Information Madness

Research in Motion Limited announced touch screen and keyboard packing smartphones running its BlackBerry 7 Operating System for three United States carriers. They are U.S. Cellular, Sprint and AT&T. The two new series are BlackBerry Torch 9810 and 9850.

The Torch 9810 looks very much like the existing Torch 9800. It is a sliding smartphone with a 3.2” touch screen and a full keyboard. It has 1.2 GHz processor, 768 MB RAM, 8 GB Memory, 720 pixel HD video recording and support for AT&T’s HSPA 14.4 network. It has a five megapixel camera.

The Torch 9850 has a 3.7”, 800x480 pixel touch screen, and a five megapixel camera on the back with 720 pixels HD video recording. It has 1.2 GHz single core Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD 8655 processor, 768 MB RAM and 4 GB storage memory.

Both the BlackBerry torches will offer faster internet speeds than the previous 3G BlackBerries. Sprint and U.S. Cellular models will run on the 3G EVDO networks. AT&T informed that the Torch 9810 will be out in the next fortnight and Series 9850 will be released after three months. The models will be subsequently released to the Canadian carriers, TELUS, Bell and Rogers.

This is an attempt by Research in Motion Limited to bounce back in the wireless market. They are also planning two more additional releases by the end of the year in the BlackBerry Bold line with series 9900 and 9930.They will both feature a touch screen display, traditional keyboard and built-in support for Near Field Communications (NFC) that could open the door for options such as mobile payments. These phones will offer an upgraded browser with voice activated searches and many other productivity applications.