RIM has been caught in rough waters for the past few months, and RIM has made no secret of the fact that their hopes for the future are pinned on BBX and their new BlackBerrys. The Verge has managed to get a picture of what may be the company’s first BBX-powered BlackBerry, and — to my surprise — it’s a handsome piece of kit.
Code-named “London,” the device bears a slight resemblance to the heinous, Porsche-designed P’9981 that debuted last month because of its seemingly metallic body.
Thankfully, the London’s clean lines steer clear from that gaudy territory and impart it with an understated, premium look that previous BlackBerrys have never managed. The Verge also reports that the body is slightly boxy, much like the Future BlackBerrys we’ve seen RIM dream up already.
Unfortunately, the London’s specs don’t quite match up to the high bar its design has set. It reportedly sports a 1.5GHz TI OMAP processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front facer. While it’s an improvement over RIM’s current BlackBerrys, the London’s specs would have been bleeding edge a few months ago. As it stands, the London may end up looking downright quaint when its reputed June 2012 launch window rolls around.
On the software front, the device’s UI is reminiscent of the BlackBerry PlayBook — not exactly a surprise, due to their shared QNX underpinnings. The color scheme seems to have gotten a bit of a revamp, as do a few of the device’s icons, but nothing is set in stone yet. According to The Verge’s sources, the device itself is a non-functional dummy, so it’s still anyone’s guess as to what RIM will really trot out next year. Here’s hoping whatever it is will be worth the wait — otherwise, RIM may not be able to keep their heads above water.