Surely, by now you have seen all the pictures of the BlackBerry 8100 cameraphone and heard of all the wonderful things that it is supposed to do in addition to taking pictures like support multimedia and have a removable media slot. I, however, have about 10 questions that, when answered, will really give us some insight into how this puppy will stand up against other smartphones.
- How many megapixels will the digital camera be? — I am already on the record for stating that it should be at least 2.0.
- Will it support standard media formats? — Being able to play downloaded videos in the CamWest MediaWorks VideoPlayer is one thing, however, I want to know if there will be like a Windows Media Player or a QuickTime Player or something that can stream content from these formats?
- Is there a stereo headphone jack? — I know that BerryTunes came out last week, however, If I am going to listen to MP3s, I want to do so through stereo headphones.
- Can multimedia audio play back via Bluetooth? — If you are watching SportsCenter highlights of the game, will the audio play through your Bluetooth headset?
- Will there be support for SlingPlayer Mobile? — Being able to run my SlingBox from my BlackBerry is the thing that will make me go out and buy a Blackberry 8100 the day that they are released regardless of the carrier.
The Slingbox thing is not that valuable if it’s an EDGE connection for GSM. EV-DO and HSPDA are another story though.
If you look at it RIM is moving to blatant consumer and backpedaling from its enterprise-focus mantra that corporate users don’t care about this stuff. But now that Treo and Q and others include all these bells and whistles, it makes sense to do this. Roll on RIM – wonder if they will do the camera MP arms race too. I suspect yes due to competitive pressures.
The camera will be 1.3mp and it will allow voice recording.
I have not heard anything that answers the other questions…..
I was so hoping the CameraBerry would be 2.0 megapixels.
For me one of the top questions is will it support HSPDA and EDGE or just EDGE (on Cingular)? Can someone enlighten me?
1. Not confirmed
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. No
5. Yes
That should answer it for you!!!!
Excellent questions, Robb.
Here’s some more info from BoyGenius posting on howardforums.com:
“there is no trackwheel, just a trackaball in the center, the return button is the back button, u can click wtih the trackball, and pull up the options menu with the blackberry key.”
Notice how BG refers to it as a trackball, and not a d-pad. That to me means more range of motion.
My question to anyone who has actually tested the device: how do you like the trackball vs. the scroll wheel?
For me one of the huge advantages of a BB is the scroll wheel…from a functionality standpoint, it’s a stroke of genius. Could RIM have actually come up with a better or even as good solution?
Kind of off topic w/ re to the 8100, but for those like Robb (and myself) who prefer Verizon, this is an interesting post from HoFo:
“Verizon Wireless 8703e coming to Verizon 8/28”
Link
The poster is a person going by the name of “roc a fella”…I can tell you that he has been 100% credible…last year around the holiday season he was particularly active in posting, and every bit of info about the many new models coming out proved to be accurate.
Thanks for the tip on the 8703e Thought. I will have to get a post up about that one…
10. I talked to my Sprint rep and they won’t have it anytime this calendar year. They did tell me they would have an 8703….a year after Cingular!!!
Once again, you’ve spelled the CanWest Media player wrong. Perhaps you should know that ‘Can’ part is shortened from Canada. Then maybe you’ll remember.
there will be a voice command app.
they call it trackball because that is what RIM calls it. It still only has 4 directions of motion, like a D pad.
you will be able to use the memory card via desktop manager and USB.
there are no plans for a CDMA version.
tipster… It IS a trackball. NOT a d pad. It’s a little tiny ball that rolls around in a hole like a computer mouse.
The newer blackberrys have a new trackball that is a bit stiffer and better functioning.
My Blackberry Tour is stuck on mute. How do i turn the mute off?