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New RIM roadmap confirms HSPA+ Playbook, Curve 9220 and 9320, October BlackBerry “London” launch and more

This is a nice way to start the day. The entire RIM roadmap for 2012 has leaked and it’s a doozy.

Let’s start with the simple stuff: the Curve 9220 and 9320 are ready to go for a mid-year release. The 9220 is indeed an EDGE-only device with a 2.44″ 320×240 display with a 2MP camera, 512MB RAM and ROM, WiFi, Bluetooth. It will probably not come to Canada as Rogers is the only network remaining with EDGE service an they are transitioning away from that technology.

The 9320 is going to be very popular. Likely launching for $299 or less, it also has a 2.44″ 320×240 display, a 3.2MP fixed-focus camera with video recording, 512MB RAM and ROM, WiFi, Bluetooth, FM Stereo and a dedicated BBM button. Very cool! The left hand side button will likely launch BBM from wherever you are in the OS, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it can be re-assigned to other functions.

The Curve 9320 looks to be launching in Q2 of this year.

 Next up is the 3G Playbook, which looks and feels the same as last year’s but has an updated 1.5Ghz TI OMAP 4460 processor, 42Mbps HSPA+ and NFC capabilities. It will launch with Playbook OS 2.0 sometime in Q2.

We don’t have any idea whether it will be offered by Canadian carriers, but you can be sure there are going to be some killer bundles with some upcoming BlackBerry devices. White 9790 anyone?

In addition to white Bold 9900 and Torch 9810’s we’re looking at a white Bold 9790 and Curve 9380 at some point this year. Probably launched sometime in the first or second quarter.

The BlackBerry 10 roadmap still seems pretty far off, but we have confirmation that there is going to be at least one BB10 device this year, likely late September or early October according to the roadmap. Anything is subject to change, but we hope that RIM doesn’t rush the device; rather get one killer device out the door.

Some other cool stuff? Wireless Media Server capabilities are coming to BlackBerry 7 devices, which will allow for streaming of photos, movies and music to your favourite electronics such as PCs, consoles and stereo systems. Considering this wasn’t bundled in the BlackBerry 7.1 release, it will likely be in the next major update.

There are some interesting statistics around Playbook owners and ownership, too: 72% of Playbook owners are aged 35+, 84% are male and the average annual income is $78,000. Not bad. Definitely peaking higher than the rest of the pack.

So there you have it! Lots of cool stuff on the way from RIM. What do you think of all this news? Does this bode well for the company’s turn-around? I wonder if Thorsten Heins is upset about the leak…

Source: BGR

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