RIM and AT&T today announced the BlackBerry Torch 9800, the first BlackBerry to combine a physical keyboard and touch screen, and the first smartphone running the new BlackBerry 6 OS.
The Torch is a sliding-keyboard smartphone with a 3.2-inch touch screen and a QWERTY keyboard that slides out below the screen. It packs a 5-megpaixel camera, 3G networking on AT&T’s and foreign networks, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS.
It uses a 624 Mhz processor with 512 MB Flash memory and 4 GB built-in, plus a 4 GB card microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB cards, giving users 8 GB of storage out-of-the-box.
The new BlackBerry 6 OS includes universal search, a universal inbox, and a new Web browser, which should be more faithful to desktop Web pages. The Torch can sync with both Windows Media Player and iTunes and it allows Wi-Fi syncing of music, wirelessly, with PCs. BlackBerry App World is their app store.
The BlackBerry Torch 9800 will be available through AT&T on August 12 for $199 with a two-year service agreement. After initial exclusive availability on the Torch, BlackBerry 6 OS will be available as an upgrade for the Bold 9700 and 9650, and the BlackBerry Pearl 3G. RIM made no mention of upgrading either the Storm or the Storm2. RIM hasn’t explained why, but their use of the now discarded SurePress click-down screen may prevent them from using BlackBerry 6 properly, notes Electronista.
Beginning with the 8700-series models, RIM began to aggressively add consumer features to BlackBerry models, in an aim to capture more of the consumer market. The BlackBerry Storm, a touchscreen device, is currently available on Verizon Wireless in the United States. The new Blackberry Torch is a slider with the new BlackBerry 6 OS.
Research In Motion Limited, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, is the developer of the BlackBerry smartphone. The ubiquity of BlackBerry devices in the corporate environment and the compulsive use of its ability to quickly send and receive e-mail has earned it the nickname “Crackberry”.
RIM’s BlackBerry is the dominant smartphone in the U.S., but its popularity is waning. Over the past six months, RIM’s popularity has fallen sharply among new subscribers, from a high of 45 percent to 33 percent, according to Nielsen.
BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion was recently banned in the UAE. But reports suggest that the Canadian firm is working behind the scenes to ensure that other countries in the region do not follow suit. In a statement RIM noted that it is “committed to continue delivering highly secure and innovative products that satisfy the needs of both customers and governments.” However, in an apparent response to the UAE’s complaints that it is unable to monitor BlackBerry data traffic, RIM underlined the fact that the BlackBerry security architecture is “purposefully designed to exclude the capability for RIM or any third party to read encrypted information under any circumstances.”
