Research in Motion's (RIM) upcoming BBX handsets could be touchscreen only and share some of the Playbook's aspects.
RIM has confirmed that the first handsets to be based on the new BBX operating system (OS) will have the same aspect ratio and resolution as the firm's Playbook tablet, according to PC Magazine. These are 16:9 and 1280x720, respectively, and not the usual screen characteristics for smartphones.
Alec Saunders, VP of developer relations and ecosystem development at RIM said, "Look, if you build [an app] for the PlayBook, then it will run on BBX. We have maintained aspect ratios, BBX also has the ability to upload multiple dimension graphics ... [and the standard resolutions] are the same as PlayBook,"
If the phones are essentially smaller Playbooks, then RIM might ditch its infamous Qwerty keyboard that we associate with Blackberry smartphones.
The BBX handsets apparently will have the same features as the Playbook when they tip up next year, such as native email and Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) support. Saunders said, "I think you're seeing an evolution of a platform ... you should not expect [BBX] to be behind the PlayBook,"
RIM announced the BBX OS in October and said it would combine the best features of its Blackberry OS and QNX, which is what the Playbook runs. It will also support Android applications.
