BlackBerry Bold 9650, BlackBerry Pearl 3G PHOTOS: New BlackBerry Models Unveiled

Research in Motion unveiled two new BlackBerry models, the BlackBerry Bold 9650 and BlackBerry Pearl 3G.

The phones are not radically different from earlier versions, but do offer several new features.

According to The Street, the BlackBerry Bold 9650 is "a candy bar smartphone with a 3.2-megapixel camera, a 'large, high-resolution screen, GPS and Wi-Fi (802.11b/g). It's made to work as either a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS or dual-band CDMA/EV-DO (Rev A) phone.'"

The BlackBerry Pearl 3G is reportedly the smallest BlackBerry yet.

Gizmodo says of the Pearl 3G;

The itty-bitty gadget will offer UMTS/HSDPA and Wi-Fi (b/g/n) support along with GPS, a 3.2MP camera, an optical trackpad, a microSD/SDHD memory card slot, and all the goodies BlackBerry users are addicted to such as BlackBerry Messenger and BlackBerry App World.

The Pearl 3G will actually be offered in two different models: The 9100 which will have a 20-key condensed QWERTY keyboard (aka RIM's SureType) and the 9105, which oddly for a BlackBerry, has a 14-key T9 phone keyboard.

The two phones will be available beginning in May. The Pearl 3G will be on the Bell, Telus, and Rogers networks in Canada, while the BlackBerry Bold 9650 is heading to Sprint May 23 for $200 with contract.

See pictures of the phones below, then tell us what you think! Read the full text of RIM's BlackBerry Bold 9650 and BlackBerry Pearl 3G press releases.

BlackBerry Bold 9650

BlackBerry Pearl 3G

Quick Poll

What do you think of the new BlackBerry phones?

Underwhelming.

Awesome!

About what I'd expect.

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Comments

[meekasop]

02:47 AM on 05/03/2010

In Asia, Blackberry is like the iPhone, Seeing the new Platform of RIM is just great. http://bit.ly/blackberry-9650-impression

[anne jaa]

07:07 AM on 04/27/2010

Well these phones look good.I like Blackberry Perl 3G much because of its attractive sleek body and nice keypad.
[url=http://www.dsr4.it/]m3 real[/url]

[anne jaa]

07:06 AM on 04/27/2010

Well these phones look good.I like Blackberry Perl 3G much because of its attractive sleek body and nice keypad.I would like to know its more features.
nintendo ds

[anthonytaurus]

02:49 AM on 04/27/2010

I am very underwhelmed personally. I dig Blackberry because it's a business device. When people compare BB to other phones, it's completely ridiculous. If it weren't marketed to the business class, then I'd probably have the opinion as many of you do. But, when you're not about business - just a kid about games and neato apps - then you'd definitely be underwhelmed.

The same feelings exist but for very different reasons.

These new BBs don't add anything to the game. Same ol, same ol. It wasn't worth RIM's time.

[chuck prebys]

08:34 PM on 04/27/2010

RIM needs to get with the touchscreen thing before they are rendered irrelevant.
And, what's with all the "business" talk?
I had a BB for 2 years because work required it.
I didn't like it.
Not one bit did it do anything exceptionally.
The best feature it had was removable memory to swap music in and out.
You need a phone to talk and a laptop do do computing. thats all.

[anthonytaurus]

12:08 AM on 05/01/2010

Oh absolutely no on the touchscreen bit. It's so played out it's not even funny. Beyond that, I don't have cute slender fingers of a woman. I have a man-sized hand with man-sized fingers. The idea of typing on a non-tactile surface is ridiculous and lowers productivity.

The only touchscreen I can respect is the one that allows me to use a stylus like the PDAs I used to use. That kept me productive at the end of the day.

The problem is that people want to play games. They want to feel cool sliding things across a tiny screen. I love to play. But, I am a real gamer. I don't get happy and giddy over silly touchscreens. It's nothing special to me.

I work hard and play hard. The iPhone is for children who don't have a lot of responsibilities and adults who think they look cool. No thanks. I'll keep my BB. It does one thing exceptionally well.. communication and organization. And, when I am bored, Drug Wars is a fun enough game to play until I can get home and play a big boy game.

[YeWight]

08:11 PM on 04/26/2010

An overrated piece of junk. There are many better options out there.

[Blues02]

07:19 PM on 04/26/2010

The keypad on the pearl is atrocious.

[rikster]

06:12 PM on 04/26/2010

RIM has unresponsive customer service..they are the next Palm..

[eri 68]

05:34 PM on 04/26/2010

I'm still waiting (somewhat patiently) for a BB with full qwerty keyboard AND touchscreen reminiscent of the old Palm Treo 755p I own. I've had the Tour, the curve (both 8330 and 8530) but currently am using the Palm Pixi for the very reason listed above (full keyboard with touchscreen).

I just can't get used to virtual keyboards which is the 'other' reason I won't ever own an iPhone. (Main reason being that I refuse to switch carriers just to get a particular phone)

So here's hoping Blackberry will one day make a Storm with a full keyboard.

[norkas]

07:10 PM on 04/26/2010

I do not know what they are slow out of the gate with the new rt1738. It is a new gadget that can be used when someone wants to view your new blackberry. When you hand it to them after 10 seconds they will receive a shock that they will never forget and bring them to their knees.

300 volts of electricity will pass through them after 10 seconds all you have to do is click the times that is neatly stored in your pocket.

This new exciting technoloy is just waiting for the smart company who will allow their users to have something they truly need

[QueenMaeve]

05:32 PM on 04/26/2010

Blackberry = most overrated smartphone in the country. I was recently forced (yes, really forced) to get a smartphone for the first time. My friend has had nothing but trouble out of her Blackberry - freezing, abysmal battery life, disappearing contacts, et cetera - so I chose one with Android. It is intuitive, performs well, and has a surprisingly good battery life considering what it does. It's bulkier, but that's part of the appeal for me - I just don't want a phone that's too tiny to be uber functional.

Team Android.

[rikster]

06:12 PM on 04/26/2010

I cna write you a book about all those problems..but wait for the movie...

[StuntManMike]

04:30 PM on 04/26/2010

Funny...these are just like every other BlackBerry ever made...I used to use BlackBerry...had the original Pearl, then Curve 8310 and finally Curve 8900...I got fed up with waiting for BlackBerry to come out with a phone that would do half of what the new Android phones and the iphone can do. RIM can't even make a DECENT (much less good) web browser. So, I switched to Android. And I love it.

Note to RIM: There's more to smart phones than email and text. Even for "business" users!

[chuck prebys]

08:36 PM on 04/27/2010

Once word gets out and customer feedback improvements are made Android will be THE phone.

Open Source Software.

That's about all you need to know.

[SangZe]

04:18 PM on 04/26/2010

Get your wallets out now . . .

[Keita]

03:41 PM on 04/26/2010

Funny....RIM keeps doing the same things over and over.

[JAforObama]

02:54 PM on 04/26/2010

What's the difference between the Bold and the Curve?

[rikster]

06:13 PM on 04/26/2010

probably a bunch of $$$$....!

[pichky]

02:45 PM on 04/26/2010

I like my Blackberry. It's not as exciting as an iPhone, but I'm one of the dieing breed that prefers less distractions from actual face to face human contact.

[Corvid]

05:37 PM on 04/26/2010

Very much agreed. Also, for work and other purposes, the superb email function is key for me. No other smartphone comes close to handling email with the speed and efficiency of Blackberry. GPS, though, is a useful add-on. For those who enjoy endless mindless distractions, this isn't the ticket. But for those of us with more important things to do, good, reliable phone service plus fast email and, now, GPS are all that's needed or desired. It's a solid product.

[gcswift2]

07:06 PM on 04/26/2010

2 words:
PALM Pre
or PALM Pixi

or wait for HTC Evo with dual cameras for "video conferencing" if sprint allows.

[IRUNMAN]

06:13 PM on 04/26/2010

Agreed.

[SansArc]

01:43 PM on 04/26/2010

Meh. RIM needs to get with the program. With iPhone, Android and MANY others taking bites out of the smart phone industry. They are letting themselves get blown out. Smart phones have become tools for work and play. They seem to be avoiding a growing market they could have. Their name alone gives them extreme trust and credibility.