RIM Readies New BlackBerry Torch Smartphone with AT&T

The new BlackBerry Torch from Research in Motion (RIM) likely will strengthen the company’s hand in smartphones and broaden AT&T’s assortment as it appears to near the end of its exclusive deal for Apple’s iPhone, analysts said. While the length of AT&T’s iPhone exclusive among wireless carriers has long been the subject of speculation, reports have emerged that Verizon could start selling the device in early 2011. And while AT&T hasn’t disclosed terms of the agreement it originally signed with Apple in 2007, the carrier is throwing its weight behind Torch.

AT&T worked with RIM in developing Torch ($199 on a two-year contract) over an 18-month period and the first TV commercials promoting Torch start airing last Thursday in advance of the smartphone’s Aug. 12 launch, said David Christopher, chief marketing officer for AT&T Mobility and consumer markets. And AT&T is dedicating space in its stores to demonstrate Torch, he said. AT&T also will “actively support” RIM at its developers conference in September in San Francisco, he said. AT&T was among the first carriers to back RIM when its first device launched in 1999.

"The product is the result of deep collaboration between our two companies so it only makes sense to complement our investment in the development of this device with significant investment in marketing and advertising,” Christopher said. “We really are about offering the best portfolio in the market and it really is about providing either of those solutions” -- Apple iPhone and RIM BlackBerry. But the Torch is a “step change” in smartphone technology, he told us. In addition to AT&T stores, the Torch will be sold at Best Buy, RadioShack and Wal-Mart.

The quad-band 3G Torch features a 3.2-inch LCD with 480x360 resolution and slide out keyboard and the new BlackBerry 6 operating system, builds on RIM’s 2009 acquisition of Toronto-based Torch Mobile. Torch Mobile supplied technology for the Webkit browser at the heart of device and e-mail rendering, Andrew Bocking, RIM vice president of handheld software product management, told us. The BlackBerry Bold 9700 and 9650 and the Pearl 3G can be upgraded to the new OS, he said. BlackBerry 6 also is said to be the OS for a new tablet PC RIM is developing. Bocking declined to comment. The new OS allows for universal search for all content on a given device, including photos and music. The new camera also allows for “geo-tagging” to identify and date and location of a photo.

The new OS is a key part of RIM’s effort to grow its base of application developers. The BlackBerry application store is built into the Torch and a software developer kit was formally made available Tuesday. The new operating system will allow developers to built applications on the Webkit browser, which supports HTML5, Javascript and client-centric software.

There will be a range of applications, about 20 of which will appear on the Torch’s home screen, and those developed for BlackBerry 5 will be compatible with the new OS, said Tyler Lessard, vice president of global alliances and developer relations. BlackBerry users will be able to use a new universal search function find applications and will have a range of options including “try before you buy,” subscriptions, downloads. Developers also will be able to insert ads in their applications. The applications will range from being free to priced at $2.99 and up, Lessard said.

"This is a huge step forward in opening our platform to a much broader set of developers and enabling them to create applications more quickly and at lower cost,” RIM Chief Technology Officer David Yach. “These applications aren’t limited to the typical constraints of web browser and apps can be created to do things like running in the background."

Among the more expensive applications will be MobiTV, which AT&T will be offering along with Qualcomm’s FLO TV that’s available of LG Mobile and other phones. Both mobile TV services carry a $9.99 monthly fee. “It’s an application that’s in it’s nascent stage and we're exploring what’s going to stick with customers so we're offering a couple of different solutions,” Christopher said. “Mobile TV right now has a small rabid fan base, but we need to grow it so we are looking a variety of partners."

The new BlackBerry also contains a Marvel Technology’s 624 MHz custom AISC with a built-in baseband processor and 4 GB of internal memory, double the amount of RIM’s most recent touchscreen BlackBerry, the Storm 2. It also increases the amount of flash, which contains the OS, to 512 MB from 256 MB and upgrades to a 5-megapixel camera from a 3.2-megapixel version. It continues built-in A-GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and a 1,300-milliampere lithium ion battery. The Torch has a microSD slot compatible with up to 32GB microSD cards. It will be packaged with a 4 GB microSD card. RIM is manufacturing Torch along with its OEM partners, including Foxconn, company officials said.

While Torch combines a touchscreen with a keyboard, RIM doesn’t plan to abandon the SurePress technology it developed for the touchscreen-only Storm2 BlackBerry, Yach told us. SurePress was developed to deliver better typing accuracy and a more tactile feel and will continue to be deployed in BlackBerry devices, he said. The Storm2 shipped in 2009.