Information Madness

Research in Motion has been teasing us with previews of the new BlackBerry 6 operating system for weeks. But today the company officially introduced the first phone that will run the new OS: The BlackBerry Torch 9800.

The Torch 9800 runs RIM's new BlackBerry OS 6, which offers support for touchscreen displays, user customization, new social news feeds, and more.

The Torch 9800 itself measures 4.4in x 2.4in x .5in and weighs 5.7 ounces. It sports a 3.2 inch 480 x 320 capacitive touchscreen display, offers 4GB of built-in storage, as well as a 4GB microSD card that can be upgraded to a 32GB one. Under the hood it has 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity. The rear of the phone has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash.

The phone's keyboard is reminiscent of the BlackBerry Bold 9700, so frequent keyboard users will appreciate the ease of which they'll be able to type.Other new features include integration with Facebook, Twitter, and instant messaging services and the ability to synchronize media between a BlackBerry device and a PC over a WiFi connection.

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 will be available through AT&T on August 12 for $199 with a two-year service agreement. After initial availability on the Torch, RIM has also committed to bringing BlackBerry 6 as an upgrade to the Bold 9700, Bold 9650, and Pearl 3G, "subject to carrier certifications in the months ahead."