RIM has appeared in the news quite a bit lately. Well today, some new photos of the BlackBerry Monza, or Monaco as it’s known for now, have showed up online in a Greek Blackberry forum. With the promise of some hands on video coming soon, this is the most activity we have seen from the handset since the device simulator was leaked not too long ago and the Sprint inventory image that appeared at the end of June.

These new images don’t really show us anything new about this device, but they do hint that there is recent activity surrounding the device. The BlackBerry Monza will most likely run BlackBerry OS 7 and will have a row of physical buttons under its assumed 3.7-inch display, similar to Android and WP7 devices. Aside from that, rumors have said the device will be powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm chipset. So although it may not be the fastest smartphone on the market, it should be no slouch.

Here are the new images:

Both Monza and Monaco are codenames that signify different carriers the phone will land on. From what we’ve heard and seen so far, Verizon Wireless will get the Monaco while the BlackBerry Monza is said to be the global GSM version.

The Monza/Monaco will have a steep challenge of refreshing RIM’s touchscreen slate smartphone lineup, which some might see as tainted after the whole Storm series. The Monza looks like it will at least be able to somewhat match up with the competition as far as specs are concerned, but OS 7 will still be more or less the same experience as we’ve been seeing on Blackberry devices for the last few years now. If you are looking to get one of these and are expecting a giant change in user experience then you may want to hold out until next year when RIM brings us dual core devices that can handle the QNX operating system found on the PlayBook tablet.

Do you think this device has potential in today’s market?
Is this a viable option for corporate users mostly, or do you think that Blackberry as a business man’s device is a thing of the past?
Will this be enough to keep RIM going, until they implement OS7 next year?
Anyone out there waiting on this handset to arrive? (It’s just us geeks here, you can be honest.)

source: greekberry (Google translated)

Not long ago our Blackberry writer informed us in this article (click here) of the Storm 3 possibly being available soon. We weren’t sure what to believe because of the rumors going around that the production on these devices had come to a halt. Well the rumors are back but this time they are saying the production is going forward at RIM.

A tipster has just recently told N4BB that the BlackBerry Monaco, which could be the ‘Storm3′, has in fact headed into the production lines. Also spreading is the rumor that RIM has dropped the SurePress touchscreen technology from the Storm series. The Monaco is also rumored to have a 3.7-in touchscreen, trackpad, 512MB RAM, OS 6 and possibly a 1GHz processor.

Are you an owner of the Blackberry Storm 1 or 2 and really love your device? If so, maybe you’re in luck for a third series to come out soon. For now the rumors are all over the web so all we can do is wait for RIM to officially announce what their plans are. Until then, leave your comments in the box below or jump into our Blackberry section here on the forums!!

Source: N4BB

Image: Intomobile

As most of you may already know, Blackberry has been reaching out to 4G LTE device manufacturing ideas but now there are a few things holding them back. Apparently the project has not gone much beyond the early developmental stage. Reports suggest that RIM doesn’t believe that an LTE Blackberry offering is cost effective at this time.

Rumors suggest that the chip to add LTE support is where the real expense is and this is what’s causing the hold up. Other rumors suggest reasons for the holdup include the fact that Blackberry is not yet that battery efficient as well as thinking that the penetration of LTE isn’t yet great enough.

Sources say that while Monaco and Onyx II are still coming, neither of them will offer LTE support. Most would expect that the developments in LTE chips could allow RIM to leverage their early development efforts for the release of a potential LTE offering as well as increase their market share. We will keep our ears open to hear what RIM has to say beyond this point.

For now, what do you think about this? Are you a blackberry addict who refuses to switch and is waiting on 4G to be available on your device? If so, does this change your mind about having a blackberry?

Source: Fudzilla