The TechBlogger

RIM has announced the availability of the BlackBerry App World 3.1, which supports features such as Request a Gift, Wi-Fi only support, Content Rating based on the CTIA Wireless Association’s, and support for new languages.

According to information that came into my mailbox, some highlights of BlackBerry App World 3.1 include:

• Request a Gift: BlackBerry users can send their BBM friends a request to buy an app, theme, or game from the BlackBerry App World catalog
• Wi-Fi only Support: BlackBerry App World has always worked over Wi-Fi – but required a cellular connection to be present. With BlackBerry App World 3.1, no cellular connection is required!
• Content Rating and Filtering: BlackBerry users are now presented with a content rating to alert them to the content contained in an application
• New Language Support: BlackBerry App World is now available in additional languages including Dutch, Indonesian, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

BlackBerry App World 3.1 is free and can be downloaded from BlackBerry.com/appworld/

Note: You should see the option to upgrade if you already have an earlier version of App World installed

The BlackBerry Bold 9900

Update: The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is currently on pre-order and will be sold in Singapore from 1st September 2011.

RIM introduced the BlackBerry Bold 9900 in Singapore on Monday this week. I was not able to spend much time with one; hence any feedback on that front is necessarily limited.

Anyway, regular BlackBerry users will not be mistaken to notice that the Bold 9900 seems to bear a strong resemblance to the older Bold 9000. Well, I was told that the 9900 is indeed based on the 9000′s design, sophisticated Chrome edge included – albeit in a much thinner form factor.

The Bold 9900 runs on BlackBerry 7 OS, which will be the latest and greatest version of the BlackBerry operating system.  It should also be the last version of the venerable BlackBerry OS before RIM is expected to roll out a new QNX-based OS rewritten from scratch. Most importantly, the incorporation of a 1.2GHz processor should also eliminate the system lags common in the Torch 9800, significantly boosting usability.

Below are other key points pertaining to the 9900:

• At 10.5mm thick, it is the thinnest BlackBerry. Ever.
• Very light at 130g (Torch 9800 is 161g; Bold 9780 is 122g; iPhone 4 is 137g)
• 2.8-inch touch screen display (640×480, 287dpi)
• 1.2GHz processor, 768MB RAM (Torch is 624MHz and 512MB RAM)
• 5.0MP camera that supports 720p HD video recording
• Built-in GPS, accelerometer, magnetometer, proximity sensor, NFC technology
• Dual-band Wi-Fi that supports 802.11a/b/g/n
• Removable rechargeable battery

When released, the Bold 9900 will be the fastest BlackBerry smartphone available. Its Bold 9000-based keyboard is also wider and more comfortable than the ones found in the Bold 9700 and Torch 9800. Finally, the incorporation of a touch screen makes the phone much easier to navigate, and should make (finally) web browsing a tolerable task.

So what is its date of availability? RIM would only say “Before the end of the year.”  If I would to venture a guess though, I’ll take a stab at the September/October time frame.

The Torch 9800 and the Bold 9900 placed side-by-side

The total thickness of the Bold 9900 is equivalent to the bottom half of the Torch

BlackBerry Torch 9800 stacked on top of the Bold 9900

Introducing the Bold 9900. (From top to bottom: Gregory Wade, Regional Managing Director at RIM; Oliver Pilgerstorfer, RIM Senior PR Manager for Southeast Asia)

Newsflash: The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will be in Singapore from this Thursday, 23rd June 2011.  There will be three versions of the PlayBook, which will be sold at the recommended retail price (RRP) of $668 (16GB), $798 (32GB) and $928 (64GB) respectively. Price includes GST.

You can read my review of the BlackBerry PlayBook here.

The full press-release attached below:

Singapore – 20 June 2011 – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet will be available in Singapore on 23rd June 2011 from SingTel, M1, and Starhub, as well as a number of nation-wide retail stores. The BlackBerry PlayBook will come in three Wi-Fi® models, featuring 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of memory storage.

Starting today, customers can place orders for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The full list of retailers offering customers the ability to preorder is available online at http://sg.blackberry.com/playbook/wheretobuy.

“The BlackBerry PlayBook is an incredibly powerful and feature-rich tablet that is ideal for both business and personal use,” said Gregory Wade, Regional Managing Director at Research In Motion. “With a growing number of stores across Singapore featuring the BlackBerry PlayBook, we welcome customers to try it out for themselves,” added Wade.

The BlackBerry PlayBook features an ultra-portable design and delivers industry leading performance, uncompromised web browsing with support for Adobe® Flash® Player, true multitasking, HD multimedia, advanced security features, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a robust development environment.

BlackBerry PlayBook specifications:

• 7″ 1024×600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
• Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (425g) and 5.1” x 7.6” x 0.4” (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• BlackBerry® Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
• Support for high resolution video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
• 1080p HDMI output
• Dual 1080p HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
• 1 GB RAM memory
• Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
• GPS, Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), 6-Axis Motion Sensor (Gyroscope), Digital Compass (Magnetometer)
• Stereo speakers and stereo microphones
• Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
• Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support

For more information about the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, please visit http://sg.blackberry.com/playbook

Update (15 June): My review of the BlackBerry PlayBook is out.

The BlackBerry PlayBook was launched with aplomb in Singapore on Wednesday evening.  Designed to give uncompromising web browsing with full Adobe Flash support and “true” multitasking, RIM is billing its first tablet  as a enterprise-ready performance-grade tablet.  I’ve had the opportunity to try out the PlayBook for about a week now, and I shall reserve my comments in my review; suffice enough to say that I like it.

Before going on to the pictures I took of the event, below are some key points for those eager to get hold of the PlayBook in Singapore

• Singapore is the first country in Asia where the PlayBook is launched (Note that this is not related to availability of stocks; see below)
• PlayBook will be available for customers in Singapore “within the month” of June
• Pre-registration for the PlayBook started as of 9th June, 2011
• A comprehensive list of retailers will be updated at http://sg.blackberry.com/playbook/wheretobuy
• No RRP was announced yet, though it is probably safe to say that you can use the US price of US$499 (16GB), US$599 (32GB) and US$699 (64GB) multiplied by the current exchange rate as an accurate gauge.  Remember to add in the 7% GST too.

You can read my brief hands-on with the PlayBook, or check out the U.S. PlayBook website here.

Guests consisting of bloggers, partners and Telco representatives mingling before the start of the event

The Flying Dutchman and Vernetta Lopez were roped in to host the event

Event in full swing

Booths were set up so that guests can give the PlayBook a spin

Built-in HDMI-out capability allows the PlayBook to be simultaneously projected onto a larger display