Apple, RIM Prepare Budget Phones

Apple are poised to release a cheaper iPhone 4 in September under new CEO Tim Cook in an attempt to win over customers from their rivals, while BlackBerry have also announced plans for a more "affordable" BlackBerry Curve.

Earlier models of the mobile rivals; due for update?The new 8GB iPhone 4 will be smaller than its predecessor as Apple looks to gatecrash the lower-end smartphone market dominated by Nokia, according to rumors reported by Reuters, who were in correspondence with Apple's suppliers. The move echoes the company's release of smaller iPod products in the middle of the last decade, once the iPod was established as the portable music player of choice.

Meanwhile a new BlackBerry 7 operating system will support Research In Motion's new Curve phones that feature updated processors, displays, and memory. President and Co-CEO at RIM Mike Lazaridis said, "The new BlackBerry Curve smartphones offer a significant performance upgrade."

The release of the Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 -- available through Vodafone in the UK in September -- will hope to reinforce the company's popularity with young users who can already communicate on the cheap using BlackBerry Messenger and email once they have their handset.

Samsung has already announced the intention of increasing its share of the crowded market by offering more affordable smartphones and moving in to emerging markets, all of which can only be good news for the savvy consumer.

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/238892/apple_rim_prepare_budget_phones.html#tk.rss_news