BlackBerry Torch unveiled with hopes of grabbing iPhone marketshare

Research in Motion, the makers of BlackBerry handsets, has announced a new touchscreen phone, the 9800, also called the Torch. With RIM claiming the phone to be their "best BlackBerry ever" the new device comes at the same time as the new BlackBerry 6 operating system.

Unveiling the handset at a New York press conference, the latest model in the RIM line-up has a host of Apple iPhone features on the touchscreen interface, including pinch and zoom functionality.

However, there is also a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which is more akin to traditional BlackBerry models, renowned for their powerful emailing capabilities. There's also a 5 megapixel camera plus flash. The new device should be available in the UK via Vodafone with prices to be announced shortly.

The BlackBerry 6 OS, meanwhile, includes some new features such as the Universal Search tool and a WebKit-based browser that is said to render pages more efficiently. A new Social Feeds application is aimed at simplifying your social networking and RSS feeds by integrating popular sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

“BlackBerry 6 is the outcome of Research in Motion’s ongoing passion to deliver a powerful, simplified and optimised user experience for both touch-screen and keyboard fans,” commented Mike Lazaridis, co-chief executive of Research in Motion.

RIM has also announced details of a BlackBerry Super Apps Challenge, which it is hoped will encourage UK developers to build more applications for the BlackBerry platform. There are prizes up for grabs including application promotion services, BlackBerry smartphones and an elite membership to the BlackBerry Alliance program.

Older BlackBerry users will find that it’s possible to install the latest version on their handsets, while App World, the BlackBerry application store, will come as a preinstalled feature of the new OS, meaning quick and convenient downloads will be at your fingertips.