that because it makes more sense to develop apps that run on all iPhones rather than just that one faster one. The phone may feel a bit snappier but overall I don't expect a huge difference compared to the iPhone 4 sans S.

I agree that the camera seems great but all I personally use my phone for is stupid snapshots and for that even the Bold's mediocre camera is fine for me. When I want to take a real photo I bring out my DSLR.

I think if RIM can pick hardware components that are on par with Apple's and the latest Android phones for the BBX devices and delive on the promises made when it comes to the v2 OS things could get quite interesting.

For now the iPhone 4S does not make me regret getting a Bold 9930. Not at all.

Today Apple pulled a RIM and created their own poo by raising expectations too high and not delivering.

Now RIM pull an Apple with the Colt. Produce a good product and market the hell out of it!

Galaxy S 2 clear winner

My 9900 stays in my pocket and my iPhone 4 remains as a GPS and music device in my car... No reason to upgrade to an "s"!

I looked at the language support Siri offered and it said - English - UK, US, Australia (if my memory serves me right)

Wonder if the Siri would support an Indian accent...lol....Beat me up on this one guys, but I'm an Indian living in the US and I DO have an accent. I just see Siri calling up my boss when I say "create an appointment to take the dog to the vet next week"

I think i'll check on this feature when the iPhones out in stores a few weeks from now

Thanks to you Apple for giving RIM a second lease on life! Your upgrade sucks...now RIM needs to kill it Devcon time.

@ least now we know why apple is suing Samsung. Clearly they lack innovation. The iphone has reached the end of its product life cycle. By the time they decide to bring out the iphone 6. (4s is e iphone 5) it will be too late.

Crying lol.

The biggest thing i dont understand is the bluetooth, iphone4s gets bluetooth 4 and we are still running 2.1 and trying to sell playbooks? If we are gloating and pushing bridge as an awesome feature, why have we not moved to 4 as 3 seemed to have consumption issues.

Other than that...sweet release as i type this on my playbook :)

I personally left iphone and ipad for bb9930 and playbook combo and men I tell you it is sweet!! but that is my personal preference.If you adore your Iphone go Iblogging somewhere else.

1080pm recording?

Rim for life its re assuring that we dont have to put up with disappointments like these from rim they dont make the same phone twice and just bump the specs.
Speaking of which has there been any new on the BBX phones yet?

Iphone 3 came and then what a year later Iphone 3S?? Same thing. I don't know why people would expect any different.

Apple has to milk the money from the current iphone first before moving on.

This i4s is a very nice upgrade. iOS 5, better battery, dual core. Its basically and Iphone 5 with a iphone 4 case.

remember if you had iphone 3G S there was not enough reason to get Iphone 4.

So if you buy Iphone 4S....iphone 5 will not be that much of interest to you spec wise.

So none of you read anything in Apple's move to sue Samsung all over the world? They knew they had nothing in the bag to fight back. Look at the SII specs and yet it has been around for ages.

I really want the bold 9900 but the iphone offers so much more... indecisive

Handset manufacturers have still not learned that it is the software and the ecosystem that makes the iPhone so attractive. Application availability and ease of management and installation are unparalleled.

The BB software Development Kit (SDK) contains 22 different screen display formats and resolutions - a nightmare to program to. Combined with at least 5 different and mutually incompatible processors, the developer environment for BB is fragmented so bad that it makes little sense to develop anything there.

The IT industry keeps repeating those mistakes as well. UNIX had a mature product when Windows was in it's infancy, but they fragmented the market so bad, UNIX was relegated to a niche and server status. Android is following that same path.

It is not the handset - it is the entire experience, and until others learn that the entire ecosystem, from development to user experience to desktop integration, alls works smoothly, the iPhone will continue to dominate, including platform retention, which is a major failing of Android.

The iPhone4S just makes everything that much better, faster, etc. - a market winner, regardless of the techno-geek analysis.

gotta love Kevin's " And it looks identical to the iPhone 4. Oops, did I say that twice? Yeah, I meant to. :)" jab.

I do think thats a major flaw in this announcement coz people using iDevices are supposed to be 'cool' and in their mind theres nothing cool in having identical device from 1.5 years ago i guess. Unless they come up with pink iPhones to differentiate the new one.... If they do I bet people will buy the pink ones just to make it look different than the 4

A QNX BB would smoke the 4S. The door is open for RIM to win!

iCloud, Siri, easy to use, and expensive? Sounds like Apple just bought another product life cycle to me. They will buy it like crazy but it has 2 weak spots. No.(1) It looks exactly like the iPhone 4 so the kids will not be pissing their pants to own one because holding it in your hand will impress no one. No.(2) I don't really care why they call it (4S) instead of (5), letting the general public think it will be (5) and springing the name change on them at the last minute bolsters problem No.(1). Can you here them now? Dam!!!! I wanted the new phone and they just upgraded the (4)!!!!!! Apple just hit flight altitude and will be climbing no longer, just cruising along like many companies do when they peak. I still believe it will not be so easy for RIM to gain market share against Apple. Apple will continue being successful with the iPhone 4S and making lots of money to keep a higher level of momentum than RIM.

But hey, Blackberry till the END!!!!!!

looking for the ip4s spec totally make their fans sad..them still loosing on samsung galaxy s 2..some more my 9900 more light then their new ip4s from weight factor..i will stay on my beloved 9900 and waiting the qnx phone release..hope Rim will release their monster phone ASAP! Goodluck RIM.

There is a rumour sneaking around that they wanted to introduce the iPhone 5 today but their legal battles with Samsung, the one in regards to the touch screen usage, prevents them. So they had to introduce something today. if the rumors are true, may be this legal thing is taking bigger bite out of apple that they lead us to believe.

#1 comparison to the 4S: The Torch shoudl be listed along with the Bold. Its big screen needs to be there for comparison to the other devices (aguments aside about keyboard or no)

#2: Hope the memory is not an issue

#3: No front facing camera is going to become a BIG deal. If you have not used Facetime (video & voice, even tho it almost requires WiFi), you will find yourself surprised by the market.

Since when did iPhone get 1GB RAM??

This year 107 million people are expected to be so disappointed in the 4S that they will buy it.

Haven't you guys caught on yet? 2 - 3 - 3GS - 4 - 4S - ? Come June/July there will be a 5.

Everything is better than anything RIM put out.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/04/iphone-4s-vs-the-smartphone-elite-gal...

Check out the link

engadget did a comparison and left RIM OFF the list because they don't compare. LOL only here do you compare a BB to a Galaxy S2 and Iphone and say it won

I've had BlackBerry phones for about three years and not sure if I'm going to switch to Android or not, but the Bold specs do look weak. On another note, I think "HTC_Droid_EVO" should go put a cork in his massive security hole.

Except for the reduced battery life I'm loving my 9900/7.0.0.353! It gets all my productive work done: emails, documents,secured banking,secured shopping! On the lighter side I can go social with BlackBerry Messenger,Fb or Twitter or the good ole yahoo and MSN messengers! I mostly do outdoor and board games with real persons! Flash support would be gr8 though for the browsing experience! Otherwise battery is the main concern now!

Dear Crackberry. Put the Motorola Pro+ phone to your comparision list and you will see interesting things..

IP5 was hyped up by the media. Apple never did. They just have been silent, as usual.
But because of it, IP4S might sound like a disappointment but the real juice is in the software (iOS5). iOS5 brings notification, widgets and Siri and all that, but when combined with the free iCloud (everything OTA) and cutting umbilical cord (iTune) etc , the whole eco system is unbeatable.
It seems Apple are trying to make the iPhone as a true mobile personal assistant, not just a phone.
From that perspective, Siri might be an important addition but we'll see.
IP5 exists and I do not know why Apple are preserving it but IP4S should have been called IP5 if Apple cared that much about the hype, but they apparently did not.
Since devils are in software, comparison of hardware spec would not tell the whole story.

It should be more worrying to RIM that their latest offering seems to be the lowest spec phone there, even though some of the phones have been available to the public for months.

I would never have another apple as they are overpriced and unless jailbroken, too restrictive on apps, android next for me

Iphone 4s is going to be my new phone blackberry can suck my balls. Worst phone I have ever bought. RIM can go eat shit.

Guys Guys Guys!!!! I cant believe some of you here actually belive the Iphone 4 or 4s beats the blackberry 9900/9930 in any way. Ok ya we dont have a front facin camera, im 100% sure the new BBX deivces will have it. RIM stock is at its lowest so far, droping below $20 at $19 and some change. RIM knows that in order to increase investors confidence in the company they will need to blow away the compition. Because right now things arnt looking to well, thus this phone will not only kill both the iphone 4 and 4s, but will do the same to the iphone 5. Alot of people dont relize this, even though the playbook hasnt done very well so far. It serves as testing grounds for the new BBX devices, because the PB has been out for a year already, RIM will have worked out the kinks it needs to make sure the devices run smoothly. All in all the new BBX phones will be amazing! Oh i forgot to mention they will also have access to the Android maket! If you are an iphone fan and are still convinced that it beats Blackberrys or the new BBX device, I feel sorry for u!

Long live the Blackberry nation ;)

100