[N8DBB]

Okay, now I am going to play Mr. Skeptical here for a minute and ask:

Will there really be 3 different versions of the 8800, as we are led to believe by recent pictures?

I am not saying there won't be or there will be, but stating that before we get our hopes up on any one certain model, maybe we should ask ourselves if pictures that we see are actual finalized pictures of what will be the new devices or if they are just initial blue prints of what the devices may look like.


Above are the pictures that are dubbed as the next rounds of the Full QWERTY BlackBerry devices.

Below are the 8700C, 8700G and 8707v devices:

So those all being compared side by side, let me state why I personally believe that the 8800 devices above will not all be released as they are in the picture, but rather a combination of them or just one of them.

As many people who work in production know, price of manufacturing is the bottom line. The cheaper you can make a product, the better, and how do you keep prices down? You don't do it by having different shaped and designed parts for what you produce.

Look at the 8800 devices above. Notice that each device has different shapped keys on the keyboard. I am not saying that one has qwertz, look past that. Look at the actual shape of the keys themselves. Each device is different. Same thing can be said about the Talk/Menu/Back/End keys. Each device is different.

Now look at the actual shell of the phone. As brought up before, the all black version is missing a 2nd convenience key, while it is present on the other two devices.

Also, look down towards the bottom of the phone. The microphone is clearly visible on the far right device in the bottom right hand corner (which is actually opposite of where it is located on the 8700). On the other two devices it seems as if the microphone is located in the center of the device.

Now, also the LED display lights are located in different areas. This isn't too much of a concern because of the fact that it's the exterior case.

Now take a look at the 8700 and 8707 series devices.

While they Send/End/Browser key are pretty much the same, with the exception Tmobile being a little larger, they are pretty much the same device. Yes, the actual housing is a little different, however, the keys remain the same. Buttons in the same place on the side, etc.

What this points to is this:

The 8800 devices, if in fact all 3 of the above pictured, are all produced and released in 3 different versions, then I would be surprised.

The 8700 devices, the way they are, all are set up the same way internally.

With the 8800 devices that are shown above, the internals would have to be different. Yes, they may only be slightly different, but would RIM really waste the time and money to do seperate internal placing of items on the device when they can just slap all the devices together the same with just the outside housing changed?

With the all black device, you would have to move the microphone to the side of the device when on the other two devices it appears they would be in the middle.

Also, why would RIM produce 2 devices with side convenience keys, and 1 without if they are essentially going to be branded as the same type of device.

I could be wrong, who knows, but before we go around bragging about the next BB is going to look like such and such, maybe we need to just slow down real quick.

Unlike the Pearl, none of the devices have actually been photographed "for real". Once one is photographed in someone's hands, then we can start on speculation for the final designed product.

Right now, there is a good chance that these are just preliminary blue prints of what the devices MAY look like.

Or maybe this is a test from RIM themselves. Leak some pre-prototype builds, listen to what people have to say and go from there.

Who knows until we see one in person.

What do you all think?

*I will probably edit this post because I did this kind of quick and probably have spelling mistakes and the same thing written over a few times.

*Yes, the photos above were from engadget and the RIM website before people start pointing fingers blaming for not giving credit on the photos.

[mrnoname]

~via BB (wap.pinstack.com)~

Well thanks N8! Here I was all stoked about the black on black case.

But like you said, this is a waiting game. And im cool with that. And I agree with most of what you are saying.

The slight differences in build, would not really raise the cost to drastically much. And take that cost and spread it out over a few 1000 units and you have brought it down even further.

And my guess is that they will also be able to use some of the techniques in the build of the 87 on the 88.

Just my .02 cents.

[N8DBB]

Originally Posted by johnj41 The slight differences in build, would not really raise the cost to drastically much. And take that cost and spread it out over a few 1000 units and you have brought it down even further.

Yes, I agree with that comment. But I am merely pointing out that from a manufacturing standpoint, it makes more sense to keep as many things as close to the same for the devices as possible. Obviously they are going to need to have some differences to satisfy the carriers, but would you really go far as to have different keypads and front row keys of different shapes and sizes? Maybe. Maybe Not.

[melissaox]

Please keep threads on topic.

I just want a cool new toy that works faster, better, and does more tricks. I am not so picky on how they look. Of course I want it too look cool

[fiz_x]

Ok...well maybe these three photos are three different 'prototype' designs to do consumer testing or some other stuff I don't really know about.

[fiz_x]

~via BB (wap.pinstack.com)~was just speculating.

[N8DBB]

Originally Posted by jibi Nate, in your images of the 8800, the first two are of the same family - and quite possibly not to be named the 8800. They are the ones that feature a camera.

Hence the 2nd convenience key...Good deal...Don't really care for the look actually of the first two, too much chrome and whatnot for me, but do like the all black...

[BBWrangler]

One of those is almost certainly going to be a Vodafone device. I'm just hopeful the 3'rd one without the camera will be available as a cingular device (or unlockable T-Mobile).

[mortys11]

what about the size?

Will these be smaller than current 8700?

Will we have the ability to send and recieve email while on the fon?

Faster processor? More attachment supported?

Whats the main upgrade feature/reason to upgrade?

[thought]

jibi: thanks for the info.

I'm taking it that the version without camera will be released first. Will it come out this year or early next?

And we already see the T-Mo version in the pics...will Cingular get any version of this device...either w/ or w/o camera?

Thanks.

[mortys11]

wow

thanks for all the answers

i was a bit disappointed that it wont be more compact.

thanks again

[Rcbjr]

How much smaller do you want a qwerty device to be. Small enough to require a stylus to press the keys? The 8700 seems to be about the smallest that most people find comfortable using and the 8800-Cam is about 0.34" narrower that it.

Rcbjr.

[EricaJ1073]

Originally Posted by thought jibi: thanks for the info. I'm taking it that the version without camera will be released first. Will it come out this year or early next? And we already see the T-Mo version in the pics...will Cingular get any version of this device...either w/ or w/o camera? Thanks.

I think the 8800 on the far right will be a T-Mobile device. The middle one is obviously Vodafone. And, for those to be full keyboard devices, I actually like the one that will probably be T-Mobile branded. I like how thin it is for a full keyboard device. Not too bulky. Also the colored bottom corners of the device is something new LOL

[nabitheking]

Besides all that... I love my 8700g.
I am really looking foward to getting my hands on the new OS that everybody seems to be waiting for.
I wonder if it is just a rumor or a fact...

[nabitheking]

Well, I guess I just had to go there...:D
Would you happen to know if the new OS 4.2 has new themes besides Zen and Today themes?

[mrnoname]

~via BB (wap.pinstack.com)~

How about a screenshot of that 4.2 on your 87 Jibi?

[N8DBB]

This thread is not a political debate thread.

That being said, it needs to go back on topic.

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by N8DBB Look at the 8800 devices above. Notice that each device has different shapped keys on the keyboard. I am not saying that one has qwertz, look past that. Look at the actual shape of the keys themselves. Each device is different. Same thing can be said about the Talk/Menu/Back/End keys. Each device is different. Also, look down towards the bottom of the phone. The microphone is clearly visible on the far right device in the bottom right hand corner (which is actually opposite of where it is located on the 8700). On the other two devices it seems as if the microphone is located in the center of the device. Now, also the LED display lights are located in different areas. This isn't too much of a concern because of the fact that it's the exterior case.

If you've dismantled a Blackberry or other cell phone you know that the shape and size of keys (and even the housing itself) don't matter much as long as the pins under the keys line up with the sensors on the board that the keypad sits on. Shop around for a particular model Nokia and you'll see all sorts of keypad options that look very different but mechanically align and work just fine. From looking at these photos (not the best way to make such assessments, by the way) I can't see why the keyboards in the three 8800 family models couldn't use identical internals.

To further confuse things, RIM has already used keypads in the 7100's that were not compatible across all models (there were at least two different keypads, IIRC).

As for the microphone, again, I don't see anything truly conclusive as to where the microphone is placed on any of the three models.

LED indicators on device housings are even more deceptive as they all use light conduits since the actual LED sits on the main board. The light conduit can be made in pretty much any shape and length can be varied to a degree so it's not a useful method for assessing any internal differences.

Again, I'll emphasize that trying to infer all this from photos (not matter how well resized and aligned) won't provide you with any conclusive evidence as there's a bit of a margin of error in manipulating the photos.