Last weekend sure was an eventful one in the world of BlackBerry smartphones. Not only were clear images and a video clip of the upcoming BlackBerry Bold/Curve 8900 hybrid-device, the BlackBerry “Niagara” 9630, leaked, but the rumored BlackBerry “Pluto” 9900 also made an appearance...sort of.
First, the legit images of the Niagara: Early on Saturday morning, CrackBerry.com posted the Internet’s first (relatively) high-quality, close-up images of Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry 9630. Shortly after that, the same site followed up with a video clip of the device, albeit a very blurry one, and a few more pics.
We already know much about the BlackBerry 9630, thanks to previous leaks, including the facts that it will be a Verizon Wireless World Edition device, meaning it will work on both CDMA and GSM networks; it’s got the Curve 8900 form factor, for the most part, with a Bold keyboard; and it lacks Wi-Fi. (For more on the Niagara, read “BlackBerry “Niagara 9630” Details Emerge.”)
With two high profile mobile events on the near horizon, CTIA Wireless in early April and RIM’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) a month later, it seems very likely we’ll see an official Niagara announcement in the coming months.
Following the Niagara shots, CrackBerry posted what it said was an internal document from Canadian carrier Rogers, with an “image” of the BlackBerry 9900 “Pluto” device, which was supposedly a BlackBerry Bold/Storm hybrid with both a SurePress touch screen and a Bold-like, physical keyboard.
The only problem: The image was clearly Photoshopped; not only were there obvious traces of photo-trickery—blurred, dark areas where the creator blended disparate elements—the pictured device featured absolutely no unique elements. In other words, the fake BlackBerry Pluto 9900 was a “FrankenBerry” of sorts, built with a keyboard from Bold, the top section of a Curve 8900, the buttons from a Storm and the outer housing of an 88xx device. (Not to mention the fact that another blog posted a VERY similar Photoshopped image with a post about the BlackBerry Magnum, another rumored RIM device, but that blog wisely never claimed the image was a genuine one.)
Though similar, each and every one of RIM’s latest devices has a few completely unique elements; The Bold 9000 has a different style housing/bezel than the rest; the Curve 8900 has its own, original keyboard; and the Storm and Pearl Flip...well, they clearly set themselves apart from the pack.
CrackBerry stuck to its guns at first regarding the Pluto image’s legitimacy, but the site eventually admitted its wrong, stating that the image was likely a fake and citing “inside sources” who said that the pictured Pluto form factor had basically been scratched. Those same sources say, however, that the work done on Pluto has been salvaged and will go toward another, similar device with a “new optical trackball,” though no additional details are available.
Oh yeah, the latest version of Facebook for BlackBerry also leaked on Saturday. Not bad for one weekend, huh?
AS
