Waterloo, Ontario-based Research In Motion released information on its latest BlackBerry smartphone, its first 3G or third-generation GSM device, the Bold
In an effort to prove it’s more than just a multi-functional workhorse, BlackBerry is jazzing up its personal style.
Yesterday Research in Motion Ltd. launched the new BlackBerry Bold. And it was obvious from the moment the veil was lifted that the company is elevating its cool, urban style.
Through its various incarnations – first the Pearl, then the Curve – the BlackBerry has always been the serious, hard-working type. Particularly when compared to its main competitor in the U.S., Apple’s iPhone – the fun-loving party animal of the smart phone category.
And while BlackBerry still touts speed, power and functionality as its best assets, now it’s also what’s on the outside that counts.
The BlackBerry Bold, expected to hit the market this summer, has been enthusiastically described as elegant, dramatic and vivid, even confident.
The exterior is jet black with a satin chrome-finish frame and a leather-like backplate. Its QWERTY keyboard has also been redesigned. RIM is calling the BlackBerry Bold “a symbol of accomplishment and aspiration.”
The new BlackBerry marries the functional world of technology to the cool world of fashion.
Some, like Toronto realtor Kara Reed, rely on a BlackBerry for immediate access to the outside world and she’s unconcerned about its looks. But for Holt Renfrew’s Barbara Atkin, it’s important that the device look “fierce” when she sets it on a restaurant table.
RIM is banking on the Bold’s slick appearance, as much as its upgraded features, to win over style-conscious consumers.
“As a culture, we are into smart design. It has to work for us. But it also has to be sexy,” says Atkin, vice-president of fashion direction for Holt Renfrew.
Atkin’s Pearl is permanently welded to her hand. “It’s a live product. I am constantly communicating with it. So it should look good.”
Les Minion, president of Hugo Boss Canada, agrees. “There’s always a group of people looking for something more – more modern, sleeker.”
He believes men approach such devices the same way they approach cars and watches. “It’s not about the price. It’s about the innovation, the newness. It’s about people who are addicted to the specifics.”
Reed isn’t convinced new means better. The sales representative for Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd. is brand-loyal. She has owned five BlackBerrys since they were first introduced.
“I’m a text-er,” she says. For Reed her BlackBerry does it all. “I don’t really care what it looks like as long as it does its job.”
Reed says she has closed a lot of deals with her BlackBerry. And that’s good enough.
For her, looks would never be a deal breaker.
– by David Graham of the Toronto Star
