Here at BGR headquarters, we love wireless industry analysts, especially those in the financial sector. Ray Sharma, of GMP Securites, LTD. has recently published his analysis of upcoming BlackBerry devices from Research In Motion, dubbed the Touchscreen 1.0 and Pearl 2.0. The label given to the latter device, one with a rotatable keyboard, should give the impression that GMP Securities, LTD. hired Mr. Sharma to deliver shock value rather than substance. As we all know, the Pearl Two-Dot-Oh was launched months ago with the BlackBerry 8130 (CDMA) and BlackBerry 8120 (EDGE with Wi-Fi) and the upcoming BlackBerry 8110 (EDGE with GPS). This report crowned the reference patents as the upcoming 9000 series devices and has since been reported on various online sources as the the extensions of the BlackBerry bloodline, much to the dismay of many online viewers and BlackBerry-related websites and forums. A little background on Research In Motion and filings with various organizations, if you will. When RIM caught wind of their FCC filings, usually published weeks or months before devices launches, were one of the primary sources of online pre-launch leaks, they started requesting supression of images, manuals, etc. from the FCC until 1-2 months after the initial release of that shiny new BlackBerry. A smart move in their aggressive effort to maintain as much control over information and leaks as possible, especially the official variety. Needless to say, that ongoing effort from RIM to supress information is one reason why some of our last couple reports on the BlackBerry 9000 are sourced from one-hundred percent official information although carrying very little visual evidence that our readers are so accustomed to receiving. There’s no need to tip the hand that feeds, right?
Back to the subject at hand, though – Ray Sharma. It appears that in Mr. Sharma’s effort to write an article on the upcoming BlackBerry series and more likely to make a nominal splash in the news for his company, he apparently forgot to look at the filing dates for the patents he referenced. These patents for a rotatable keyboard design and a reconfigurable swivel / retractable keyboard design were filed for by Research In Motion in 2003 and 2005, respectively. We’ll preface the following statement with the disclaimer that we could be wrong in our semi-educated assumptions, but does anyone really think that RIM would launch a next-gen device in the year 2008 based on a keyboard design made in 2003? Keep in mind the advancements and strides made in technology and design, as well as the top-shelf bar set by Apple with their innovative iPhone design…
For poops and giggles, on the USPTO website, we see that the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 series design was filed for in February 2006, just over six months prior to the device launch. It was not published for our viewing until September 2007, exactly one year after the launch of the device on T-Mobile. The BlackBerry Curve 8300 series has yet to show up on the USPTO website. But we suppose the core design for such a supposed revolutionary device as a possible BlackBerry “Touchscreen 1.0” (LOL, sorry just had to) device could have potentially been officially leaked 4.5 years ago, right?
We think you’ll see USPTO patent filings for the BlackBerry Curve 8300 series in mid-2008 and the BlackBerry 9000 series sometime in late 2008 or 2009, potentially six years after the Sharma-dubbed “Pearl 2.0” patent was filed.
Read Ray Sharma’s analysis
Read BlackBerry Touchscreen 1.0, per Ray Sharma
Read BlackBerry 9100, aka Pearl 2.0, per Ray Sharma
