Remember the BlackBerry Storm2 refresh, the one we talked about way back in the summer of 2010?  Then remember how we broke the news about the cancellation of the Storm2 refresh, due to it being under powered, behind in technology, and just a bad idea from the start?  Well the same informant just reached out to us and I have to say, even I’m not sure I believe this one just yet.

It would seem that with the latest BlackBerry model announcements, such as the new Bold Touch and other touch screen devices they already have down the pipeline, the Storm series could very well be put to rest.  Can I blame RIM, if in fact, this turns out to be true?  Not at all.  The series should have died after the Storm2 honestly.  Time will tell if this one becomes reality from rumor.

What could be the savior of RIM’s touchscreen BlackBerry platform, the Storm3 (or whatever they decide to call it) looks to be launching with a nice update for you folks waiting on any news regarding the device.  We reported a while ago that the Storm3 would be launching with OS6, but in fact according to the newest report we received it looks like OS6.1 will be on your device come launch day.  This is good news, as OS6.1, although not a large upgrade from 6, incorporates quite a few under the cover features, fixes, and updates.

RIM caught a lot of heat when the first BlackBerry Storm launched, for its lackluster performance to extremely laggy OS they had an uphill battle from the start.  The Storm2 fixed some of the flaws from that initial launch but did the outcry cause the Storm line to be to little to late?

We all know the Storm3 is in full development swing, and one of our informants just hit us up with something interesting.  It appears that RIM might be changing the name of their next 100 percent touchscreen device on Verizon, and not call it a Storm3.  The brand took to many negative hits and RIM might be thinking a name change is in order for the majority of users who dont follow blogs and the Interwebs.  We say… Good idea if it pans out to be true.  If they keep the Storm name chances are it will die a quick death if its not absolutely stellar, something RIM does not seem to be able to do lately.

Thanks A!

What a great week for BlackBerry Leaks. Looks like the Storm 3, codename Monaco, is looking at a September release. It will feature the highest resolution display to ever ship on a BlackBerry smartphone — a 800 x 480-pixel display and yes, it will have an optical trackpad

The list of specs are:

- 1.2GHz processor
- 3.7-inch 800 x 480 capacitive display
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- Tri-band UMTS/HSPA
- 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording
- 8GB eMMC (storage for apps and data), 512MB of RAM
- microSD slot
- Magnetometer
- Proximity sensor
- Accelerometer
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- 2.4GHz b/g/n and 5GHz a/n Wi-Fi + UMA
- 3G Mobile hotspot
- Optical trackpad
- 1230 mAh battery
- BlackBerry OS 6.1
- OpenGL ES 2.0

From what BGR has been told, the Storm 3 will launch in two or possibly three versions globally. Verizon is CDMA and so far the specs are just showing GSM. The look and feel seem to be in accordance with the Storm line but word on the street is that it could have a brand name change. Hence the Monaco and Monza. Personally, I noticed that it was capacitive touch screen and not the Surepress Technology RIM has placed on the storm all along. Thoughts?

Source: BGR

@scuebydue

With all the talk about Android this and iPhone that, its tough to be a BlackBerry user as of late.  RIM seems to have lost all sense of what customers want.  Or have they?  An email has just landed into our lap from a trusty informant and this might make some of you RIM fans happy. (more…)

The BlackBerry Storm3, while not even close to being announced officially yet, is shaping up to be a power device if all the rumored specs are to become true.  We have yet another exclusive for you, as a reliable informant who has given us information in the past is now telling us another reason for the cancellation of the Storm2 refresh 9570.  It looks like RIM wanted to focus on getting an LTE ready device out there sooner rather than later.  Our source is telling us he is all but 100 percent sure the Storm3 (or whatever name it will officially be called) will in fact have LTE on board for data usage, while remaining on Verizon’s CDMA network for voice.  When you factor in all the other “rumored” specs, this device is shaping up to be a big contender sometime next year. (more…)

Well look what Berryreview has managed to get their hands on, could the above picture actually be the mythical Storm 3? No one knows for sure, but from the picture it would appear that they have decided to add the optical trackpad to the mix. According to Berryreview the Storm 3 will sport a 3.7 inch touchscreen and have 8GB of internal memory, which as we know with current devices will probably be used only for media storage. (more…)

As was Tweeted over the weekend, we received some Storm3 info but held off until we can better verify some of the information gathered.  First off, as is already known, there is no Storm3 this fall, as it appears that the Storm2 “refresh” will be RIM and Verizon’s push to get users onto OS6.  The refresh gives the Storm2 double the RAM to 512MB to better accommodate the new OS.

Now onto the good stuff.  We have learned that the Storm3 was delayed just a bit this past late Spring, as Verizon may want to launch the device with LTE for data.  We have reports from separate sources that give us two possible launch time frames.  One being May of 2011 to coincide with RIM’s WES conference.  The other date being next November in 2011.  Why the separate dates?  We are hearing it all depends on how well the LTE rollout goes, and how much coverage is around by May.  If LTE gets delayed at all, look for a November launch.  As always, when we get more we will post it up!

Not in surprisingly shocking fashion, we just received word today from a reliable informant that Verizon, which did have some BlackBerry 6 builds in testing, has since stopped and will probably wait until either a Storm2 reboot and/or a Storm3 is revealed.  Reasoning?  You can bet the 256MB of RAM is one of them, as well as other factors.  As said its not a shocker, but its sad for Storm2 users that were hoping to get some OS6 goodness.  Lets hope this bit of info is wrong for those of you sticking it out with your Storm2′s.

UPDATE: For those that have emailed asking, we agree.  We hope this is not true.  Lets hope the testing stopped for other reasons, such as waiting on a specific build.  For now, this is the info that we have though.

While you can def chalk this up as a MAJOR rumor, something interesting happened during the Verizon LTE 4G presentation today in NYC.  While showing a video demo of how some of you might be using Verizon’s future 4G network, they showed a doctor talking to his patient using video chat.  What was the interesting part, was they were clearly using BlackBerry Storm’s but holding the devices facing forward.  In a sense, they were video chatting.  Now, this by no way means that a BlackBerry Storm with front facing camera is coming, but with the success of the EVO 4G, iPhone 4, and European Samsung Android devices all carrying front facing cameras, is it really that hard to predict?  What do you think?  Could be interesting.  One thing I can def say though, is that the Storm3 (or whatever its called if RIM changes the name) will NOT be the first 4G LTE Verizon handset.  Look to Android to fill that spot knowing that Verizon is full steam ahead on the Droid train.