New BlackBerry London picture shows traditional Android design

by Steven Williamson on 1 February 2012, 09:13

Tags: RIM (TSE:RIM)

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Remember this leaked photo, allegedly of the upcoming BlackBerry London smartphone? Rumoured to be the first handset to run Research In Motion’s (RIM) new BlackBerry 10 QNX-based operating system (previously known as BBX,) a picture of the phone appeared online last November showcasing a black and silver angular design similar to the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981.

Well, a brand new photo has now emerged showing that the new smartphone may have a totally different design than expected. This internal slide, courtesy of CrackBerry, reveals that BlackBerry London will look more like a mini version of the company’s failed PlayBook tablet, with a matte black slim design similar to many Android phones.



The slide claims that BlackBerry London will offer a “dramatic shift in the UI experience” boast “exceptional power and efficiency” and will be the “ultimate communication device.” Personally, we preferred the more stylish Porsche Design, but it looks like RIM may be playing it safe and opting for a more traditional design that will have mass appeal. Can we really blame it?

A leaked roadmap recently revealed that RIM plans on launching BlackBerry London around September or October time. Though nothing is currently known about the phone’s technical specifications, it’s believed to sport a touchscreen rather than the QWERTY keyboard we’ve become accustomed to on other Blackberry handsets, indicating RIM's intentions to finally compete against Android and iOS phones.

What do you think of this latest design? Do you think RIM is onto a winner?


HEXUS Forums :: 10 Comments

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Posted by Kushan - Wed 01 Feb 2012 09:30
“Androids all look the same…so we're totally going to rip them off” - RIM's CEO (well, mostly)
Posted by DR - Wed 01 Feb 2012 09:53
I think one of the issues is they've forgotten what they do well and I mean really well.
Posted by Biscuit - Wed 01 Feb 2012 10:08
DR
I think one of the issues is they've forgotten what they do well and I mean really well.

I don't think they have, i just think what they do well is an outdated concept now and people expect more than what the BB OS has to offer. I don't think they had much choice but to copy iOS/Android to be quite honest, the problem with it, assuming they are successful, i suspect users (or people who prefer to use) of the older style BB phones will be completely left behind and they risk losing a share of the market who have probably remained loyal.
Posted by DR - Wed 01 Feb 2012 12:19
Biscuit
I don't think they have, i just think what they do well is an outdated concept now and people expect more than what the BB OS has to offer. I don't think they had much choice but to copy iOS/Android to be quite honest, the problem with it, assuming they are successful, i suspect users (or people who prefer to use) of the older style BB phones will be completely left behind and they risk losing a share of the market who have probably remained loyal.

But email without doubt is the one thing which they do better than any others.
Posted by Biscuit - Wed 01 Feb 2012 12:35
DR
But email without doubt is the one thing which they do better than any others.

If you're company has its own BB mail server yeah for sure, otherwise i think what happened a last year is proof of the contrary.

I will concede that was a one off kinda situation but it did prove a rather massive point of failure in the BB infrastructure.

I have both a blackberry and an android, and i have used both for gmail/exchange/hotmail. Exchange experience in android is slightly sub-par as it doesnt properly sort out linebreaks etc however other than than, i preferred android.

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