RIM could add LTE to its first phones using the QNX operating systems due in early 2012, analysts say

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

August 29, 2011

2 Min Read
RIM LTE Phones Expected Early Next Year

Analysts expect that BlackBerry will bring 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) to new phones based on its QNX operating system early next year.

Carmi Levy, an independent technology analyst based in London, Ontario, suggests the 4G technology will be part of a "full-court" launch for QNX in the first quarter of 2012. "I see LTE and QNX being lumped into the same marketing package, as it makes sense to correlate a slick, new OS with a slick, new network capability that brings it to life," Levi writes in an email to LR Mobile.

The Boy Genius Report blog initially revealed details earlier this month about the first QNX smartphone from RIM, which is said to be called the "Colt." Bloomberg, meanwhile, notes that the new operating system is expected to support Android apps.

Several analysts suggest that the phones could also have a 4G element onboard. The company has already said that it is working on an LTE PlayBook tablet. (See RIM Delays 4G PlayBook to the Fall.)Jack Gold of J.Gold Associates suggests that an LTE phone will arrive in the first or second quarter of the year. "I’d bet by QNX release time, LTE will be included," Gold notes.

"I would think they have to provide Verizon and AT&T with a QNX LTE phone early next year," agrees Berge Ayvazian, senior consultant at Heavy Reading .

The company is likely to be working hard to ensure performance is as good as possible on its 4G devices, and "mostly around power requirements to keep the traditional long BB battery life," analyst Gold suggests.

Analyst Carmi Levi, nonetheless, says that the pressure for RIM to go to LTE will be more about "bragging rights" than drastic increases in capabilities over the very latest 3G devices.

"No one really believes that early-release LTE-capable networks and devices will be dramatically faster than 3.5G-based offerings," Levy posits. "But as we've learned, in this sector, non-substantive features and capabilities can often become great marketing hooks."

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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