RIM released its PlayBook 4G tablet at the CES 2011 to counter the barrage of Android and Windows tablets. However, RIM had a muted response to Android smartphone onslaught.

PC World reported that a storm is brewing within RIM quarters even as specifications and pictures of the BlackBerry Storm 3 surfaced. The phone is due to be launched in September.

Storm 3 is surely superior to its kin Storm 2 in terms of specifications. The Storm 3 is expected to sport a 3.7-inch display compared to Storm 2 which sported a 3.25-inch display. The display is rather smaller compared to a slew of 4G phones launched at the CES 2011. Like Motorola Atrix it sports a 4-inch display while HTC Inspire and Samsung Infuse have display sizes of 4.3-inch and 4.5-inch respectively.

The Storm 3 is surmised to run on the unreleased BlackBerry's OS 6.1 version which will have WiFi hotspot features.

Major update for the Storm 3 primarily is in its processor power, as it now packs a 1.2 GHz processor compared to its earlier avatar that was powered by a 528 MHz chip. This update brings the Storm 3 in the league of Motorola Atrix which runs on Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core. The HTC Inspire is powered by a Snapdragon 1 GHz while the Samsung Infuse runs on Hummingbird 1.2 GHz.

The other specifications also report an upgrade with Storm 3 now flaunting a 5 MP camera and with 720p video capture ability. It also comes equipped with 512 MB RAM and internal storage of 8GB. However, its RAM is lesser than Atrix's 1 GB and Inspire's 768 MB though it is the same as Infuse which also has 512 MB RAM.

Internal Storage wise its 8GB falls short of Atrix's and Infuse's 16 GB configuration but beats HTC Inspire's 4 GB specification.

Earlier reports had stated that the phone will be called Odin Refresh while the current reports suggest it might be codenamed Monaco and Monza. RIM is also due to add NFC feature to the next slot of smartphones.

Here is a tentative comparison of BlackBerry Storm 3 with other recent launches the Motorola Atrix, Samsung Infuse and HTC Inspire:

BlackBerry Storm 3

BlackBerry Storm 2 9520

Motorola Atrix 4G

HTC Inspire 4G

Samsung Infuse 4G

OS

BlackBerry OS 6.1

BlackBerry OS 5

Android 2.2

Android 2.2

Android 2.2

Processor

1.2 GHz

528 MHz

Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core 1GHz

Snapdragon 1GHz

Hummingbird 1.2 GHz

Display

3.7-inch

3.25-inch

4-inch

4.3-inch

4.5-inch

Resolution

800x480

480x360

960X540

800x480

800x480

Memory

8GB

2 GB

16 GB

4 GB

16 GB

RAM

512 MB

256 MB

1 GB

768 MB

512 MB

Camera

5 MP

3.2 MP

5 MP

8 MP

8 MP rear, 1.3 MP front

Video Capture

720p

 NA

720p

720p

1080p

Weight

N.A

5.64 oz

4.8 oz

5.78 oz

N.A

Wi-Fi

802.11n

802.11b/g

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

802.11b/g/n

Battery

N.A

5 hrs

9 hrs talk time

6 hrs

N.A

Carrier

N.A

AT&T

AT&T

AT&T

AT&T

Smartphone Blackberry Electronics Blackberry