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RIM introduces new BlackBerry Bold 9900 in Singapore

Posted on by Paul Mah
BlackBerry Bold 9900
The BlackBerry Bold 9900

Update: The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is currently on pre-order and will be sold in Singapore from 1st September 2011.

RIM introduced the BlackBerry Bold 9900 in Singapore on Monday this week. I was not able to spend much time with one; hence any feedback on that front is necessarily limited.

Anyway, regular BlackBerry users will not be mistaken to notice that the Bold 9900 seems to bear a strong resemblance to the older Bold 9000. Well, I was told that the 9900 is indeed based on the 9000’s design, sophisticated Chrome edge included – albeit in a much thinner form factor.

The Bold 9900 runs on BlackBerry 7 OS, which will be the latest and greatest version of the BlackBerry operating system.  It should also be the last version of the venerable BlackBerry OS before RIM is expected to roll out a new QNX-based OS rewritten from scratch. Most importantly, the incorporation of a 1.2GHz processor should also eliminate the system lags common in the Torch 9800, significantly boosting usability.

Below are other key points pertaining to the 9900:

  • At 10.5mm thick, it is the thinnest BlackBerry. Ever.
  • Very light at 130g (Torch 9800 is 161g; Bold 9780 is 122g; iPhone 4 is 137g)
  • 2.8-inch touch screen display (640×480, 287dpi)
  • 1.2GHz processor, 768MB RAM (Torch is 624MHz and 512MB RAM)
  • 5.0MP camera that supports 720p HD video recording
  • Built-in GPS, accelerometer, magnetometer, proximity sensor, NFC technology
  • Dual-band Wi-Fi that supports 802.11a/b/g/n
  • Removable rechargeable battery

When released, the Bold 9900 will be the fastest BlackBerry smartphone available. Its Bold 9000-based keyboard is also wider and more comfortable than the ones found in the Bold 9700 and Torch 9800. Finally, the incorporation of a touch screen makes the phone much easier to navigate, and should make (finally) web browsing a tolerable task.

So what is its date of availability? RIM would only say “Before the end of the year.”  If I would to venture a guess though, I’ll take a stab at the September/October time frame.

My Torch 9800 side-by-side with the Bold 9900
The Torch 9800 and the Bold 9900 placed side-by-side
My Torch 9800 side-by-side with the Bold 9900
The total thickness of the Bold 9900 is equivalent to the bottom half of the Torch
My Torch 9800 side-by-side with the Bold 9900
BlackBerry Torch 9800 stacked on top of the Bold 9900
RIM executives speaking at the event
Introducing the Bold 9900. (From top to bottom: Gregory Wade, Regional Managing Director at RIM; Oliver Pilgerstorfer, RIM Senior PR Manager for Southeast Asia)

6 thoughts on “RIM introduces new BlackBerry Bold 9900 in Singapore”

    1. @ppshein RIM would only commit to “before the end of the year” so its just a guess on my part – based on the fact that getting new phones out of the door is crucial not to lose momentum on the smartphone front, and that Apple is rumored to release the iPhone 5 in that time frame.

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