RIM Launching Updated Top-End BlackBerry Bold

Research In Motion is rolling out an updated version of its top-end BlackBerry Bold smartphone, aimed at the company's base of professional users as well as wealthier retail consumers. While the latest Bold is part of a series of new devices that Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM has planned in the next 12 months, it can also be seen as an attempt to reassert its dominance in the enterprise market.

The BlackBerry still rules among business executives, lawyers, politicians and other professionals. But in the broader consumer market, RIM has seen stiff competition from Apple's iPhone and handsets from rivals such as Nokia.

The new Bold is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, which hit the market last year, and replaces the original Bold's track ball with an optical track pad, RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie said in an interview. It also features a faster Web browser. AT&T and T-Mobile are among the first wireless carriers around the world, who will offer the new phone in coming weeks. "We think it's a major upgrade that appeals to professionals and to consumers, both men and women," Balsillie said. (Reuters)

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