In a bid to get back in the smartphone race, Research in Motion Tuesday introduced the BlackBerry Torch 9800, a touchscreen phone featuring a slide-out keyboard that will hit stores Aug. 12 and sell
for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Like the iPhone, the new BlackBerry will be distributed exclusively by AT&T, offering monthly data plans of $15 for 200 megabytes of mobile data or $25 for
two gigabytes.
The Torch is also the first RIM device to launch with the new BlackBerry 6 operating system, designed to work more seamlessly with the touchscreen interface and streamline use
of messaging and social networking tools as well as RSS feeds. By offering a touchscreen slider, the company aims to capture both consumers and keyboard-favoring business users. BlackBerry is still
the dominant OS in the U.S., with a 35% share, but has lost ground to both Apple's iOS and Android in the last six months, according to data released Monday by Nielsen. Heres' the RIM release.