[cfoxx]

BB10 is centred on "swipe from bezel" gestures for important actions like calling up menus and switching apps... but what happens if phones with a 'bezel' fall out of favour?

Fashions can change very quickly, I remeber the transition from mobiles with antenna to mobiles with an internal antenna - once the internal versions existed, nobody wanted an ugly antenna on their phone.

Looking at fan made concepts of BlackBerry phones and iPhones, hundreds of them have screens without an ugly bezel. The phones look radically modern and sleek.



There is a very real possibility that the new iPhone will not have a bezel, as they opt for a bigger screen without increasing the size of the handset. If this happens, it would look great but importantly, set the standard. We would most likely see lots of phone manufacturers follow suit and introduce bezel-less phones.

But RIM couldn't, because BB10 wouldn't work.

So if BB10 and the iPhone5 launch at the same time, something as simple as this will make RIM's new handsets look dated immediately. They've invested all their effort in a glossy OS that needs a bezel, and yet if the iPhone5 lands without a bezel, the new BB phones could be DOA.

[anthogag]

It's still 'typical' iOS

This doesn't interest me at all

[vtpmt81]

Interesting. The bezel provides structural integrity for the touchscreen panel and helps prevent glass cracking if the phone is dropped. It is also very hard to hold a phone without a bezel without hitting the touchscreen with your thumb. How do you create a case to protect this bezel-less phone without the case touching the glass screen? This phone seems very fragile to me.

Secondly, many fan made renderings of the Galaxy S3 showed a phone without a bezel as well. I don't think anyone is going to panic because of a fan made rendering and a rumor.

Last but not least, the Alpha Dev device does not use bezel gestures, it uses directional swipes.

I do agree that the hardware design of the BB10 device will be critical. It needs to stand out like the Lumia 900 while maintaining a classy look. However, nothing about iOS looks modern. I love my iPod Touch but iOS 5 looks just like iOS 4. Apple users love the ease of use, OS stability, and the Apple ecosystem. I think is Apple releases a phone like this it will sell but it will also have some hardware issues.

[hpjrt]

So what would Apple use instead? The ever-annoying home button?

Concepts are concepts and seldom if ever come to market as envisioned. And by the way people were expecting the iphone 5 last fall but had to settle for the 4S. I may have missed the article on the impending release of the iphone 5 as a certainty but wouldn't it just be one more phone with the same old ios?

No one has seen a finished BB10, nor do we know exactly what it will look like or do. Surely you have better things to do than speculate on two phones of which neither is finished?

[lynxs_claw]

It's still 'typical' iOS

This doesn't interest me at all

Agreed.

"Form" should follow "Function".

I'd rather have more efficiency and usefulness out of my BB10 with bezel swipes than not having a bezel which will lose its appeal a week after I get it.

[kittencounter]

none of us want the bezel...but it makes the body of the phone stronger and prevent that the GUI get distracted by contacts from the hand while holding it. It would be very crampy if you try to touch the right corner while holding it with 1 hand. Beside.. all the buttons and switches on the side need space to be pressed in too. For now I would say it's practically impossible to design a phone without the bezel on the side.

[_StephenBB81]

For a Bezelless device thinness would have to be sacrificed,

I do not think that for 1 Apple would be the first to try bezelless as it runs to high of risk of not being adopted, as users would need to change usage, case makers would need to find new ways to make cases, it would just make their after market support that much harder.


as for it's effect on RIM? well really if people WANT touch screens most have already left RIM, so it wont have much of an effect on RIM's current subscriber base, it may slow RIM's growth because it would be something different from Apple rather than a rehash of the same old same old.
But no matter what Apple releases it will effect RIM's BB10 touchscreen sales

[llllBULLSEYE]

Yeah I would strongly doubt it too.
Actually this would be more what the new iPhone will
look like
How apps will benefit from a 4-inch iPhone | 9to5Mac | Apple Intelligence

[xandermac]

So what would Apple use instead? The ever-annoying home button?

Concepts are concepts and seldom if ever come to market as envisioned. And by the way people were expecting the iphone 5 last fall but had to settle for the 4S. I may have missed the article on the impending release of the iphone 5 as a certainty but wouldn't it just be one more phone with the same old ios?

No one has seen a finished BB10, nor do we know exactly what it will look like or do. Surely you have better things to do than speculate on two phones of which neither is finished?

Why is the home button any more annoying than the buttons on other devices? I've never understood that. Is it the fact that there is only 1 button compared to the 4+trackpad on the front of a blackberry?

No, it won't spell disaster for RIM. I'd love a bezel-less design but it don't see it happening any time soon. FYI, that wedge shaped monstrosity in the rendering would never come to market, it was obviously slapped together by a wannabe designer that is infatuated by the MacBook Air.

[ichat]

In bb10 case, the bezel accounts for extra features....
So I believe it is totally cool to have one.

So what??? Blackberry will still have a good design.

The dev alpha is still good looking even though if its a "slab of plastic"

Sent from my BlackBerry 9860 on 7.1.0.342 with Tapatalk and my fingers

[sleepngbear]

They had reception problems with the the iP4 because 'people were holding it wrong' ... imagine the UI problems certain no-mind types will have if there's no bezel.

In any case, it isn't going to affect BB10 sales much, if at all. People who are waiting for BB10 will wait for BB10; people who want the new iPhone will get the new iPhone, bezel or no bezel.

[belfastdispatcher]

No1 without a bezel you can't hold the phone anymore

No2 you don't need a bezel to swipe, you just need to cross the first row of pixels with your finger, you don't really need to swipe. It's like playing tennis on the wii, you can swing from the shoulder or you can swing from your wrist lol

[pantlesspenguin]

It's still 'typical' iOS

This doesn't interest me at all

Wow something else we agree on. The universe is set to unravel at any time!

[FRG_RC]

hahahahahahaha

You can't make a bezel-less phone, at least NOT NOW.

It's funny how an artist's rendering can get people so worked up, if you search a little about how a touch screen works, you will see how it's impractical, and worthless, to do a bazel-less phone.

[BlackBerry Guy]

I think it was on one of the CB podcasts they said gestures on the Dev Alpha were done on screen as opposed to from the bezel like the PlayBook. Also keep in mind that what we have in the current PayBook OS now will change to be more like BB10 and not vice versa.

[Masahiro]

Sigh. It seems like everything that has remotely anything to do with the iPhone spells disaster for BlackBerry, even though they're meant for different demographics. A squirrel dropped a nut in a forest. Could this be the end of RIM?

[kraski]

There have been enough comments about the technical reasons why a bezel-less phone isn't likely any time soon. But there's another reason -- the gestures themselves. The "wakeup" swipe (top to bottom or vice versa) actually doesn't require that you touch both bezels. And I've done it without touching either. Some of the other bezel gestures sometimes work close to the bezel. And I'd be disappointed in RIM's software engineers if they couldn't modify the gesturing system to work with no bezel.

[mphillips828]

BB10 is centred on "swipe from bezel" gestures for important actions like calling up menus and switching apps... but what happens if phones with a 'bezel' fall out of favour?

Fashions can change very quickly, I remeber the transition from mobiles with antenna to mobiles with an internal antenna - once the internal versions existed, nobody wanted an ugly antenna on their phone.

Looking at fan made concepts of BlackBerry phones and iPhones, hundreds of them have screens without an ugly bezel. The phones look radically modern and sleek.

Click to view quoted image


There is a very real possibility that the new iPhone will not have a bezel, as they opt for a bigger screen without increasing the size of the handset. If this happens, it would look great but importantly, set the standard. We would most likely see lots of phone manufacturers follow suit and introduce bezel-less phones.

But RIM couldn't, because BB10 wouldn't work.

So if BB10 and the iPhone5 launch at the same time, something as simple as this will make RIM's new handsets look dated immediately. They've invested all their effort in a glossy OS that needs a bezel, and yet if the iPhone5 lands without a bezel, the new BB phones could be DOA.

Lol i LOVE your choice of words..."BB phones could be DOA" "RIM's new handsets look dated immediately"...you got to be kidding me!!!

First of all, just because the iPhone does it doesn't mean the entire INDUSTRY will adopt it and make it the industry standard...and even if they DID do a bezel-less iPhone, personally I think this would be a terrible idea...as people have stated...the bezel serves a purpose for the structural design of the phone, and there are times even with a case ill drop my phone and its fine cuz of the design...a bezel-less phone would break glass much easier (although gorilla glass 2 is great)...but then cases would be designed and most likely pop out a little bit so instead of a bezel you will have a case that pops-up (very annoying)...

But all that aside, EVEN if iPhone is bezel-less...BB10 wouldn't be DOA...BB10 is an OS and we have NO clue what the hardware will provide...maybe they are already producing bezel-less phones...and BB10 as shown in video previews looks like they use on-screen gestures much more than bezel-gestures like the PlayBook does currently...we haven't seen all the features, but I am guessing it will use many on-screen gestures because it feels more natural then going to the corner to swipe...and Crackberry Kevin has said that they mimicked the touchscreen gestures to remind users of using a trackpad to a degree, so I feel on-screen gestures will be more prevalent than bezel...

Either way, no...a bezel-less iPhone will not spell disaster for RIM...if they release at the same time, users will not see a bezel-less phone and be like "OMG THIS IS THE NEW AND FUTURE OF PHONES!!" and instantly shut out one that has a small black outside around it...maybe if RIM releases a bezel-less phone 3 years after NO manufacturer used bezels then that would spell disaster...but IF apple does it and thats a big IF...users wouldn't look into it as much as you seem to be thinking...

[howarmat]

Interesting concept but it just doesnt work...yet.

[dtango]

RIM have far more than a bezel to worry about.

I think this new iphone is going to be about having a larger screen and how the iphone users adapt to that.

[anthogag]

Wow something else we agree on. The universe is set to unravel at any time!

The universe is set to unravel in August when BB10 is launched

[belfastdispatcher]

Hmmm, how come my 9900 can do bezel gestures in bridge remote mode without a playbook bezel?

You don't need a bezel to do swiping gestures lol, a row of pixels have to be dedicated to swiping.

[lnichols]

I don't think that the current Playbook needs as big of a bezel. I thought I remember that the bezel sense area is really only a pixel width at the boarders. Even if that isn't the case the actual amount of bezel that senses things doesn't go out to the edge, just bring up a web page and drag your finger off to the right for the bezel scroll and you will see you don't have a lot of area to use out there that is sensitive. Also I believe that BB10 is using gestures, not really bezel gestures. I'd love to see RIM come out with a Playbook the same size as the current 7", but with an extra inch of screen when BB10 comes out and 720p ratio.

[mphillips828]

RIM have far more than a bezel to worry about.

I think this new iphone is going to be about having a larger screen and how the iphone users adapt to that.

I agree...Apple is taking it's BIGGEST step since releasing the iPhone...will be the first time they increase screen size! this is a big deal for Apple and may actually hurt them...I am assuming developers will modify their applications to work on a larger screen...but there was an article I read talking about how if Apple increases screen size, the PPI will decrease a lot...of course they could make it better, but the article was talking about how they will use their retina display and increase the size which would result in actually a below average screen display...

This may actually cause an issue for Apple, and may open up the doors for BB10 and RIM...also there are many rumours and news articles discussing Apple and how its entering a tough time...all devices are the same just different screen size...consumers will soon realize that they now own the EXACT same device in 3 form factors...they are getting into trouble, and no one will believe it, but it will happen to Apple as long as they keep releasing the EXACT same product year after year

[BlackBerry Guy]

I don't think that the current Playbook needs as big of a bezel. I thought I remember that the bezel sense area is really only a pixel width at the boarders. Even if that isn't the case the actual amount of bezel that senses things doesn't go out to the edge, just bring up a web page and drag your finger off to the right for the bezel scroll and you will see you don't have a lot of area to use out there that is sensitive. Also I believe that BB10 is using gestures, not really bezel gestures. I'd love to see RIM come out with a Playbook the same size as the current 7", but with an extra inch of screen when BB10 comes out and 720p ratio.

You will need a certain amount of bezel width to accommodate people holding a tablet. Not enough bezel and you'll be forever moving and clicking inadvertently.