BlackBerry Bold 9780 Refresh Due out Early November
The replacement for the popular BlackBerry Bold 9700—the Bold 9780—will be heading out to some carriers for sale in early November. While no date has been given yet for carriers in the US, Canada’s Bell Mobility will start selling the device on November 2nd according to BGR. Vodafone Netherlands will start selling the Bold 9780 presumably in early November as well, and has already listed the model on its website.
Research In Motion (RIM) has not yet officially announced the model, but with all the videos out, pictures floating around and even cellular carriers announcing the Bold 9780, it should. So what does the Bold 9780 do better than the Bold 9700 it replaces? That’s a hard question. The case is the same, as are many of the specs, including the 624 MHz Marvell processor inside. What is new is the doubled RAM (now 512 MB), the 5 megapixel camera, and the fact that it ships with BlackBerry OS 6. Not a whole lot, but it is a refresh after all.
The Bold 9700 and older Bold 9650 are both expected to get BlackBerry OS 6 but are still waiting for their updates. Maybe carriers are waiting to get the 9780 onto shelves before they bring the new features over for older smartphones. Yes, that would be a typical evil carrier move, but what do you expect? They want you to buy a new phone as often as you can afford to.
Since no US carriers have announced the Bold 9780 yet, the subsidized price is unknown. The unsubsidized price is $499.99, which I think is a bit steep for the components inside. Since the Torch 9800 is the only BlackBerry running with OS 6 right now, and the RAM/processor configurations are identical between the two models, check out the Torch right now to see how quickly the operating system and apps run if you have any questions. Like the rest of the Bold series, the 9780 will not have a touchscreen, but if well-designed QWERTY keyboards are your thing, you probably won’t miss it.
So what do you all think? Getting ready to upgrade your older BlackBerry to a Bold 9780? Frustrated that older models still are waiting for BB OS 6? The new model not have enough stuff in it to justify the upgrade? Tell me in the comments.
Tags: Blackberry OS 6, BlackBerry Bold 9780, RIM, release
RIM has been doing this for ages, just upgrading their current phone styles with minor upgrades. It is odd but thats just how they do things i guess.
As for the 9700 running OS 6, they have to modify the OS6 to run with the 256 MB of RAM in that model. I have seen reviews of the 9780 and the OS 6 takes up almost 256 MB, so imagine how brutal it would run on the 9700.
Once they modify it, it should be good to go for 9700 users…but who knows when that will be.. : S
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Not so convincing a replacement for the 9700 going by the discretion of what are the extras, and the price!!! I’m a current user of 9700 and what we probably need is the OS 6 than a new look a like phone.
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That is very good to hear, I’ve seen new OS 6 Builds being released for this phone and its not even out yet. I seriously think that this is one of the best blackberries to come out so far. It packs a lot of punch for its size.
I will have no problem at all switching from the Curve to the Bold : )
There are tons of rumors going around that Rogers Wireless will be launching this phone on the 27th of this month. Despite the fact that its not on their website or on RIM’s website lol I cant wait to get it.
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Hamu:
As far as is known, the 9780 will only support b/g bands for Wi-Fi. The recent updates to BB OS 6 should clear up some of the slow UI issues the new operating system was criticized for when it first came out on the Torch 9800.
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This is a good upgrade, the RAM should really help. It would have been better if RIM decided to upgrade the Processor, but maybe its not even needed because i’ve been hearing OS 6 is running quite well on the 9780.
I’m coming from a 8900 Curve and i would have loved to get the new curve but the upgrades that were done are a joke. I’d rather stick with my 8900.
Instead i think going to the new Bold 9780 will be a good choice, having 3G with a pretty good camera is important to me….that and i wish they put WIFI Draft N….which i dont think they did.
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