RIM (Research in Motion) has announced the new BlackBerry Torch 9800 Smartphone is being released August 12th. Partnered exclusively with AT&T (yes another one of THOSE), the new Torch 9800 is a Qwerty slider with a touch screen. Much like the original Android, this Smartphone can be used with a slide out Qwerty keyboard, as well as utilizing the touch screen that is so popular.
New BlackBerry Torch – Will its Flame Heat Up the Market?
The Torch 9800 runs on the new BlackBerry OS 6. One of the big advantages to the new BlackBerry OS 6 is that it has the ability run legacy BlackBerry apps. The BlackBerry platform still has 40% of the market share, but Apple and Android are rapidly closing the gap. For those die-hard BlackBerry users, this is a dream come true (unless you are traveling to the UAE).
The BlackBerry Torch 9800 has features new to BlackBerry users. The new features include a 5 megapixel camera with a flash and auto-focus; 4 GB of internal storage plus a micro-SD memory expansion slot; GPS; Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; a 3.5mm headset jack; and a removable battery with (according to RIM) about six hours of talk time. (Why are they bragging about removable batteries? BlackBerry phones have always had removable batteries. The only phones that don’t have removable batteries are the iPhones.)
Will the new BlackBerry Torch revive RIM’s failing market? I think for the loyal BlackBerry users, this is a well deserved reward. For the rest of the market I think it is a bit too late in the game. I have already bought and fallen in love with the new Droid X. I doubt they will pull users away from either the Droid or iPhone market. Still, this new BlackBerry Torch will help keep the BlackBerry Loyalists in the fold and keep RIM in the market, even if not at the top.
