There has been a heap of news all over BlackBerry base sites in the last 24 hours regarding the possibility of a forward facing camera on the upcoming BlackBerry 9000. Why all the big shock?? Just about every ‘3G’ device has a forward facing camera. (It was a big thing in Australia on the first generation of ‘3G’ devices that you could ‘video call’ from your cell phone…It never took off). If the 9K does have a forward facing camera, I hope RIM keep the one out back as well because it’s a real pain in the butt trying to take a ‘snap’ shot when you can’t see the screen.
4 total comments on this postSubmit your comment!
DavidB Not Registered
Posted: April 17, 2008 at 6:44 AM EST from my BlackBerry 8830
Hmmm…
Neato gee whiz cool and all. Me, I’d prefer a non-camera 88xx device with GPS, 3G, and no OS memory leak!
Raffy Not Registered
Posted: April 17, 2008 at 7:29 AM EST
maybe not… there have been reports from other folks who say they’ve got their mitts on the new BlackBerry, and they suggest the device has some battery issues
http://advice.cio.com/al_sacco/rim_blackberry_9000_sneak_peek_front_facing_camera_videoconferencing
Greg Myers Not Registered
Posted: April 17, 2008 at 10:26 AM EST
DavidB,
Mate, perfect, could not have said it better myself…
KR
Greg
CybaCowboy ( View Profile) - Posts: 25
Posted: April 17, 2008 at 10:00 PM EST from my BlackBerry 8800
If you look at the various photos of the “BlackBerry 9000” online, there doesn’t appear to be a “front-facing camera” in any of them…
It’s true, some 3G/UMTS phones have pretty discreet front-facing cameras, but I can’t even see what MIGHT be a “front-facing camera” on the “BlackBerry 9000”.
It’s hard to say though – whilst video-calling isn’t the “killer application” that it was hoped it would be, it is still pretty popular and is becomming more popular as users realize the benefits of such a feature (eg. Calling long-distance relatives)… If RIM wants to keep chasing the consumer market, video-call capabilities might just be on the cards.
Personally though, I think Research in Motion (RIM) will be reluctant to offer a video-call capable device – RIM devices traditionally have the some of best usage times around and whilst 3G/UMTS usage times HAVE improved significantly, they’re still a LONG way off the usage times that existing BlackBerry users have come to expect…
~ Posted wirelessly from my BlackBerry 8800 ~