I’m here at WES 2010 and as you know two new devices were launched today. RIM has set up a solutions showcase to show off the new devices and accessories, and we’ve got some pictures and impressions to show off.
The Pearl colors and accessories had them looking more like consumer electronics than smartphones. Don’t be fooled though, under the hood of the 91XX series are chipsets and memory of a high-end BlackBerry.
The new Pearl device colors look like some of the cutest devices I have ever seen RIM put out. The red gradient, and magenta colors really stand out among all the colorful leather cases and rubber skins. There’s a new leather case that features a built-in mirror that would go well with any modern purse or bag. Some were just skins while others also integrated hard plastics, not unlike the silver edges around the 9650/9700 series. These hard plastics are specifically placed in the impact zones around the edges of the device. For a company that has released a lot of devices meant to look like fierce sports cars, they have shifted gears and made something totally unexpected: purse-candy.
The 9650 seemed like less of big deal in the same room as the new Pearls. The back is made of hard plastics in a carbon-fiber diamond texture. It feels just like an 8900 door, which is good because the 9700 door feels sort of loose and too easy to remove. The fake leather is absent which is okay because I always thought the fake leather texture should have been an aftermarket accessory as opposed to standard. I’m glad they’ve stopped using different model branding for the CDMA pro devices. Calling the CDMAs “Tour” and the GSMs “Bold” never made much sense to me. I hope this means that future BlackBerry Bold series devices will simultaneously launch on both GSM and CDMA networks.
The small charging block will be available soon for carriers to add to phone packages and as a 1st-part accessory. Many companies are moving to this standard of smaller charging accessories. Not only does it take up a single space in a power bar, but also they are able to ship one less cable in the box instead of one tethered to a changer and an additional cable for syncing.
Things are going really well here at WES. Let us know in the comments if there is anything in particular you’d like us to cover.
