Latest blackberry ‘bold’

Research In Motion Ltd is launching a new high-end version of the Blackberry aimed at its core base of business users, but it hopes the sleek device will also catch on in the broad retail market. The Blackberry Bold, as the new smart-phone is called, is the first Blackberry to support high-speed HSDPA cellular networks with integrated GPS, Wi-Fi and lot of multimedia features.

“It’s really a step up in function in many core aspects of the system,” RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie said in an interview.

The smart-phone rolls out globally this summer and will cost between $300 and $400. AT&T will be its lead carrier in the United States.

“We had expected a 3G device later this year,” he wrote. “We estimate the Bold could increase RIM’s quarterly shipments by 200,000 to 400,000.”

While Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM hopes the Bold will entice corporate users to upgrade the handsets they currently use, Balsillie said he “wouldn’t be surprised if it gets picked up by the consumer.”

The device will be a test of whether the shaky U.S. economy is making corporations less willing to spend on new wireless hardware. Some analysts have expressed concerns that companies will delay upgrades or cut back on spending on items such as the Blackberry.

UBS analyst Jeffrey Fan wrote in a note to clients he expects the company to launch between three or four new devices this year.

“We believe RIM’s broadening portfolio should widen its appeal to the mass market,” he wrote.

The Bold features the most vivid display ever on a Blackberry, a 2-mega-pixel camera with video recording capability, and a media player for watching movies and managing music collections.

This isn’t the first time a Blackberry has been loaded with multimedia features to catch the eye of the retail customer. RIM has actively worked at diversifying its client base away from the executives, lawyers and other professionals who use the Blackberry for sending secure wireless e-mail.

More than a third of RIM’s 14 million subscribers are now classified as non-government and non-corporate.

This pursuit of consumers has put RIM in increasingly direct competition with devices such as Apple’s iPhone which target the broad consumer market.

source: reuters