Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, is claiming a victory in the gadget wars, announcing a new, faster BlackBerry ahead of Apple's next generation iPhone, expected to be announced next month.
The new device, called BlackBerry Bold, features faster Web surfing and expanded memory for storing audio and video content. The new BlackBerry, which also comes with a video camera and features satellite navigation, will retail between $300 and $400 and will be available sometime this summer.
"The new BlackBerry Bold represents a tremendous step forward in business-grade smartphones and lives up to its name with incredible speed, power and functionality, all wrapped in a beautiful and confident design," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion.
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone's most significant advance seems to lie in the area of horsepower. It offers business-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) networks and comes equipped with a next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor. It also includes 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as a microSD/SDHC memory card slot accessible from a side door.
It comes with a number of software applications, including phone, email, messaging, organizer and browser. For the multi-tasker, it permits phone conversations while the unit also is sending and receiving email or accessing the web.
While previous BlackBerry models have been more oriented towards business than play, the Bold competes with some of iPhone's consumer features. The device features a 2-megapixel camera with video recording capability, built-in flash and 5x digital zoom. The media player can display pictures and slideshows, play movies in full screen mode, and manage an entire music collection. Audio can be played over the handset's dual speakers.
