RIM refreshes BlackBerry line up with new models
RESEARCH In Motion took the wraps off two more powerful versions of its touchscreen BlackBerry Torch yesterday, aiming to buy time until it can introduce a radically new software package in its smartphones.
The new phones, along with a Bold upgrade unveiled earlier, are part of what the Canadian company called its biggest global launch ever as it seeks to claw back North American market share losses from Apple’s iconic iPhone and a slew of devices running on Google’s Android software.
The three touchscreen phones, running on the new BlackBerry OS 7, each boast an improved screen display and pack a 1.2 GHz processor from Qualcomm, the most powerful ever for a BlackBerry phone. The devices will launch with globally by the end of August, RIM said.
Research by Ipsos Mori revealed yesterday that Apple – which already dominates the business tablet market with 91 per cent market share – is making a dent in BlackBerry’s diminishing smartphone monopoly, with close to a third of business users now choosing the iPhone over RIM’s BlackBerry rivals.