News: RIM introduces two new bright young things

What do you change on a smartphone that is already almost perfect for business? Well not much apparently, as RIM has proven with the Bold 9650, the latest addition in their extremely popular BlackBerry range.

It ticks all the boxes on the smartphone must-have list including Wi-Fi, GPS, HSPA connectivity and of course email support. So pretty much everything its older brother, the business savvy Bold 9700, has. There are some slight cosmetic changes to the body with the new model actually a bit larger and heavier than the 9700, but the 9650 still sports the smooth chrome finish.

RIM also introduced the smallest BlackBerry yet with the latest member of their Pearl family - the Pearl 3G. As the name states the Pearl is now 3G enabled, plus it also includes Wi-Fi and GPS. All this in the Pearl 3G's 108mm x 50 mm x 13.3 mm body, weighing a slight 93 grams.

Here are the specs coming from BlackBerry for the Bold 9650:

• Stylish design with glossy black finish and chrome highlights

• Large (2.44”) high-resolution display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi), able to display pictures, videos and web pages with impressive contrast and detail

• 3.2 MP camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording

• Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for the Bluetooth Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP)

• BlackBerry Media Sync for easily syncing photos as well as iTunes and Windows Media Player music with the smartphone

• Easy mobile access to Facebook, MySpace and Flickr, as well as popular instant messaging services including BlackBerry Messenger

• Support for BlackBerry App World, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones

• Full HTML web browser, streaming audio and video via RTSP

• Built-in GPS with support for geotagging, BlackBerry Maps and other mapping applications

• Premium phone features including voice activated dialling, speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.1).

• Support for high-speed EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America, as well as UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks

• Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery for 5 hours of CDMA talk time

And for the Pearl 3G:

• Elegant candybar design measuring 108mm x 50 mm x 13.3 mm and weighing only 93 grams

• 624 MHz processor with 256 MB Flash memory

• 360 x 400 sharp-resolution display (238 ppi)

• Optical trackpad that makes navigation fast and smooth, plus a comfortable keyboard that enables quick and accurate typing

• Media player for videos, pictures and music (music plays up to 30 hours), plus dedicated media keys integrated along top of the handset

• 3.2 MP camera with zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording

• Built-in GPS for location-based applications such as BlackBerry Maps, as well as photo geotagging

• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) - first BlackBerry smartphone to support 'n' microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB cards

• Premium phone features, including voice activated dialling, speakerphone and Bluetooth (2.1) with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including systems that support the emerging Bluetooth Message Access Profile standard) and other Bluetooth accessories

• Access to BlackBerry App World, featuring a broad and growing catalogue of mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones

• Support for BlackBerry Media Sync for easily syncing photos as well as iTunes and Windows Media Player music with the smartphone

• BlackBerry OS 5

• Support for tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks

• Removable, rechargeable 1150 mAhr battery that provides approximately 5.5 hours of talk time on 3G networks

There is no word yet on SA prices.

RIM introduces two new bright young things

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