With Research In Motion"s first two attempts at the BlackBerry Storm receiving less-than-stellar reviews from pundits and users alike, it seems the Canadian smartphone company hasn"t been deterred from giving the touch-screen handset another shot. Remember kids, if at first you don"t succeed, try, try again.
Of course, thinking Apple was lying about the original iPhone hasn"t helped RIM, with the manufacturer now a couple of years behind the curve.
Today we bring you the first video of what CrackBerry is saying will be the BlackBerry Storm 3.
Codenamed Monaco, the mystery handset appears to be Verizon branded and is clearly in an early state, with menus appearing more than a little lag-filled. Presumably that will get ironed out in testing. One thing of note - the original video has been pulled by the user who posted it to YouTube.
When it comes to specifications, CrackBerry is expecting the new phone to sport all the bells and whistles we"ve come to expect of a modern smartphone.
- Processor - Qualcomm 1.2GHz processor
- Display - 3.7" 800x480 resolution
- Radio - Dual band CDMA, EV-DO Rev A, Quad band EDGE/Single band UMTS
- Camera - 5 MegaPixel + Flash with 720p video recording
- Memory - 4GB storage, expandable via MicroSD
- Connectivity - WiFi and GPS + Bluetooth 2.1
- Sensors - Magnetometer, Accelerometer, Proximity
- Software - Enhanced BlackBerry SW v6.1
It is also speculated that NFC will be included with this device. Presumably all mobile companies have decided this is going to be the next big thing, with Google"s (Samsung) Nexus S currently the only hardware to support it in North America. No release dates are given in the video or subsequent blog post, but BlackBerry World in May might provide some more information about when this device will be released.