Blackberry aims to steal iPhone thunder

Blackberry aims to steal iPhone thunder

Pictures of the heralded Blackberry Thunder have surfaced, switched on and working no less. Could this touchscreen wonder be a real competitor to the iPhone?

The grown-ups choice

Amidst the sea of iPhone 3G news rampaging all over the internet like a Californian bush fire, it’s refreshing to come across news on other shiny new smartphones. Especially one as potentially market-changing as the Blackberry Thunder.

Pictures of the Thunder working have wormed their way into the hands of the Blackberry users and abusers at Crackberry.com, and show a handset with a nifty looking multi-touch tactile touch screen nestled under glass rather than the usual reinforced plastic. The keypad, despite being a virtual affair rather than actual push buttons, offers feedback when pressed so you will be able to feel like you’re really typing and not just jabbing at a screen. Rotate the Thunder horizontally and you have yourself a full QWERTY keyboard, while a portrait orientation defaults to the SureType text entry setting. One of the Thunder’s killer text input apps is its ability to copy and paste, a feature lacking in even the newest iPhones.

The Thunder will run Blackberry OS 4.7, making it familiar and immediately easy to use for the millions of Blackberry lovers out there. Web is handled by Apple’s open source WebKit browser, same as the iPhone. So while the Thunder will take the best features from the iPhone, it will better the aspects that are wanting, such as lack of copy/paste and the undeniably slow process of e-mailing, typing and other things that business users are mainly interested. RIM seems to be aiming at the business sector that is still uncertain about adopting Apple’s offering, while simultaneously capturing the gadget aficionados and enthusiasts who demand a great big screen to view digital media and other entertainment related fun.

The Thunder will be available on Verizon in the States and Vodafone over here in Blighty, although nobody is certain when exactly. Late Q3 or early Q4 wouldn’t be a bad bet though, just in time to compete with T-Mobile’s 3G Android attack.

by Jamie Sport

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