O Canada

 

Canadian wireless carrier Rogers has confirmed they will be launching the new BlackBerry Bold (a.k.a. BlackBerry 9000) in their stores on Thursday, August 21st. This long-awaited North American debut comes at a time when the stakes for RIM have never been higher. Although BlackBerry is still considered top among smartphone users, especially when it comes to push email, there has been enough heated competition this summer from carriers and handset makers alike to make even  RIM head honchos doubt their core competencies.  

RIM is well aware that today’s consumers are demanding more than just push email from their smartphones. High resolution screens, inbuilt WiFi and GPS, and state-of-the- art music player & camera capabilities are being seen as mandatory for any good handset.

So you see the release of the new BlackBerry Bold is not just the launch of a new device for RIM. They are losing market-share to handset makers such as Apple, Samsung, and LG on a daily basis. That’s why the Bold has gone through much testing before hitting ground in North America. The U.S. market, BlackBerry’s core base, will see the device out in September on AT&T.