New touchscreen BlackBerrys being launched

TOUCHSCREENS GALORE: RIM is unveiling five new BlackBerrys with touchscreens, including the Torch 9850/9860 seen here, to compete with iPhone and Android smartphones. - Research In Motion

NEW YORK: Research In Motion Ltd unveiled five new BlackBerry phones with touchscreens, as it hopes to revive the line's dwindling appeal in the face of competition from the iPhone and Android smartphones.
The new phones had been expected earlier this year, but were delayed. Though the company is profitable and seeing growing sales, it is increasingly seen as a has-been that missed the chance to parlay the BlackBerry's popularity as a corporate e-mail device into mass-market dominance.
The Canadian company, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, is updating its high-end Bold models to include touchscreens. It's also launching two Torch models with big screens but no physical keyboards, mimicking the basic design of the iPhone.
RIM launched a keyboard-less touchscreen phone called the Storm in 2008, more than a year after the first iPhone, but the Storm's quirky design and poor software made it a flop.
"The all-touchscreen Torch has been a while coming as a natural successor to the disappointing Storm, particularly when the smartphone market has gone touchscreen mad over the past 18 months," said Malik Saadi, an analyst at Informa.
The phones run a new version of the BlackBerry operating system, which RIM said is much faster, particularly for web browsing.
The Bold models will be the first BlackBerrys to include so-called Near-Field Communications chips, so they can be used in place of credit cards by swiping them across properly equipped payment terminals.
Many companies, including cellphone carriers like AT&T and web companies like Google Inc are promoting the idea of using phones as digital "wallets." - AP 


ArTiClEs fRoM tHe sTaR