[ChrisLuce]

LOL deej!

[Merchandiser]

ya i doubt they'll make a flip phone

[remoteshoppe]

A BB device in the HTC Universal housing with full qwerty keyboard would be AWESOME

[jimn367]

I don't know - I kinda like the Treo 300 form factor. That would have been a keeper if the case wasn't plastic and the hinges so frail.

There may not be a Blackberry flip phone, but I'm sure there will be a flip phone with Blackberry connect.

[T-Roy]

Originally Posted by jimn367

I don't know - I kinda like the Treo 300 form factor. That would have been a keeper if the case wasn't plastic and the hinges so frail.

There may not be a Blackberry flip phone, but I'm sure there will be a flip phone with Blackberry connect.

...there are a lot already ...just not in north america... oh well.

[mgsterling]

Noticed that they were using the flip-style on a Si-Fi television show (called '7 Days') just this past week. I just thought it might have been just a mach-up version for the show.
You say they are in other countries?

[rjharary]

Originally Posted by coreyg510

Alltel has a Kyocera flip pda phone. Not as functional as the bb, and it is huge. Pass for me.

I had that awful phone, its the pits...

[Aroc]

Are you kidding, I'm surprised they even made the 7100. Actually, I'm not surprised, I just don't care for it.

[Jack T. Chance]

Although RIM has not produced (and hopefully WILL NOT) a flip Blackberry, there HAVE been a number of flip PDA/smart phones, all of which have been fairly UNsuccessful compared to the Blackberries.

[1badss]

Originally Posted by Jack T. Chance

Although RIM has not produced (and hopefully WILL NOT) a flip Blackberry, there HAVE been a number of flip PDA/smart phones, all of which have been fairly UNsuccessful compared to the Blackberries.

I think it is safe to say that part of the reason they have been less successfull is because they do not have push technology for email not because of the flip form factor.

[Jack T. Chance]

Originally Posted by 1badss

I think it is safe to say that part of the reason they have been less successfull is because they do not have push technology for email not because of the flip form factor.

That may be a very big reason, but I doubt it's the only reason. After all, when Palm designed the Trxxx275;o 600, they moved away from the flip style of earlier Trxxx275;os, and switched to a more BlackBerry-like form factor. I think that speaks a lot to customer reaction to the flip PDA phones. If they were more popular, the models that have been made so far wouldn't have been discontinued so quickly, and you'd see more manufacturers designing new flip PDA phones for upcoming release. Since the PDA phone and smartphone market is clearly not continuing in that direction in a big way, I think it's obvious the manufacturers aren't getting very much demand for this product, both from the end users, and from the cell phone carriers. If genuine consumer demand for flip PDA/smartphones was there, the manufacturers would make more of them.

Just my 2¢, for what it's worth.

[jnyost]

There are those of us that would love to see a clam shell. I like how they close up so as to help protect themselves as well as they are usually a little smaller. I loved the kyocera pda and would own one if it wasn't so slow and therefore went with the newer Treo.

With the remark about the cam, you've obviously never been somewhere when you needed one and didn't have it. I'll take it with a grain of salt since mosts posts I've read from that person seem negative.

Jared

[teamcrn]

well a clam shell form factor i dont mind since i had a motorola 2way pager...it protects the screen.. but the hinges always get loose.. and to the cam comment.. no cams on a bb please.. then i will never be able to take any device in a gov building.. already have to leave my i860 in the car.. if i want to take pics i use my 860 or a digital camera.. my bb is for email....

[Skive]

I think that in time they will produce a clamshell design if they think there's enough of a market for them, they have to keep trying to expand their market and not just keep reselling devices to their current customers.

In the same vein, if the rate of growth of sales slows, then they could even look at things like cameras again, although you would expect them to include things like bes policies that allowed them to block their useage.

[Dawg]

I have a cam everywhere I go and if it was a true need I sure wouldnt take the picture with my phone. I would take it with a camera for quality.

Originally Posted by jnyost

There are those of us that would love to see a clam shell. I like how they close up so as to help protect themselves as well as they are usually a little smaller. I loved the kyocera pda and would own one if it wasn't so slow and therefore went with the newer Treo.

With the remark about the cam, you've obviously never been somewhere when you needed one and didn't have it. I'll take it with a grain of salt since mosts posts I've read from that person seem negative.

Jared

[goaliemn]

Originally Posted by jnyost

With the remark about the cam, you've obviously never been somewhere when you needed one and didn't have it. I'll take it with a grain of salt since mosts posts I've read from that person seem negative.

This has been beaten to death so many times.. If Blackberry ever adds a camera to any of their models, they'd lose so many corporate customers, including the federal government. Many companies have a no camera policy. Some companies ban all cell phones because so many have cameras, but allow blackberries since they are camera free.

I've worked for 2 government agencies. Both had a camera ban, one restricted cell phones all together (except BB) and the other had areas where no phones were allowed (except BB again).

This would be bad for BB and they know it. If you really need email with a camera, get a sidekick or something like it.

[corey@12mile]

OK... let's skip the whole camera thing... Getting to the issue at hand... the clamshell design/flip phone. I think with the fact that BB has such a large screen as compared to what you see in current flip phones, people would find that the amount of extra plastic needed to form the flip portion of it, it would be much bigger and bulkier that it is now. All of a sudden you are introducing a device that is much thicker in addition to the extra length needed for a suitable hinge. Now what you will have is a device that sticks out from the hip considerably more and is much more prone to getting snagged and either breaking at the clip, or falling off. The more moving parts you have on a phone the more likely it will wear out over time, something that blackberry's don't do much. The most used part on the blackberry, the wheel is about the only thing you see that really gets worn out.

People might argue that you can put the keyboard on the flip portion of the phone, but then you are building 2 PCB's for the device as well as needing a cable to fit through the hinge that can withstand the constant opening and closing of the phone. Copper does suffer from fatigue after being bent and unbent that many time.

I just don't see the clamshell design working for a blackberry... the overall size will increase because you are splitting the design into 2 parts with both need their own housing now and nobody can tell me they have never seen a flip phone that has come apart... I know where there is a box of them in pieces...

cd.

[forevergreen]

Whenever the "camera on a blackberry" topic is brought up, people always say it's a no-go because of security. But if a person really wanted to, couldn't he just carry a small digital camera or an add'l small phone with a camera, or even removable memory? Couldn't RIM make a camera berry and a non camera berry?

[tregrad]

I LOVE CLAMS!!!! sauteed in butter and garlic then steamed. but on a blackberry...Nah. I loved my flip I730 motorola but i was workin in the field and dust was a factor and it kept my screen clean. most people who have a BB dont work in construcion (in the field) any way, so there is no real need for a flip dealy-mo-bob. never really thought about security factors with cameras but it totally makes sense. I for that matter would never buy one.

[corey@12mile]

Actually I work for a rather large construction company and all of our supervisors and project managers have blackberry's. We have more of a problem with the Nokia's being dropped in the mud than we have with the blackberry's.

cd.