Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Wednesday, 08 October 2008 17:27
IT Industry -
Market
Page 3 of 4
RIM have loaded the BlackBerry up with features to beat the iPhone, from turn-by-turn A-GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera that can also record video, a microSD slot that works with the new 16GB microSD cards, editing of Office documents, iTunes synchronisation, 6 hours of 3G talk time, A2DP Bluetooth compatibility and more.
Of course, no-one but Steve Jobs and his inner circle know what the 2009 iPhone will have in store, surely being designed to make the iPhone 2G and 3G look positively prehistoric feature wise, so I don’t know how long RIM will have a feature-set lead for, but in the short term, RIM’s specs certainly sound good.
In more detail, from BlackBerry, these include:
- 3.2 megapixel camera with variable zoom, auto focus and a powerful flash that also provides continuous lighting when recording video
- Built-in GPS supports location-based applications and services, as well as geotagging of photos
- 1 GB of onboard memory storage and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB of additional storage
- Media player that can play movies smoothly in full-screen mode, display pictures and slideshows quickly and manage an entire music collection; playlists can be created directly on the handset and there’s an equalizer with 11 preset filters – including “Lounge,” “Jazz” and “Hip Hop” – for customized audio ranges when using wired headphones or external speakers
- A 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, support for Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP) and dedicated volume controls
- Sleek, elegant design with contoured corners, stainless steel back and chrome accents surrounding its large (3.25") glass lens; its exceptional 480 x 360 resolution at 184 ppi is crisp and bright with eye-pleasing clarity
- An ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts backlighting for ideal screen viewing and an accelerometer that allows customers to view applications in either portrait or landscape mode by simply rotating the handset
- Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides approximately six hours of talk time on 3G networks and 15 days of standby time
- Preloaded DataViz Documents to Go allows users to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
- BlackBerry Internet Service, BlackBerry Unite!, BlackBerry Professional Software and BlackBerry Enterprise Server support
Unfortunately there is no Wi-Fi on the Storm, which is a shame, but they've packed so much else in that I guess it'll have to wait for the Storm II, whenever that model is due for release.
There are four other physical buttons at the base of the screen – the green “phone” button, the BlackBerry icon “Menu” button, the back button and the red “hang up” key.
What about the browser? Reports say it’s even better than the one on the Bold, and what about an “App Store”? Please read on to page 4!
Latest Headlines from IT INDUSTRY
