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RIM Announces BlackBerry 7 OS

Posted by Soulskill on from the damage-control dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "RIM announced two new BlackBerry phones with high-res touchscreens, 1.2GHz processors and a new OS that offers better graphics than BlackBerries had before. The new BlackBerry 7 OS brings the 'liquid graphics' ability and offers '60 frames per second performance with instant UI action/response.' What's unfortunate about the new OS is that rather than being entirely new, BlackBerry 7 is just an upgrade to the existing BlackBerry 6 OS."

12 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Stock shows no change by captaindomon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Investors obviously aren't impressed. After the huge crash last week in RIMM, with this announcement you would expect some recovery, but there just isn't anything there.

    --
    Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
    1. Re:Stock shows no change by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 3, Insightful

      RIM *is* getting left behind, but let's be honest here. Countries where RIM lets the government read the emails are countries where everybody who provides email lets the government read the emails. RIM got headlines for being the last holdout.

    2. Re:Stock shows no change by wiedzmin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Lets be honest here, RIM lets all governments read user emails, it's just that in some countries it gets more publicity than in others. You can't seriously believe that privacy-neutral states like US or UK do not have a backdoor into RIM infrastructure.

      --
      Bow before me, for I am root.
  2. SOP by cpu6502 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >>>BlackBerry 7 is just an upgrade to the existing BlackBerry 6 OS

    [Windows] 7 is just an upgrade to the existing [Windows] 6/vista OS
    [Mac 10.]7 is just an upgrade to the existing [Mac 10.]6 OS
    Reviewers should no longer be shocked. It's standard operating procedure.

    --
    My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
    1. Re:SOP by h4rr4r · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It is when the company just bought a new OS.

      RIM bought QNX, everyone expected them to move their platform to that. BlackBerry OS is terrible, loads all apps at boot, etc.

    2. Re:SOP by strick1226 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      The notable difference here is that, unlike the personal computers running ever-changing versions of OS X and Windows, the BlackBerry hardware platform has changed very little over the years. Thanks to a combination of weak, battery-sipping CPU's and a bloated java-based OS It's long been a clunky, rather unresponsive UI if you pressed the devices to do much of anything beyond the basic calendar and messaging apps.

      I'd like to think RIM have a chance now that they're finally making some noteworthy changes to the hardware, but it's also entirely possible they're simply too late to the latest-generation smartphone party. If they managed to switch to the QNX platform on their phone devices I bet the investors would be much happier.

      I really wonder, though, if they won't just cease making phones and tablets altogether and roll full Android support into BES for corporate environments. Better do it before Google makes a corporate management platform, though! :)

  3. In related news... by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    In related ancient technology news:

    Gak the Caveman has updated his stone axe. The bindings are now made from hemp rather than mammoth tendon.

    Grogg from the Urrg tribe has discovered a new method of tanning hides. This will help in those dark, dank caves!

    Bleaaaa, leader of the Mmagb community, has found a method of creating fire by rubbing two stick together.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  4. "Just an upgrade" by wall0645 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Was there something wrong with BB OS 6 that should necessitate a complete re-write for OS 7? (Serious question, I own a BB but it's still on OS 5.) I am constantly hearing people complaining about how Vista was so different from XP and Office 2007 from 2003, etc., that I figured people liked upgrades rather than completely new things?

  5. Re:Why did they buy QNX? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 3, Informative

    They used it for Playbook. Considering how incomplete most reviewers regarded the PlayBook, if RIM has plans to replace their smartphone OS with it, it will take a few years.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  6. Unfortunate (?) by Wrath0fb0b · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What's unfortunate about the new OS is that rather than being entirely new, BlackBerry 7 is just an upgrade to the existing BlackBerry 6 OS.

    Yeah, I was looking forward to replacing all my apps and app developers must have been really looking forward to supporting two different sets of APIs. Given the hate for "forward" Android fragmentation (i.e. apps that require Android >= X.Y) I can't imagine how much fury would befall RIM if they "backwards" fragmented by making an entirely-new OS.

    I'm not saying that total-rewrites are always wrong but they have to be damn well justified (WinMo6.5 comes to mind) because they incur a huge cost on both the rewriters and the entire ecosystem. Those asking for an 'entirely new' OS need to be careful what they wish for.

  7. take off your android/apple colored glasses by 1800maxim · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Plenty of people get excited about BlackBerries, many are in the business world, and many are in the consumer world.

    Neither iOS nor Android have rendered RIM product(s) irrelevant, and won't for a while. Stop spreading untruth.

    There's one area in which iOS/Android cannot even touch the BlackBerry - security.

    Of course, you know all that. And choose to ignore it and spread your FUD.

  8. Take another look with your glasses on... by Kamiza+Ikioi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There's one area in which iOS/Android cannot even touch the BlackBerry - security.

    You're right. Google nor Apple, to my knowledge, has yet to sell me on "unbreakable" encryption and then turned around and made a deal with a foreign government to provide the tools to break said unbreakable encryption. Yep, my DroidX can't touch that. Well, I can call using RedPhone, and completely encrypt my voice calls, use Orbot (Tor) to anonymize and onion route my phone's communications, and I can use any number of private crypto messengers.

    Oh wait, did I mention that the folks at Whispersys.com (makers of RedPhone) also make WhisperCore 0.2? From the link: "Device and data security for Android. WhisperCore integrates with the underlying Android OS to protect everything you keep on your phone. This initial beta tech-demo features full disk encryption and basic platform management tools for Nexus S phones. WhisperCore presents a simple and unobstrusive interface to users, while providing powerful security and management APIs for developers."

    So... what were you saying about BlackBerry faux-security again?

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    I8-D