Bell Canada launches a pair of new BlackBerry 7 OS devices

Two of RIM's new BlackBerry 7 OS models are now available up north from Bell Canada. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 4G and the BlackBerry Torch 9810 4G can be bought for $169.99 and $149.99 respectively, both requiring a signed three year contract as is typical up north.

The thinnest BlackBerry ever, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 4G has that amazing physical QWERTY keyboard seen on the Bold 9000, but widened by 6%. BlackBerry 7 OS is on board giving users an updated WebKit browser that is 40% faster than the one on BlackBerry 6 OS and has absolutely no problem with JavaScript. A 2.8 inch touchscreen with resolution of 480 x 640 lets you scroll and pinch to zoom. There is a 5MP camera on board, NFC Support, and a 1.2GHz processor (single-core) under the hood along with 768MB of RAM. This is the thinnest 'Berry ever made. And don't forget the HSPA+ connectivity.

The BlackBerry Torch 9810 takes the portrait sliding QWERTY design from the Torch 9800 and practically doubles the processor to 1.2GHz. RAM is bumped up about 50% to 768MB. While the touchscreen remains 3.2 inches, resolution is now 480 x 640. A 5MP camera on the back captures video at 720p. The new browser is aboard and this model also offers 4G through Bell Canada's HSPA+ pipelines.

We can't really call this a new era for RIM with the specter of the QNX flavored models casting a huge shadow over the new BlackBerry 7 OS phones. Still, if this is a placeholder made to keep the BlackBerry faithful from jumping ship before the QNX Superphones become reality, RIM has done a good job. Current 'Berry users will find enough improvement to stick with the new phones. However, lack of dual-core speed and a understocked BlackBerry App World might keep users of other platforms from jumping ship.

source: BerryReview