[BBPandy]

The BlackBerry "Urraco," designed by ChauhanStudio in 2009, was meant to inspire RIM to broaden BlackBerry's market appeal. However BlackBerry descided not to use it.

fastcodesign.com has an interesting article about an old BlackBerry Concept phone.
I can kinda see why BlackBerry didn't produce it...I don't see a trackpad on it. BUT still it looks kinda cool, Now with QNX maybe a phone like this would work....

What do you guys think of it?
Could This Forgotten Concept Phone Have Saved BlackBerry? | Co.Design

BTW I don't think it would have saved RIM from being where they are now...Their problems are more then just design....

[recompile]

It looks like someones vision of the future ... from the 1960's!

I don't know what you'd call it, "retro-futuristic"? It's novel, sure, but I doubt it would have had any significant impact.

[mikelcal]

nope... don't think so.

[belfastdispatcher]

Very nice, my wife would be all over that as she won't use any phone bigger then the Pearl.

Very cool indeed.

[Foreverup]

Nope designs isn't RIM's problem

[dangerousfen]

I personally don't like it. And no, it would not have helped RIM in any way at all. Design of asthetics is not the issue, it's what's underneath that's the problem right now.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[belfastdispatcher]

I personally don't like it. And no, it would not have helped RIM in any way at all. Design of asthetics is not the issue, it's what's underneath that's the problem right now.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Some people buy phones for specs others for looks, if everybody only bought on specs the original Iphone would've never sold.

This design would make a nice Pearl and could help bring new customers from dumb phones.

[Barljo]

Personally, I think not. It's garish, ugly, and looks like a childs toy phone. Also, the back isn't flat, which would make it unstable when resting on a table.

All just my opinion, but that's against everything I look for in a phone.

[sleepngbear]

I think it's kinda cool looking. Don't know if I'd go out of my way to get one, but for the superficial crowd that wants something that looks slick, this is the kind of thing that could grab their attention. And let's face it, that's what at least half of these people look at when making a purchasing decision. A few will go purely by what they read on the spec sheet. And a few will look at how they actually use a phone and pick which one works best for them. Anyway, something like that on the store shelves would go a long way towards changing RIM's made-for-business-only image.

[tmelon]

I don't think anyone wants to use a Pearl keyboard anymore. (sorry to the small handful of Pearl users)

[s7khan]

I like it. Maybe not for the final product, but perhaps a couple of tweaks here and there. BlackBerry could use a new refreshing look.

[soo007]

The BlackBerry "Urraco," designed by ChauhanStudio in 2009, was meant to inspire RIM to broaden BlackBerry's market appeal. However BlackBerry descided not to use it.

fastcodesign.com has an interesting article about an old BlackBerry Concept phone.
I can kinda see why BlackBerry didn't produce it...I don't see a trackpad on it. BUT still it looks kinda cool, Now with QNX maybe a phone like this would work....

What do you guys think of it?
Could This Forgotten Concept Phone Have Saved BlackBerry? | Co.Design

BTW I don't think it would have saved RIM from being where they are now...Their problems are more then just design....

Likely, given the fact that the dual core ceo's are notorious forturning ideas/opportunities down flat out.
These are from lazaridis
"Music player on a blackberry?"
"3g on a blackberry?"
"A computer os on a phone?" Referring to what eventually became ios
Turning down web os
Resisting on improving os 4.2
And so on

Nothing against rim. My beef is against the dual-core ceo's. They need to be ousted.

Love my 9900 but will switch to ios phone when rim goes belly up.

[KB1964]

Like others have said, design is not the problem with RIM. As for the concept phone, its kinda cool I think.

[1magine]

Yeah exactly what RIM needs a concept from the 1970s.

RIM's current top of the line all touchscreen device uses a plastic screen and very cheap plastic housing. They have skimped on memory since day one, and when urged by the Board and their shareholders to begin moving away from JAVA three years ago they scoffed.

The future: RIM is still figuring to put a dual core smartphone (BB10) out in November (if they're lucky) when most every leading edge device will be quad core. The BB10 (QNX) OS has still not been able to work with any version of BES. Before the BB10 devices will ever hit consumers - they need to create a version of BES that will work with QNX; them tweak that into a backward compatible version of BES that will work with OS5, 6, & 7.1 devices as well as BB10 (QNX); then ensure that the hardware works with the alpha OS and the BES; then develop all 3 to production. Given that QNX has been in development and production for well over a year and no version of BES yet works with any version of QNX - well you do the math. Seriously - OS7 and 7.1 have been in development for over a year, production runs for many months, and Theme Studio? - - Not even shown at CES (if you believe rumors, which G-d knows no one should, RIM has internally given up on theme studio for OS7/7.1 devices).

No Star Trek tinyas# screen handheld is gonna climb this mountain.

[[email protected]]

Not a BB phone guy. But, that phone is just plan awful. They're supposed to get thinner. That monster would bludge out of a guy's back pocket like my Grand Dad's bi-fold.

[belfastdispatcher]

Not a BB phone guy. But, that phone is just plan awful. They're supposed to get thinner. That monster would bludge out of a guy's back pocket like my Grand Dad's bi-fold.

Dude, this design is slimmer then the curent Pearl, have you seen how thin the Pearl 3G is?

"The internal design team wanted some fresh ideas about how to evolve the BlackBerry Pearl product line, which maintained the physical keyboard that hardcore brand loyalists craved, but slimmed down the overall form factor into a shape that would broaden the brand's appeal beyond the ranks of government employees and lawyers."

My wife has it and it's tiny even compared to the 9700, not a "monster" in any way.

[black-dash]

I'd rather RIM continue on with the progression trail they're on because being the first to put out the latest software upgrade with a million flaws doesnt make any os superior. I prefer RIM to take their time and release their phones/software-hardware with minimal flaws as possible.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[sleepngbear]

Yeah exactly what RIM needs a concept from the 1970s.

Wake up. They didn't have cell phones in the 70's. The 'portable' communications devices they did have were about the size of a cinderblock. But understanding you were attempting to emphasize your point with a shot at exaggeration, perhaps you prefer the style-less slabs that are nearly every new Android phone. Or the Lumia -- now that's some creative design there.

RIM's current top of the line all touchscreen device uses a plastic screen and very cheap plastic housing. They have skimped on memory since day one, and when urged by the Board and their shareholders to begin moving away from JAVA three years ago they scoffed.

People who actually own BB's say they feel very solidly built. I've tried several Androids that feel flimsy; and the first thing my wife did when she got her iP4S was get an Otterbox Defender because it's so fragile.

The future: RIM is still figuring to put a dual core smartphone (BB10) out in November (if they're lucky) when most every leading edge device will be quad core. The BB10 (QNX) OS has still not been able to work with any version of BES. Before the BB10 devices will ever hit consumers - they need to create a version of BES that will work with QNX; them tweak that into a backward compatible version of BES that will work with OS5, 6, & 7.1 devices as well as BB10 (QNX); then ensure that the hardware works with the alpha OS and the BES; then develop all 3 to production. Given that QNX has been in development and production for well over a year and no version of BES yet works with any version of QNX - well you do the math. Seriously - OS7 and 7.1 have been in development for over a year, production runs for many months, and Theme Studio? - - Not even shown at CES (if you believe rumors, which G-d knows no one should, RIM has internally given up on theme studio for OS7/7.1 devices).

You go with that. The truth is that most mobile software doesn't handle multiple cores. The first quad-core phones will be cause for nothing more than bragging rights. Just saw a report of a new Intel single-core mobile chip that blows the doors off any dual-core. Cores mean nothing. And how do you know what BB10 does and does not work with? There are none out ... anywhere. Smacks of something one would read at BGR to me.

Go ahead and buy your devices based on spec sheets and blog reviews; I'll buy mine based on what works.

[bbmme]

looks cool, but I wouldn't buy it

[1magine]

1. The concept of what a future communications device would look like in the 1970s (aka looks to me like an original star trek communicator).

2. QNX does not work on BES...yet. Believe whatever you want. It doesn't. Playbook OS2 does not work on BES. Its been in development and production for a loong time.

3. I like the slab look. I like the industrial look. I know that I am totally alone in liking that look. Except for all the Iphones and android slabs that sell. But other than those few billion people - I am completely and totally alone. PS - not better or worse one design over another, its a matter of what people want. The market over the last 3 years has clearly answered that question. Its not a matter of your or mine personal preference - if the question is what RIM needs to do; I believe its not be a Niche unto themselves.

4. Cores - Cores mean nothing if there is no software to take full advantage of them. RIM's QNX does - hence why its dual core. And when the first Intel quads came out very little software utilized them. But if you intend to own a smartphone for 2+ years, some future proofing is preferable, especially when a device with specs that blow any BBs away cost the same as any BB. Why spend the same and get less of a future?

5. But none of this means anything anyway. I'll leave it at that, as I am well aware that people like you don't want to know that either.

[[email protected]]

People who actually own BB's say they feel very solidly built. I've tried several Androids that feel flimsy; and the first thing my wife did when she got her iP4S was get an Otterbox Defender because it's so fragile.

So it's not possile that she got the Otterbox because iPhones have the highest resale value in the secondary market and she may, one day, move on to a new phone?

That tends to be why most iPhone users shell out the extra cash for the Otterbox.

[belfastdispatcher]

1.

3. I like the slab look. I like the industrial look. I know that I am totally alone in liking that look. Except for all the Iphones and android slabs that sell. But other than those few billion people - I am completely and totally alone. PS - not better or worse one design over another, its a matter of what people want. The market over the last 3 years has clearly answered that question. Its not a matter of your or mine personal preference - if the question is what RIM needs to do; I believe its not be a Niche unto themselves.

Correction, the market has indeed spoken but it actually choose small functional designes like the one above, not slabs.

Only 20%(or is it 10%) of the mobile phones are smartphones and no, they're not all in third world countries, I see them every day in people's hands.

I was at the cinema the other day and just before the movie started people got their phones out to turn them off, vast majority were the so called "dumb" phones or feature phones, very few smartphones.

[1magine]

Adozen eggs - your wasting your time on this one.

Most people especially on this site know Otterbox is one of the best selling BB accessories of all time. The commuter series is often sold out. But it means nothing if you have an idea in your head.

I've been here since long before the Storm 1 came out. I remember how the CB faithful would tear into any Storm user that reported an issue or frustration with their device. How many Storm users would get on and say theirs nothing wrong with their device so it obviously user error. Even when the OS made the device reset if the camera was used! Its been this way for years. Even after the debacle of the Storms and the Tour. There was the keybord stutter issue. Right now, there are those who are still calling anyone whose 9900/9930 bricked as promoters of negativity, and clearly user error. As if RIM has no history here.

I have history with RIM from Pagers to the yellow screens, to the Blueberries through many of the modern devices. I don't hate RIM (for point of reference I hate ignorance only), I don't want RIM to go bankrupt. I have been on BES for 7+ years, so I want RIM to do better because better or worse I use BB everyday of my life. But every negative thing said about their handhelds, OS, lack of vision or planning brings a knee reaction of ignorant defense.

I stand by my original hypothesis - the article is silly, the design is silly, and redesign of the outer shell will not overcome RIM's self made mountains of trouble.

[1magine]

Correction, the market has indeed spoken but it actually choose small functional designes like the one above, not slabs.

Only 20%(or is it 10%) of the mobile phones are smartphones and no, they're not all in third world countries, I see them every day in people's hands.

I was at the cinema the other day and just before the movie started people got their phones out to turn them off, vast majority were the so called "dumb" phones or feature phones, very few smartphones.

Belfast - you're right! I don't know why I didn't see it before. I find it hard to believe you're not working for RIM. Clearly you should be leading them. The future is in producing more handhelds like you saw in the theater the other day. Tell us all more.

[reeneebob]

I would have been on that like a fat kid on a smartie.

I'd STILL be on that like a fat kid on a smartie. Looks fantastic.


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