Documents seen on the FCC web site provide details about an unannounced handset from Research In Motion. The RCY71UW is a slider and carries support for quad-band GSM/EDGE and tri-band 850/1900/2100 UMTS radios. The FCC also confirms that the RCY71UW has 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Few other details were revealed. RIM and AT&T are holding a joint press conference today. It is possible this handset will be announced by the companies, as it supports AT&T's 3G network.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. issued a statement to its customers assuring them that their data was secure, a day after regulators in the United Arab Emirates said they'd tussled with RIM over access to that data.

Monday's statement also comes a day before a major product announcement for RIM, which is widely expected to roll out a new touch-screen smartphone with revamped software to challengeApple Inc.'s iPhone 4 and devices that run on Google Inc.'s Android system.

The new BlackBerry is expected to have a slide-out keyboard in addition to its touch screen and be offered initially through AT&TInc. in the U.S.

The U.A.E. said Sunday it would ban most BlackBerry services starting in October, citing national-security concerns. The country's telecommunications regulator said Monday such a ban would apply to both domestic customers and international roaming users.

The government is worried it wouldn't be able to compel RIM to turn over customer data, now processed in RIM's private servers outside the country, said a person familiar with the situation.

The U.A.E. wanted RIM to locate servers in the country, where it had legal jurisdiction over them; RIM had offered access to the data of 3,000 clients instead, the person said.

RIM's statement didn't address the ban or its talks with U.A.E. directly, citing the "confidential nature'' of discussions with governments. But the company outlined the features of BlackBerry's security system and said it would be impossible for RIM to circumvent them.

RIM said the BlackBerry network was set up so that "no one, including RIM, could access'' customer data, which is encrypted from the time it leaves the device. It added RIM would "simply be unable to accommodate any request'' for a key to decrypt the data, since the company doesn't have the key.

The BlackBerry network is designed "to exclude the capability for RIM or any third party to read encrypted information under any circumstances,'' RIM's statement said.

The location of BlackBerry's servers doesn't matter, the company said, because the data on them can't be deciphered without a decryption key.

"RIM assures customers that it will not compromise the integrity and security of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution,'' the statement said.

RIM's statement comes as a number of countries, including India and Kuwait, say they want more ability to monitor BlackBerry communications, in the interests of national security.

Analysts outline difficult resolution to UAE ban for BlackBerry manufacturer RIM

Moves by two Gulf states to limit the use of certain BlackBerry applications will force manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) to reassess its operations in the region, analysts have warned.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have announced plans to limit some services, notably email, web browsing and messenger services. In the UAE, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE.

BlackBerry services operate outside regulation introduced in the UAE in 2007 by transmitting data out of the country to a commercial organisation.

TRA director general Mohamed Al Ghanim said: “As of October 11, Blackberry messenger, Blackberry email and Blackberry web browsing services will be suspended until an acceptable solution can be developed and applied.”

Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said RIM has faced this issue before in other markets where there is a high level of government control, principally in Russia where it had to get clearance to operate because the Russian government didn’t like the way it encrypted and handled data.

This required RIM to agree to an arrangement on the way it routed and handled data in the country.

IHS Global Insight Middle East and North Africa analyst Shardul Shrimani said a similar agreement could be a way for RIM to overcome its new issues in the Middle East, perhaps installing BlackBerry servers in the area.

However, he said there is a genuine risk that the situation could snowball as other countries in and around the UAE look at the decision and decide whether to impose their own stipulations on BlackBerry use.

This could make any resolution an expensive option for RIM, both in terms of capex and damage to its customer base as some users defect to other handsets and systems to avoid losing services.

“Halting services will be very detrimental to BlackBerry. RIM needs to negotiate with the regulators to allow them access to its servers. This needs to happen quickly otherwise existing customers will switch and the damage will be done.”

Ovum principal analyst Tony Cripps said RIM may even consider pulling out of troublesome markets as its key clients remain governmental and financial organisations, which demand the type of security that would be undermined by conceding to local regulatory requirements in the Middle East.

Cripps said: “The BlackBerry architecture is optimised for security, but it is now being asked to remove this service.

“One idea is that RIM might give up on these markets so it doesn’t lose its key customer markets.”

It was some what recent that we had heard rumors there was going to be a 9700 refresh dubbed 'Onyx Delta'. Then the BlackBerry 9780 kind of came out of no where in a UAProf Doc and later the worlds first image. As it is customary with most outed devices, once the leak begins to drip it just keeps pouring.

It is very interesting to see that OS 6 only takes up about 180MB of the 512MB RAM. This is a lot less than the 9800 Slider's OS 6 version. This is most likely due to the touchscreen requiring a lot more memory. Given that the trackpad OS 6 version doesn't require as much memory, perhaps we will see it on almost all other trackpad devices? It has been rumored that OS 6 would release to the 9700 and 9100, but it would not go on the 9300 (lower grade processor). If we do see OS 6 release on the 9700 and 9100, we'd bet carriers won't release it until sometime in 2011.

Not much has changed aesthetically for the 9780 from the 9700. The only difference is the 9780 now sports a gun metal bezel, whereas the 9700 had a regular chrome bezel.  Which do you like better?

Here are the current specs until Now:

• 624Mhz Processor
• 512MB Flash RAM 
• OS 6.0.0.125 (possible launch build)
• 480x360 Resolution Screen TFT, 65K colors
• 5.0 MP Camera with LED Flash
• Trackpad
• GSM / UMA / HSPA+?
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• Wi-Fi b/g (possibly N?) 
• Gun Metal Bezel

According to unnamed sources who have unloaded new information to Bloomberg, RIM's first tablet will actually be "introduced in November," though there's no clear indication as to when it'll ship. Said sources have also stated that the device will sport a 9.7-inch display, inbuilt WiFi and Bluetooth, and a downright comical Blackpad label

The device will have roughly the same dimensions as the iPad, which has a 9.7-inch diagonal screen, said the two people who wouldn’t be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. The device will include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technology that will allow people to connect to the Internet through their BlackBerry smartphones, the two people said.

RIM is racing to come out with a product to rival the iPad in the fast-growing market for devices that bridge the gap between smartphones and notebook computers. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, last month said it sold 3 million iPad tablet computers in 80 days after they debuted in the U.S.

“They can’t wait for a second generation of devices from Apple or they’ll fall too far behind,” said Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw Inc. in New York.

RIM rose $1.45, or 2.6 percent, to $57.15 at 12:18 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, reversing an earlier decline of as much as 2.5 percent. The stock had dropped 18 percent this year before today, as Apple had climbed 22 percent.

Marisa Conway, a spokeswoman for RIM, declined to comment, citing company policy not to comment on rumor or speculation.

Blackpad Pricing

RIM plans to call the tablet Blackpad, according to one of the people familiar with the company’s plans. RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, acquired the Internet rights to blackpad.com this month, according to the Whois database of domain names.

Pricing for the device will be in line with the iPad, which starts at $499, the person said. RIM is focused on reaping additional profits from the tablet effort, rather than competing on price to sell a large number of devices, the person said.

RIM is stepping up its competition with Apple on multiple fronts. The company is hosting an event in New York Aug. 3 at which it will debut its BlackBerry 9800 slider phone, according to one person familiar with its plans. The device will feature a full touchscreen like Apple’s iPhone and a slideout Qwerty keyboard to allow for easy e-mail typing, the person said.

RIM plans to use the phone to regain the market share it has lost recently to its U.S. rival. RIM’s share of the smartphone market fell to 19.4 percent of global shipments in the first quarter from 20.9 percent a year earlier, according to researcher IDC, based in Framingham, Massachusetts. Apple claimed 16.1 percent of the smartphone market, up from 10.9 percent a year earlier.

Uphill Battle?

In the tablet market, RIM will have to demonstrate how its device can stand out against products including the iPad, which has attracted buyers because of its integration with Apple’s iTunes service and many software applications, or apps. More than 225,000 apps are available for Apple devices, the company said in June. RIM said in April it had more than 6,000 apps.

“With the success of the iPad, RIM faces an uphill battle,” said William Power, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co., who has a “neutral” rating on the stock. “RIM really has yet to demonstrate that it can roll out touchscreen technology to match the leaders in the space, most noticeably Apple.”

RIM’s tablet will capitalize on the BlackBerry’s e-mail capabilities and the phone’s popularity with corporate users, one person said. The tablet will be closely integrated with the smartphone’s e-mail system and will have similar security for messaging, the person said.

Cameras for Video

Wi-Fi would allow the device to connect to the Internet anywhere the wireless technology is available, including a home, office or coffee shop. When not near such Wi-Fi “hotspots,” people could connect wirelessly to their mobile phone with Bluetooth and then to the Internet. The device will not be able to connect directly to the cellular network the way some iPads can, the two people said.

The RIM tablet will also have front- and back-facing cameras for videoconferencing, Rodman & Renshaw’s Kumar said, citing sources at suppliers in Asia.