The City of New York is reportedly planning to revive 250 old phone booths with the introduction of 32-inch Internet-ready “smart screens” throughout the five boroughs, The New York Post reported on Monday. The touch-screens will display local neighborhood information in multiple languages, including lists of nearby restaurants, stores in the area, traffic updates, landmark information and safety alerts. If the pilot program is successful, the futuristic screens could replace all of the city’s 12,800 outdoor pay phones. “The goal is to pilot it and see what the response is,” said Nicholas Sbordone, a spokesman for the city’s department of Information Technology & Telecommunications. “It will help inform the city’s ongoing reassessment, with public input, of what we want or what we think the future of public pay phones will entail.” Read on for more.

According to City 24×7, the company that will install and maintain the smart screens, the new devices will actually be more sanitary than the average ATM machine. “They’re built to be cleaned with a jet hose,” said CEO Tom Touchet. “They’re waterproof and dust-proof.” The smart screens will even be able to make Skype calls, check email and serve as Wi-Fi hotspots, he said. To prevent anonymous trolling, the tablet’s search capabilities will be both protected and controlled.

The technology won’t cost the city anything and will eventually deliver revenue through advertisements. Once the program exits the pilot stage, the city will receive a 36% cut of all ad revenue.

In addition to the 32-inch displays, the city is planning to roll out out 22-inch touch-screens to pay phones located underground in subway stations. The underground units will be equipped with cameras for video applications, as well as power outlets so users can charge their phones while buying access to the Web, checking email and using apps.

The pilot program and initial 250 smart screens are scheduled to be unveiled next month, The Post said.

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Amid the inevitable rush of last-minute iPad rumors we’re trying desperately to avoid, one report in particular caught our eye. It suggests that Apple may include an emerging tactile technology in its third-generation iPad display that is as fascinating as it is unexpected. Speaking with Pocket-lint last week during the annual Mobile World Congress trade show, touchscreen interface solutions developer Senseg seemingly hinted that Apple may be including the company’s innovative technology in the iPad 3, or iPad HD, as it may be named. Senseg’s technology allows touchscreen device makers to alter the feel of a screen to coincide with graphics being displayed at any given time. So rocks might feel rough, silk might feel smooth and the user might actually feel an object he or she is moving around the device’s UI. Read on for more.

“Senseg turns touch screens into Feel Screens,” the company said on its website. “With Senseg touch screens come alive with textures, contours and edges that users can feel. Using Senseg technology, makers of tablet computers, smart phones, and any touch interface device can deliver revolutionary user experiences with high fidelity tactile sensations. Your customers will Feel the Difference with Senseg.”

When asked if its technology might be included in Apple’s new iPad, a Senseg spokesperson replied that the firm “won’t be making any statements until after Apple’s announcement.” While Pocket-lint takes that along with a number of other hints to mean we might see Senseg’s exciting technology appear in the third-generation Apple tablet that will be unveiled on Wednesday, there is still no firm evidence to support the speculation.

Apple will unveil its next-generation iPad at a press conference on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, 10:00 a.m. Pacific.

Samsung has developed a new universal remote control for its televisions and home theater accessories that ditches dozens of buttons in favor of Siri-like voice command support and a touch pad. As Apple reportedly readies an assault on the TV industry, established vendors such as Sony, LG and Samsung looked to cut the Cupertino-based firm off at the pass during this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. All the big names at this year’s show added voice controls and gesture support to their flagship HDTVs, and now Samsung has taken the wraps off its new voice-controlled universal remote, Nikkei’s Tech-On blog reports. The device allows users to speak commands in many cases rather than typing on a keyboard or pressing buttons, and it uses a combination of Bluetooth and infrared connectivity to improve reliability. While Samsung hasn’t yet stated exactly which devices will be compatible with its new remote, it did say TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and other accessories will be supported.

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Apple certainly helped shape the mobile space by popularizing multitouch screens on smartphones and tablets, but can it do the same for desktop computing, too? The United States Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday published an Apple patent application that describes a desktop computer — likely the iMac — with a touchscreen display. Dell, HP and plenty of other firms have introduced all-in-one PCs with touchscreens, of course, but Apple’s invention may make some applications more intuitive. Read on for more.

According to Patently Apple, Apple’s patent describes a series of hybrid knob and slider controls that could be used, for example, in a music application for controlling input levels. “The visual augmentation could include displaying an outline and/or fill region (e.g. a color or pattern fill) around the knob element, displaying text labels for minimum and maximum range limit values and displaying a slider element with the knob element,” Patently Apple explained. “The slider element could include a fill bar to indicate the current value of the knob control.”

A touchscreen iMac could definitely be a valuable tool for artists, musicians, engineers and architects who might be able to interact with their creations using touch instead of a mouse and pointer, but need more power or a larger display than the iPad.

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ASUS reportedly has plans to unveil a convertible ultrabook running Microsoft’s next-generation Windows 8 operating system at the annual Computex trade show in Taiwan next June. DigiTimes’s anonymous industry sources claim that the super-slim notebook computer will feature a swiveling touchscreen display, allowing the computer to be used like a standard laptop or like a tablet. No other details are available at this time. The report claims that ASUS’s new convertible ultrabook will launch in September alongside Windows 8, though Microsoft has not yet confirmed a launch timeframe for its new operating system.

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A patent awarded to Apple on Wednesday points to one possible solution the company might use once it finally equips the first MacBook computer with tablet-like functionality. The unique design described in the new patent uses a clutch barrel pivoting component that serves two purposes, Patently Apple reports. First, it houses two embedded antennas that provide integrated cellular connectivity. More interestingly, however, its design allows the laptop’s display to be rotated and folded down on top of the keyboard to provide a touchscreen-only tablet configuration. Read on for more.

Apple introduced a number of iOS-like features in Lion, latest version of its OS X operating system, and they have been met with mixed responses. Many view these changes as the early stages of a transition, however, and it may eventually lead to an interface suitable for both keyboard and touch input. Apple’s new patent shows us one way the company might build a MacBook tablet hybrid, though there is currently no indication that the design detailed within this patent is currently in development beyond the theoretical stages. One more drawing from Apple’s new patent filing follows below, and additional details can be found in Patently Apple’s report.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday published 14 new patents that were recently granted to Apple. According to PatentlyApple, two of those patents are related to “high profile multitouch” technology. One describes “front-end signal compensation” on a display and a second involves a “method for forming crystalline ITO on top of a nonconductive substrate.” As PatentlyApple notes, the first patent is related to the touchscreen technology that was first introduced on the original iPhone, which made its debut in 2007. It describes how a “host device may, for example, correspond to a computer such as a desktop, laptop, handheld or tablet computer. The host device interprets the touch event and thereafter performs an action based on the touch event.” The other multitouch patent describes a more efficient way of creating a touchscreen by combining an LCD display with a touch panel.

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Rumors of an iPhone nano are almost as old as the iPhone itself: the first such mumblings began in 2008. Now, Patently Apple suggests that Apple definitely was once, or still is, considering a smaller version of the iPhone. The patent in question shows a device with multiple inputs and hardware buttons or LED lights that would allow a user to interact with the phone. Given the touchscreen technology used in today’s iOS devices, we suspect this patent from 2006 would no longer reflect what an “iPhone nano” might look like. In any case, it is arguable that Apple does not need to create an “iPhone nano” now that it sells a $50 iPhone 4 and a free-on-contract iPhone 3GS. The patent was just one of 20 recently published patents that were granted to Apple.

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Microsoft announced that it is releasing a developer preview of its upcoming next-generation operating system, currently named “Windows 8,” during its BUILD conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday. President of Windows and Windows Live Division Steve Sinofsky took the stage during BUILD’s opening keynote and discussed several of the operating system’s new features. “We reimagined Windows,” he said. “From the chipset to the user experience, Windows 8 brings a new range of capabilities without compromise.” As Microsoft has already revealed, Windows 8 will offer a new “Metro style” user interface that is built to take advantage of touch input but works just as well with a keyboard and mouse. Internet Explorer 10 will also offer full support for touch browsing, and Sinofsky hinted that even desktop-sized Windows 8 computers will largely take advantage of touchscreen monitors. Developers will be able to create Metro style applications that will fill the entire screen, too. Microsoft said the next-generation of Windows 8 hardware will turn on instantly and will be capable of running all day on a single charge. The OS is designed to run on devices ranging from a 10-inch tablet to a large desktop, and developers will have access to Windows 8 later this week. Read on for the full press release that discusses several other new features in Windows 8, as well as a hands-on video from WinRumors.

Microsoft Reimagines Windows, Presents Windows 8 Developer Preview

BUILD conference attendees and developers get first access to new operating system.

LOS ANGELES — Sept. 13, 2011 — Today at its developer-focused BUILD conference, Microsoft Corp. showcased a detailed preview of the next major release of Windows, code-named “Windows 8.” The company also detailed new tools for developers to help write applications for more than 1 billion people around the world who use Windows every day.

“We reimagined Windows,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft, in his keynote address to the thousands of developers in attendance. “From the chipset to the user experience, Windows 8 brings a new range of capabilities without compromise.”

The company also highlighted a variety of new features in Windows 8, including the following:

Touch-First User Interface

•	Metro style. Windows 8 introduces a new Metro style interface built for touch, which shows information important to you, embodies simplicity and gives you control. The Metro style UI is equally at home with a mouse and keyboard as well.
•	Touch-first browsing, not just browsing on a touch device. Providing a fast and fluid touch-browsing experience, Internet Explorer 10 puts sites at the center on new Windows 8 devices.

More Ways to Engage With Powerful, Connected Apps

•	Powered by apps. Metro style apps built for Windows 8 are the focal point of your experience, filling your entire screen so there are no distractions.
•	Apps can work together. Apps communicate with each other in Windows 8. For example, you can easily select and email photos from different places, such as Facebook, Flickr or on your hard drive.
•	Your experience syncs across your devices. Live roams all the content from the cloud services you use most — photos, email, calendar and contacts — keeping them up-to-date on your devices. With SkyDrive, you can access your files, photos and documents from virtually anywhere with any browser or with Metro style apps in Windows 8.

Enhanced Fundamentals

•	The best of Windows 7, only better. Windows 8 is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7, delivering improvements in performance, security, privacy and system reliability. Windows 8 reduces the memory footprint needed — even on the lowest-end hardware — leaving more room for your apps.
•	Preserving power-user favorites and making them better. For those who push the limits of their PC, Windows 8 features an enhanced Task Manager and Windows Explorer and new, flexible options for multimonitor setups.

New Developer Opportunities

•	Windows Store. The Windows Store will allow developers to sell their apps anywhere Windows is sold worldwide, whether they’re creating new games or familiar productivity tools.
•	Build using more languages. Windows 8 lets you leverage your existing skills and code assets to create great experiences using the programming language you prefer.
•	Rich hardware integration leads to richer experiences — particularly for games. DirectX 11 gaming power underlies Windows 8, allowing the easy creation of full-screen games with smooth, flicker-free action.

New Generation of Hardware

•	One Windows — many shapes and sizes. Support for ARM-based chipsets, x86 (as well as x32 and x64) devices, touch and sensors means Windows 8 works beautifully across a spectrum of devices, from 10-inch tablets and laptops to all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition screens.
•	Always connected. With Windows 8, new ultrathin PCs and tablets turn on instantly, run all day on a single charge and stay connected to the Internet so your PC is ready when you are. Next-generation system on a chip (SoC) support will also enable greatly extended standby and low-power states.
•	Tap the full power of your PC. Windows 8 runs on PCs and is compatible with the devices and programs you use today on Windows 7, without compromise, to deliver the performance you expect of a PC.

Developers will be able to download the Windows Developer Preview via the new Windows Dev Center later this week. Webcasts of sessions will be posted on the BUILD site as well.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Some information relates to a prerelease product, which may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

[Video via WinRumors]

RIM didn’t envision creating a touch device. Yet here we are in 2011 with the company abandoning it’s prior failed attempts at making a touch-only smartphone, and instead copying the competition instead of innovating. The BlackBerry Torch 9850 is a no-frills touch phone. There’s no SurePress display, thankfully — just a regular capacitive screen. The device features a 1.2GHz CPU, a 5-megapixel camera, 4GB of built-in storage, and more. Does it stand a chance at competing with the iPhone and Android devices, though? Read on for my review.

Hardware / Design

The BlackBerry Torch 9850 features specs that mirror the fantastic BlackBerry Bold 9900 pretty closely — a 1.2GHz processor, 3.7-inch touch display, sporting a 800 x 480-pixel resolution, a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, 768MB of RAM and 4GB of built-in storage. It’s also pretty slim at 11.5-millimeters thin.

The design of the Torch 9850 could have been incredible, but RIM counters most of its sleek styling with noise and distractions. For instance, the front of the device is this one big beautiful black slab that runs from the top of the smartphone all the way to the bottom. It’s like this sheet of touch sensitivity has been perfectly stretched over this awesomely-designed facade with symmetrical curves on both the top and bottom… but it gets interrupted by these hideous hardware buttons that look completely out of place. To compound matters, the buttons don’t perform very well at all. It was a last minute hardware change as the phone originally sported integrated BlackBerry keys much like all of RIM’s recent releases, and that would have been great if RIM was able to stick with that slick design.

The side and back of the device get worse and worse design and styling-wise. On the sides, RIM chose to use such a massive, gaudy, plastic chrome-look bezel, that the only physical buttons it could fit are these tiny, almost paper thin buttons that offer little tactile feedback. To make matters worse, RIM crammed not one or two, but three of these onto the right side of the phone — volume up, mute and volume down. Below those you’ll find a dual-stage dedicated camera button for the auto-focus camera. On the left side of the phone there’s a lone microUSB port.

Switching over to the back of the device, the industrial design that was too good to be true is again spoiled by poor color choices, worse material choices, and hardware placement. The battery cover cut out is reminiscent of previous BlackBerry Storm battery doors (anything having to do with the BlackBerry Storm should be wiped clean, and RIM shouldn’t sell that phone anymore) and it interrupts the styling of what could have been a really smooth phone for the touch world. There are no charging contacts on the Torch 9850 so those awesome charging cradles won’t work, though RIM sells one you plug the phone into when it’s in landscape.

As far as touch goes on RIM’s first all-touch device (remember, I refuse to acknowledge the BlackBerry Storm since it has a SurelyPressed the wrong button screen), it’s pretty horrible. Let’s start with the physical screen itself.

First off, there’s no oleophobic coating on here, so grease and fingerprints get picked up very easily and it’s pretty difficult to wipe off. But worse than that is the material RIM used for the display; it feels completely different than the screen on the BlackBerry 9900. This screen feels like cheap plastic and it doesn’t allow your fingers to glide over its surface smoothly… at least not like other touch devices such as the iPhone 4 or Motorola DROID BIONIC, both of which use Gorilla Glass (Apple is rumored to). It’s another example of how RIM’s poor R&D management and foresight have affected not just the types of products it makes, but their quality as well.

I do like the integrated lock / unlock button on top of the device, though.

Software

Oh boy. The good thing about this section is that the OS isn’t vastly different from previous BlackBerry operating systems. In fact, not much has changed at all in terms of significant user-facing elements. That means it’s a frustrating experience all around. The Torch 9850 sports an outdated OS, the worst App ecosystem and selection, mind-numbing quirks and issues, all on a platform that was not ever made to be used on a touch screen.

Nothing makes sense at all. Why is there a mouse cursor on an all-touch device in the web browser? It’s the equivalent of shipping a stylus. Why can’t I successfully use an Exchange account without having a BlackBerry Enterprise Server? Why can’t I sync my Google account in addition to my Exchange account once I use a BlackBerry Enterprise Server? Here’s another example of something that irritates me: on smart smartphone platforms, when you’re erasing text, the speed at which your text will delete will start off slow and then speed up faster and faster since the system knows you’re erasing more than a few characters. This doesn’t happen on the BlackBerry Torch 9850, and it’s just one of a hundred little things that combine to form a user experience that really isn’t competitive at all.

Keyboard

This is an all-touch device, and as such, so a touch keyboard is your only method of inputting text. It better be damn good, right? Well, the keyboard on the BlackBerry Torch 9850 is probably the worst touch keyboard I think I have ever used. I actually think the keyboard on the Storm was better than this.

In portrait mode, forget about it. It’s useless. Combined with RIM’s horrible auto text correction and suggestions, in addition to the look and feel off the keyboard, it’s just not a winner. “Haha” becomes “Bags”, “thats” doesn’t replace with “that’s”, and so on. And as far as the design, it makes no sense. On such a cramped layout, why would you waste space adding two shift keys — one on either side of the keyboard — just to do it? Why is there a dedicated comma key and period key? The worst is part is that the keyboard only has two layout configurations that I have found; one for the standard layout, and one for the web browser. As an example, typing in the “to:” field of an email is apparently the same as typing a message to a BlackBerry Messenger contact — the keyboard key placement doesn’t change as it would on other platforms to make commonly used keys more readily available in each scenario.

Phone / Battery

I like the phone app on the Torch 9850 a lot, especially when lightly customized. Having it open right to the dial-pad is fantastic, and I love the layout of the dial-pad, too. It’s huge and almost monolithic. There are only three soft tabs here: the dial-pad, call log and contacts. I’m not going to dive deep into the phone app as it will upset me and ruin one of the only things I like about the BlackBerry 9850.

Battery life on the 9850 seemed quite good, though I didn’t talk much on the phone. Instead, I used it for emailing, BlackBerry Messenger, some web browsing and calendar functions. The phone easily could power through a day of this type of usage, and like most BlackBerry smartphones, the standby time is absolutely ridiculous.

Conclusion

Look, the tech-minded among us get caught up with raw specifications all the time, but the fact is, the experience is what sells to the general consumer and to most people. RIM doesn’t only miss the mark on both counts with the BlackBerry Torch 9850, the company demonstrates once again that it has no idea where the mark is or where it will be in the future.

It’s well chronicled how and why RIM has failed to stay competitive in the smartphone market, but what’s so shocking is that the BlackBerry Torch 9850 is basically little more than a Storm 9550 without the SurePress screen, which is nothing more than a lame, misguided attempt at trying to compete with Apple.

The reason I’m being so harsh, and the reason my views on the BlackBerry 9850 are so different than the BlackBerry Bold 9900 (which I loved), is because these are two different arenas. The Bold 9900 is what a BlackBerry is about. The Torch 9850 is a device RIM did not ever envision making, and it is manufactured to compete directly with the number one and number two touch smartphone platforms in the world. It doesn’t compete. It feels like a feature phone compared to the BIONIC and iPhone.

If for some reason I was forced to either use RIM’s BlackBerry Torch 9850 or the first-generation iPhone as my daily phone, there’s no question what I would choose: the iPhone. Don’t forget that Apple’s first smartphone received iOS 2.0, one that brought the App Store, Microsoft Exchange support, and many more features that RIM still can’t compete with from several years ago.

If you’re a BlackBerry fan with Verizon who just has to have an all touch device, the $200 BlackBerry Torch 9850 is obviously your only choice but it’s a pretty terrible one. Do yourself a favor: duct tape your busted old Curve back together and hold out for the BlackBerry Colt.

Verizon Wireless is now offering RIM’s highly anticipated BlackBerry Bold 9930 smartphone for $249.99 on contract. BGR exclusively reported last week that Sprint would soon be selling the new touch-and-type Bold for $249.99, and at that time we indicated that other U.S. carriers would likely launch the device at the same price point. Verizon Wireless is now the first carrier to do so, and while early adopters are sure to snatch up the long-awaiting 9900/9930 despite its $250 price tag, widespread adoption may be hindered until the new smartphone dips to $199.99 on contract. We reviewed the new BlackBerry Bold last week and found that the hardware is absolutely worth carriers’ high cost of entry. We also found that RIM’s BlackBerry 7 software, despite improved performance and fluidity, left much to be desired.

UPDATE: Verizon Wireless’ full press release now follows below.

VERIZON WIRELESS INTRODUCES THE NEW BLACKBERRY^® BOLD^™ 9930 SMARTPHONE

Thinnest BlackBerry Smartphone Features Power and the Perfect Union of a High-Performance Keyboard and Touch Display On the Nation’s Most Reliable Network

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless today announced the new BlackBerry^® Bold^™ 9930 smartphone is available online at www.verizonwireless.com and will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on August 25.

The BlackBerry Bold 9930 smartphone is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet, measuring only 10.5 mm, and is the first BlackBerry Bold to integrate a touch display with a BlackBerry keyboard.  This smartphone is performance driven and powered by the new BlackBerry^® 7 operating system to deliver the ultimate in communication, multimedia and productivity for Verizon Wireless customers.

BlackBerry 7:

·        Next generation BlackBerry browser has optimized zooming and panning for smoother Web navigation and optimized HTML5 performance.

·        Premium version of Documents To Go is now included at no additional cost, offering customers enhanced document editing features, as well as a native PDF document viewer.

·        The newest release of BBM^™ (BlackBerry Messenger) now offers the real-time BBM experience together with a range of apps including gaming and social networking.

·        Liquid Graphics^™ technology combines a dedicated high-performance graphics processor with a blazingly fast CPU and stunning high-resolution display to deliver a responsive touch interface with incredibly fast and smooth graphics.

·        Updated Social Feeds app has been extended to capture updates from media, podcasts and more all in one consolidated view.

·        Universal search capability now supports voice-activated search, allowing customers to simply say what they want to find on their device or the Web.

·        BlackBerry^® Balance is integrated in BlackBerry 7, allowing customers to enjoy the full BlackBerry smartphone experience for both work and personal use. BlackBerry Balance allows secure access to business information while preventing the information from being copied into, sent from, or used by personal applications. An administrator can also remotely wipe business information from the device while leaving personal information intact.

Key features:

·        3G coverage on the nation’s most reliable network

·        2.8-inch touchscreen display (640 x 480)

·        Full backlit QWERTY keyboard with trackpad navigation

·        1.2 GHz processor

·        5-megapixel camera with flash and 720p HD video recording capabilities

·        Global-ready – Quad band with support for UMTS, HSPA, GSM, GPRS and EDGE allowing customers to enjoy wireless voice and data service in more than 200 countries, including more than 125 countries with 3G speeds

·        Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, GPS and Bluetooth^® 2.1

·        microSD^™ card slot with support for cards up to 32 GB

·        Push to Talk capability will be enabled through an over-the-air update

Pricing and availability:

·        BlackBerry^® Bold^™ 9930 smartphone is available for $249.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.

·        Customers that purchase a BlackBerry^® Bold^™ 9930 smartphone will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 for monthly access and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data.

For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

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Another BlackBerry out of RIM? We might as well consider them done and finished. Or should we? With a brand new take on BlackBerry hardware and an improved and enhanced operating system in BlackBerry 7, RIM hasn’t been sitting still. I have been using a BlackBerry 9900 for over a week, and as a reformed BlackBerry addict, I have some thoughts on this latest flagship smartphone out of Waterloo. Is this the device that’s going to save RIM? Is this the phone that’s going to make iPhone and Android users switch to a BlackBerry? Can RIM finally compete in the smartphone arena? Will it take RIM 9 months to make a BlackBerry 9900 in white? Is Will.i.am going to haunt me for eternity? Hit the break to find out. (And I sure as heck hope not on those last two.)

Hardware / Display

RIM is no stranger to the hardware game, having been major smartphone vendor to really control the entire end-to-end hardware and software experience. Every BlackBerry release seems to show a constant trait — that RIM continues to improve its manufacturing capabilities — and the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is no exception. In fact, this is the finest hardware ever to come out of Waterloo (or Mexico, or Holland, or wherever your phone is made). From the beautiful black fascia to the stainless steel bezel surrounding the top notch components, to the soft-touch finished, carbon-fiber-laced back cover, this is a BlackBerry that exudes quality, and one that any executive would be proud to have grace his or her desk. The high quality materials RIM is using on the BlackBerry 9900 are apparent, I only wish the company would have made the switch sooner. It’s the first time metal has made an appearance instead of plastic, and it’s the first time I can remember a BlackBerry not feeling hollow, but feeling like a solid high-end product.

This is a BlackBerry that exudes quality.

Starting on the front of the device, you’ll see a pure white color accent scheme for the first time ever — even the send and end phone buttons are colorless, and it really works. While RIM isn’t a company that is known for focusing on design identity, or even obsessing over little details, the company makes the personality of the Bold 9900 come alive, and it meshes beautifully. Even the symbols on the keyboard aren’t a different color (they used to be red), but this new straight-forward color palette really works for me.

On the top of the phone you’ll find a screen lock/unlock button. On the right side there’s a volume up button up top, a mute key in the middle and a volume down button — all made out of metal, I might add. Below that you’ll find the camera shutter key. On the bottom of the phone you’ll see two charging contacts for compatibility with RIM’s charging docks, which not only makes a great alarm clock stand, but also reduce wear and tear on the microUSB port. It would have been great to see RIM take this one step further and use a similar technology for USB syncing as well, though it’s not that big of a deal. On the left of the Bold 9900 you’ll find a microUSB port, and 3.5mm headset jack.

Something I’d like to point out is that the thinness of the Bold 9900 is very competitive. At around 10mm thin, it’s impressive. For a device with a capacitive touch display, full size QWERTY keyboard — the best in the business — and technical specifications that bring the once stone-aged company into a near-competitive area, the Bold 9900 is an engineering feat, and one RIM should absolutely be proud of. Something RIM shouldn’t be proud of? The fact that the company didn’t include an autofocus camera in the Bold 9900. It would be comically funny if it weren’t a real sign of how RIM actually thinks — who needs an autofocus camera when we can make the phone thinner!

The display on the BlackBerry 9900 is excellent. It’s the first higher resolution device out of RIM, featuring a 640 x 480-pixel panel. While that’s not up there with Retina and qHD displays, the 2.8-inch touch screen on the Bold 9900 looks absolutely beautiful. It’s bright, it’s vivid, it’s crisp — this is an amazing display. Touch sensitivity and performance on the 9900 is also excellent, with touches being recognized immediately, swipes performing correctly, and flick and pinch gestures working properly in the web browser. It’s so good that it almost makes you forget that RIM is responsible for releasing the BlackBerry Storm. Almost.

RIM even went step further with outfitting all of its high-end devices with NFC capabilities, and even though the NFC functionality isn’t being used in the Bold 9900 at release, the engineering that went into the effort hasn’t gone unnoticed. The NFC chip is built into the battery cover with contacts that connect only when the cover it attached to the phone, and it’s just an ingenious integration; it makes you wonder why other manufacturers haven’t taken this approach.

Keyboard

Let’s just get this out of the way… the keyboard on the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the best physical keyboard on any smartphone, ever. I went there. It’s not just spacious, it’s tactile and it features the perfected RIM layout. It’s clickity, but not mushy, and it’s firm but not too firm. It’s also properly sized without being too big to type quickly — in short, it’s the best physical keyboard I have ever typed on as far as a mobile device goes. From currency symbols to exclamation points, the keyboard and keyboard layout on the BlackBerry 9900 is the best in the business. Even the backlighting on the keyboard is nothing short of glowing. Literally.

BlackBerry users will feel right at home, and it’s a refreshing change from the many terrible soft-keyboards out there. With that said, soft keyboards have an advantage in a couple of places, but if you’re a texter, a hardcore emailer or one of those old school individuals who just can’t make the switch to a touch-only smartphone, this is the best you’re going to get; and it’s really not even open to debate.

OS

BlackBerry’s latest operating system, BlackBerry 7, isn’t a drastic change from the previous operating systems out of RIM. In fact, at the very basic level, it’s the same. Sure there are some different APIs and enhancements but at the end of the day this is, at the core, the same BlackBerry that you’ve been used to using.

That’s not to say RIM hasn’t made improvements in different areas of the operating system. In fact, sources close to me have touted the fact that RIM has been able to strip bloated code from the OS in various places, undoing years of bandaging and complexity — and it does show. Coupled with a reasonably fast 1.2GHz single-core processor, the software on the BlackBerry runs extremely fast. There aren’t many slow-downs, and the dreaded BlackBerry spinning clock hasn’t made very many appearances on my 9900s.

With that said, the app game on BlackBerry devices is nothing short of a joke. App World is a joke. Third-party applications are a joke. User interfaces are a joke. This is a phone still primarily based on what corporate users of the past once wanted: the best email device in the world coupled with pretty solid personal information management like contacts, calendar, tasks and more. Unfortunately, that’s not enough in this day and age to move the needle, and the dated software and operating system show.

While something like web browsing, now based on WebKit, has improved, it’s still a ways off from competitive offerings from Apple and Google. Photo and video manipulation still feels like a struggle on the BlackBerry Bold 9900, even with a 1.2GHz processor. Scrolling is faster than on any other BlackBerry smartphone, though there are still random slow-downs and hiccups, something hopefully fixed when the company finally transitions to its QNX-based OS in upcoming devices next year.

Phone / Speakerphone / Audio

Voice calling on the Bold 9900 was a pretty solid experience. BlackBerry smartphones have been known for their superior RF performance and their ability to serve up solid connections, and the BlackBerry 9900 is no different. The device easily rivaled Apple’s latest smartphone and Google’s latest Nexus device in that department. As far as the ear speaker goes, however, calls sounded a bit shallow and lacked a low-end that is typically found on most top-tier smartphones.

The speakerphone on the BlackBerry 9900 is above average, though it also lacked the low-end response users look for in a high-end smartphone. Audio was even a bit choppy at times when using the speakerphone function, which was a pretty big disappointment. The sound just isn’t full, and the distortion compounds matters.

Playing back audio through the built-in speaker exhibited the same issues that the speakerphone did — the low-end was lacking, though mid and high-end performance was on point with other competitive devices. Max volume is also a bit lower than I was hoping, though the phone performed reasonably well with all things considered. After all, it’s not like it has Beats audio built in.

Battery

Battery life has been one of RIM’s strengths over the years, and that doesn’t change too much on the BlackBerry Bold 9900. While the battery is noticeably smaller than previous RIM devices (1,200 mAh compared to 1,500 mAh), and even though the processor speed has nearly been doubled,  I haven’t noticed that much of a difference as far as battery performance is concerned. That’s pretty impressive considering some phones can’t last an entire day, and the BlackBerry Bold 9900 has been able to power through almost two full days of on and off usage in my testing; again, this is quite impressive when you take the faster processor and smaller build into account.

With constant emailing, moderate Facebook and Twitter usage, light web browsing and light voice calling, the BlackBerry 9900 chugged along for nearly three days — a ridiculous feat.

Conclusion

RIM’s BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the company’s best BlackBerry ever. It combines everything a BlackBerry user and fan used to beg for into one incredible package. A touchscreen with amazing full QWERTY keyboard, an incredibly thin and solid hardware shell with high-end finishes like a stainless steel bezel, meshed with a soft touch rubberized finished backside, complete with carbon fiber insert, make for an almost irresistible offering.

With an improved and enhanced operating system that is speedier than any previous version, this could be the total package you’re looking for in a smartphone. Unfortunately, it’s still a BlackBerry, and outside of the core areas where a BlackBerry still offers a competitive advantage like email, for instance, I don’t see a reason to pick this smartphone over an iPhone 4 or one of the latest Android handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S II or Google’s Nexus S. There will always be a market for the current incarnation of BlackBerry smartphones, but that market is shrinking daily and RIM’s QNX-based mobile devices can’t come soon enough.

Hello, my name is Jonathan, and I was a BlackBerry addict. Forget having every BlackBerry the company released, including different variants of models that didn’t ever appear in the U.S., like the BlackBerry 8707g. Forget being one of the first people to discover BlackBerry Messenger and convert family and friends to the service, even though it was probably the slowest thing ever to run on a BlackBerry 7290. Forget getting a bunch of celebrities to attend the BlackBerry 8700 launch party in New York City just so I would be one of the first people outside of RIM to have an 8700. I even once paid to have a BlackBerry 8700 forged out of solid white gold, which barely functioned since gold doesn’t play nice with antenna (an early lesson on wireless communications — maybe the first real antennagate?). I had a dedicated BlackBerry Enterprise Server for over four years — I was so in. Read on for more.

So then, I started using another smartphone, but it wasn’t as advanced in some areas that I really relied on all the time. I began carrying two smartphones instead of just one, and eventually my BlackBerry was used simply for email and BlackBerry Messenger because other operations became terribly inferior. There came a point, however, when carrying two smartphones, even though I was used to it since years earlier when I had a StarTAC and Timeport P935, became tiresome. It’s a little over the top, even for someone like me, and my BlackBerry was practically useless for me once all of my contacts began switching.

We all know what happened and is happening with Research In Motion, though one thing that’s said I don’t believe is accurate. RIM didn’t stop innovating. The accurate statement would be: RIM stopped innovating where it needed to. The great thing about the BlackBerry 9900 is that it’s sure to be the best BlackBerry yet, and there is not one single person who gave up a BlackBerry for another smartphone who isn’t interested in the BlackBerry 9900, if even just a little bit. There’s something about that keyboard, there’s something about emailing on a BlackBerry, there’s something about phone calling on a BlackBerry, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a BlackBerry 9900 to review. It’s entirely possibly someone from Waterloo put something in my water, I’ll fully admit, but I checked, and the bottle was sealed.

We already gave you rundowns of the all new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphones, and we also spent time with the BlackBerry Torch 9850/9860 tonight up in Toronto. We picked up this full-touchscreen device with the fear that it could be as miserable as the Storm was, but we were pleasantly surprised. The large screen is very responsive and the 1.2GHz processor has enough power to make every movement through BlackBerry OS 7 feel snappy. The web browser loaded pages quickly and the virtual keyboard was very easy to type on; it’s an absolute pleasure compared to RIM’s “award-winning” SurePress, and it definitely improves upon the Storm 2′s display as well. We were also very impressed at how thin and light the phone is, but it’s not so light that it feels cheap. BlackBerry OS 7 itself isn’t revolutionary, though, so hopefully we see some better apps for BlackBerry smartphones now that there’s some hardware muscle to back it all up. AT&T has already announced that it will be carrying the device later this year, so all we can do in the meantime is wait. For now, have a look at the rest of the photos in our hands-on gallery below.