BlackBerry Torch 9860. BlackBerry Torch 9860.
RIM is fighting back the smartphone hordes with the play-friendly BlackBerry 7 OS running on the Torch 9860 and Bold 9900.
BackBerry’s once iron grip on the corporate phone market is slipping as iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7 devices all beef up their business credentials. RIM fought back with a consumer-friendly makeover for BlackBerry 6 OS phones such as the Torch 9800. The play-friendly push continues with the unveiling of new BlackBerry phones running BlackBerry 7 OS.
The new Torch 9860 and Bold 9900 will initially be exclusive to Optus, to go on sale in September. They feature a 1.2 GHz processor and a new interface powered by Liquid Graphics, underpinning an improved Webkit browser and optimised HTML5 performance. RIM has been quick to push BlackBerry 7 OS’ touch-friendliness and improved social networking integration such as updating the Facebook for BlackBerry app to tighten integration with BlackBerry Messenger.
Integration with third-party services and attracting wider developer support are crucial for RIM’s future, according to Ovum analyst Tony Cripps.
RIM's new BlackBerry smartphones could be “the most important devices in the Canadian smart device vendor's history”, following a recent slowdown in device shipments, staff cuts and doubts over the company's strategy and leadership, Cripps says.
“The latest BlackBerry 7 OS and much-improved BlackBerry Browser certainly seem to offer a compelling device-side user experience, one very much comparable to the oft-maligned PlayBook tablet. However, the real proof of the pudding is whether that software-driven experience captures the imagination of third parties who might wish to write and deploy applications or content to those devices.”
The launch of new BlackBerry 7 OS devices comes as RIM plans to switch its top of the line BlackBerry phones to the QNX operating system next year, which currently forms the basis of Tablet OS used on the BlackBerry PlayBook. RIM is banking on the unification of its smartphone and tablet platforms to attract developer support.