BlackBerry Colt to be the first BBX superphone, specs leaked alongside an image

Last week, RIM officially announced BBX, its next-gen operating system that will marry the QNX-based OS currently found on the PlayBook with the BlackBerry OS that's powering all of the company's smartphones at the moment. RIM gave no indication of when BBX will be inside shipping devices, but back in August we heard mumblings about the first smartphone running the new platform coming in the first quarter of 2012.

Its name, or codename, is Colt. BlackBerry Colt. This will apparently be the high-end flagship that RIM has needed for a long while. Here's a render of what the Colt might look like:

The phone that ends up being released may not be identical to what you see in the image above, but it will be close. As for specs, we have a whole bunch of them neatly leaked for your convenience.

A single-core 1.2 GHz processor (as seen in the Bold 9900) was used in the first testing phase, but a dual-core CPU is currently inside prototypes, so that may be the chip the Colt ends up shipping with. There will also be a touchscreen (at least 4-inch) with a resolution higher than 900 pixels and two cameras, one at the front and one at the back. The Colt will be thinner than the Bold 9900 and 9930, but will have a similar unibody outer stainless steel frame, no physical buttons, a similar battery to that found in the PlayBook, and new transitions which should make the UI feel fluid.

Blackberry Colt Specs Unveiled

The Blackberry Colt has been quite a lot of talk on the internet lately and now its specs have been leaked. Powered by RIM's BBX platform, the smartphone features a 4-inch touchscreen display, a 1.2GHz single core processor, a unibody stainless steel bezel, a front-facing camera and a rear-facing camera. It has a similar form factor to the BlackBerry Bold. The Blackberry Colt will be launched in mid-2012. [Ubergizmo]

Additional Blackberry Colt specs revealed

Rendering of the Blackberry Colt

There has been a lot of talk surrounding RIM's new platform – BBX. The new platform is to RIM what Windows Phone is to Nokia, a second chance at reclaiming the market that both companies used to dominate, and along with their new platform, there has been talks about a BBX device called the Blackberry Colt, and thanks to n4bb, more details surrounding the device have emerged, although we'll probably take that information with a grain of salt until RIM actually announces something.

The Blackberry Colt when first rumored didn't really say much about the device, other than the fact that it would run on RIM's BBX (it was known as QNX back then) platform, and would sport a 1.2GHz single core processor (which disappointed many, but then again it's just a rumor) and would feature a 4.x" touch screen display.

New information uncovered by n4bb is now telling us that the Blackberry Colt would be thinner than the Blackberry Bold 9900 and 9930, and would feature the same unibody stainless steel bezel as the Bold 9900 and 9930. It would also be a complete touch screen device, feature the same battery as the Blackberry PlayBook tablet and would sport front and back cameras. This still isn't a lot to go on, but at least a slightly clearer picture is being painted for us, assuming this information is accurate. The Blackberry Colt, if the rumors are to be believed, is expected to see a release mid-2012.

BlackBerry's first QNX phone will come as early as Q1 2012

BlackBerry is currently testing out its first phone, running on the QNX platform - dubbed the BlackBerry Colt. BlackBerry's first QNX handheld will, however, most probably arrive in Q1 2012.

BlackBerry has lost a lot of ground to iOS and Android smartphones and many are hoping that QNX is just the platform to bring the Canadian manufacturer back to its former glory. 2012 isn't all that far away but the competition is set to become even more fierce until Q1 of 2012.

BlackBerry's new OS 7-running devices are still hot out of the oven, but QNX is already stirring great expectations.

There isn't much information about the Colt but BGR claim to have a valuable source with insider information on the mysterious device. So far we know that the Colt prototype in testing has a single-core processor and that it runs on the QNX platform - so far a BlackBerry Playbook-exclusive OS. Still, BlackBerry have hinted at dual-core QNX devices to come. It's also possible that BlackBerry will have to make some compromises in order to launch the device on time.

The Playbook launched without email support as BlackBerry had to rewrite its entire BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server) code for it to support the QNX platform and it seems that now RIM is working on a new BES, specifically made for QNX. The first QNX-powered smartphone will probably launch without support for the current BES versions. The phone should, however, support Microsoft's ActiveSync out of the box - so Microsoft Exchange email will be possible.

BGR reports that the Software Verification team of RIM is hard at testing the BlackBerry Colt and the release date for the device will heavily depend on how this testing goes.
source: GSM Arena

BlackBerry Colt to be RIM's first QNX smartphone?

It was back in September 2010 that we've heard for the first time about RIM's plans to replace BlackBerry OS with QNX – its new platform that can be currently checked out on the PlayBook tablet. However, we've yet to see any QNX-based smartphone – even the latest Torch handsets still run BlackBerry OS.

So, when will RIM start to launch QNX smartphones? Well, it looks like it will happen in the first quarter of 2012. According to BGR, the first QNX smartphone is codenamed BlackBerry Colt. Reportedly, the Colt is in testing, and it features a single-core processor (which will certainly not make it a high-end device next year when it launches).

Another rumor has it that the Colt will not feature BlackBerry Enterprise Server integration, because RIM won't finish rewriting its BES code for QNX. The handset will have support for Microsoft ActiveSync “out of the box”, though.

(RIM's QNX as seen on the BlackBerry Playbook tablet)
source: Unwired View

Upcoming BlackBerry Colt QNX-based Smartphone

RIM has unveiled the BlackBerry Colt, which is known as the company's first QNX-based smartphone. Powered by a single core processor, the handset has a similar form factor to the BlackBerry Bold. Unfortunately, there is no further info about this handset. The company is currently aiming to release the BlackBerry Colt sometime in the first quarter of 2012. Stay tuned for more updates. [BGR]
source: TechFresh