BlackBerry Thunder touchscreen phone in live shot

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jun 8th 2008 at 12:26PM

Here's a little something that might put the brakes on some buyer's 3G iPhone dreams this week -- a real, live shot of the forthcoming BlackBerry touchscreen phone, the Thunder. There's not much info to glean from this image, save for the fact that it will be practically loaded with buttons (including send, end, back, menu, dual convenience keys, volume, lock, and play / pause) and will be headed to Verizon. If the UI is a spin-off of the one we've seen on the Bold, RIM could be striking gold here.

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Verizon Wireless

Tags: blackberry, breaking news, BreakingNews, leak, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, rim, thunder, touchscreen

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

haX0r @ Jun 8th 2008 12:39PM

In the next 9 month, we are going to see a true innovation and change in the cell phone market. With phones forthcoming like the Blackberry, HTC's line, Xperia and others, we will see some truley innovating things happen.

Just wonder how the BB users are going to like touchscreens?

Highest Ranked

robert @ Jun 8th 2008 12:59PM

As a former 'Curve' owner, I can imagine the "Thunder" is targeted for specific market, clearly not the business/corporate market whereas they heavily rely on the ability to check/send texta and emails messages quickly. I don't see hardcore BB users flocking to this, maybe a few softcore users. The device looks innovative and an attempt for BB to keep up with the ever-changing market. It reminds me of the HTC Diamond for the casual/hip business person.

Highly Ranked

Warren @ Jun 8th 2008 1:04PM

I totally agree. Hard core 'crackberry' people will have a tough time getting used to a touch screen. I see a lot of 'casual' blackberry users buying this..especially if it isnt $400. You know - all those people that have the Pearl..but dont use it to check email...strange.

Highest Ranked

snowenloe @ Jun 8th 2008 1:15PM

I agree with both of you, I think this is a beautiful device but there is no way that I could purchase a smartphone with just a touchscreen. I would need a slider keypad at the very least. As a current Pearl owner, I have gotten used to being able to type my emails fast and on the fly, something you could never do on a touchscreen.

Neutral

badqat @ Jun 8th 2008 1:48PM

@snowenlow

If you're "fast" on the crap suretype keypad on the Pearl, I'm guessing you could be just as "fast" on a touchscreen keypad. Compared to a full qwerty unit, suretype sucks.

Highest Ranked

Fadi Alsaidi @ Jun 8th 2008 8:51PM

@badqat

I am sorry but I can type as fast if not faster on a sure type or even a numeric keypad as a qwerty keypad. As a matter of fact my speed on a numeric keypad is way faster than a qwerty keypad...it all depeneds on you...but if your not comfortable with T9 or predective typing then please don't be hatefull to other types of keypads... ask any one who nows how to use T9 and they will tell you the same. think about it 9 buttons Vs. 30+ buttons

Highest Ranked

matt @ Jun 8th 2008 1:00PM

i hope verizon realizes how great this phone will be as long as they dont screw it up and add alot of unneeded programs. cuz i will buy this if it doesnt suck

Neutral

Casey @ Jun 8th 2008 1:12PM

I know there aren't any solid dates but is September still like likely guess?

Neutral

PEZ @ Jun 8th 2008 2:49PM

Unless RIM creates a new GUI, they arent going to sell anything. And by September, this will be a JOKE.

Neutral

CB17 @ Jun 8th 2008 8:38PM

100% true.

Neutral

Paul @ Jun 8th 2008 9:29PM

RIM has been working on a multi-touch UI and its still a mystery as to wether or not its on the Thunder. We'll have to wait and see. They filed a patent for the multi-touch UI and accelerometer.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=3186

http://www.rimarkable.com/is-the-blackberry-getting-an-accelerometer

Highly Ranked

Nathan @ Jun 8th 2008 2:59PM

I"ve been wanting to get the new iphone for a while now and this might have just changed my mind. I really want a touch screen phone but I'm really used to full qwerty phones like my 2 previous smart phones the motorola q and the 8830. I've been wanting to combine my phone with multimedia so i can ditch my zune. I'm really hoping that this can be that phone so i don't have to switch to at&t for the iphone.

Neutral

Charlie @ Jun 22nd 2008 12:32AM

thats ironic, I love my zune, and I want the moto Qh. The iphone is a great phone, but if it were made by HTC, samsung, whoever, it would have gotten ripped apart. The fact that it was made by apple gives it its appeal. This blackberry is my greatest hope, I would much rather a blackberry device be overhyped and worldly loved than an apple device. Go blackberry!

Neutral

krapowskater @ Jun 8th 2008 4:22PM

i do like this but i wonder if it will be at at&t first
i sure hope it is

Highly Ranked

Mike W @ Jun 8th 2008 5:03PM

It's already been confirmed as a Verizon exclusive (if I'm not mistaken). So, this is Verizon throwing it's hat into the arena to grab people to the carrier by phone itself.

Highest Ranked

seanh1231 @ Jun 8th 2008 5:27PM

That's exactly correct Mike W, the Thunder will be a VZW and Vodaphone exclusive, so no love for ATT this time around.

Highly Ranked

Chris @ Jun 8th 2008 5:30PM

Suretype is fine, you still need some practice.

I hope the screen is VGA and works well, Touchscreen is ok for casual email and text.

Neutral

Dave @ Jun 8th 2008 6:32PM

If it's heading to Vodafone, then there will be a GSM model. So ATT will get it eventually. I wonder how much Verizon/Vodafone paid RIM to get this exclusive.

Highly Ranked

LordObento @ Jun 8th 2008 7:11PM

Verizon Wireless and it's parent company Vodaphone have a Lifetime exclusive on this phone. It's a global phone and it does have GSM Radio in it but it might not be Quadband (CDMA US, GSM abroad), so... even if unlocked... AT&T will not get this phone.

Neutral

gr8vibe @ Jun 8th 2008 10:29PM

Why can't any GSM carriers pick this up? Will it strictly be for Verizon? If so, chalk up another novelty I will never buy.

Neutral

Mark @ Jun 9th 2008 9:28AM

As a corporate user, I would love this phone. In my experience, "corporate" doesn't mean you need to type any faster than the average phone user. In fact, you're far more likely to be a little thorough in your response than the average teenybopper or other SMS user.

Personally, I like the ability to read my email more than send it, so a slightly slower keyboard will be no problem. This phone is gold in my eyes.

And to gr8vibe, how many innovative phones come out as GSM only? I'd say a HUGE number! And they're not specific to any one carrier (assuming it's not locked). I'd say GSM users still have the HUGE advantage over VZW customers (or any other CDMA customer) when it comes to "novelty" phones!

Neutral

Frankie @ Jun 9th 2008 10:40AM

@Mark
Awesome post. I'm not a big fan of the Blackberry UI (Windows Mobile all the way), but I REALLY ADMIRE RIMs ATTENTION TO ERGONOMICS in terms of hardware of course. I Just love the way a Blackberry feels in the hand including the button placements and navigation choices.

About the hardware keyboard versus the software keyboard:
I used to be hardcore fan of hardware keyboards, I could not do without. But then I got my XDA flame, and installed TouchPal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO9bLCNP2RQ&eurl=http://www.cootek.com/intro.aspx
I realized I can, ironically type faster on a touch screen keyboard than on the EXTREMELY generous keyboard of my Vodafone V1640 http://msmobiles.com/news.php/5424.html

Neutral

Nic @ Jun 9th 2008 8:43PM

This phone will freaking rock. I cant wait to get the specs on it. I have recently switched to blackberry and have not regretted the decision. I have wanted a touch screen phone for a long time and now hopefully the best of both worlds will combine for me.

Neutral

Foojibar @ Jun 10th 2008 11:26AM

And how does one play BrickBreaker on this thing without the mini-trackball or the side-thumb-wheel? I use this as a 8-year-old pacifier to get in a conversation with the wife when we're all eating out.

Neutral

Firefishe @ Jun 16th 2008 4:59PM

Verizon Wireless does not support native GPS on any of its phones, locks up its software development Application Programming Interface (API) in a "walled garden" type of manner, even though phones like the BlackBerry are Embedded Java capable phones and are, in theory, capable of accepting any type of third-party mapping/gps application which *should* be network transparent.

This means that the application, itself, should determine what that application uses in terms of available API Modes (GPS, DATA, etc.), while the cellular network should work to provide proper data and voice connections only, provide Assisted GPS (A-GPS) when available (though phones with on-board gps chips capable of autonomous reception--like the SiRF III or MTK chipsets--would be able to receive a stand-alone GPS satellite signal by themselves without A-GPS assistance), and work to be number one in these areas, rather than virulently working to keep progressive features--like the aforementioned GPS issue, Multi Media Messaging, Audio and Video Streaming Technologies--from providing their end-users with a full experience.

I went through hell with a BlackBerry 8830 that had it's GPS chip crippled by Verizon Wireless engineers and set up so that only Verizon Wireless's GPS program "VZ Navigator" would work on it. VZ Navigator is fine for non-pda style phones, but totally sucks when used on a pda-style phone like the 8830, for which I paid over six hundred dollars.

Companies like Verizon Wireless should be forcibly excluded by the United States Federal Communication Commission from participating in profit-making bandwidth purchase incentives if they do not allow unhindered access to the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System run by the U.S. Department of Defense by phones with native GPS capabilities like the 8830.

Sprint Wireless, Alltel Wireless, U.S. Cellular, and the other North American (US and Canada) CDMA carriers do not cripple the 8830's internal GPS chipset or limit that chipset's use. Verizon Wireless does, and should be excluded from the market, until it becomes a friendlier company, gets out of it's early-90's TDMA-based "I'm better than you" attitude, and understand that to "Advance The Radio Art" (as Amateur Radio Operators are wont to say), one needs to establish an open development environment that permits collaborative, open development, equally open API's, and most important, mandates that ALL NATIVE FEATURES--ESPECIALLY GPS--BE ENABLED!

Until Verizon Wireless adopts this process, stops its draconian disabling of native features on its phones, no one should purchase any type of phone or plan from this carrier.

--Firefishe

Neutral

QuickSe7ens @ Jun 19th 2008 2:17PM

coughOPENDEVELOPMENTcough....'cuse me, had a little cough there...

Neutral

gaffinent @ Jun 23rd 2008 4:27AM

Yea VZW needs to stop penny pinching.. If sprint can afford to allow all apps how the hell is VZW not able to when they have much more revenue and higher profit margins..

HOW COME NO ONE ELSE NOTICED IT... BB IS MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE BY LEAVING THE SIGNATURE "PEARL" OUT.. HOW CAN A PHONE IN THIS DAY AND AGE BE MISSING A NAV PAD, BALL, OR, WHEEL