No phone was more eagerly anticipated than Apple’s iPhone 3G. But consistent problems with connecting to AT&T’s high-speed networks and finger-pointing between Apple and AT&T have tarnished what might have been another victory for Apple.
The problems with 3G connectivity and Apple’s troubled MobileMe subscription service appear to have breathed new life into Research in Motion and its flagship BlackBerry line. On Wednesday, RIM unveiled its first flip-top model, the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 Flip, which boasts a traditional cell-phone form factor. It only runs on slower EDGE networks, however.
RIM has several new models ready to roll out later this fall and next year, with a focus on going after current customers of Motorola’s RAZR phones. RIM is expected to release the BlackBerry Bold later this month and a clamshell version of the Pearl later in the fall.
Gadget blogs have bristled with leaks and reports of a touchscreen Blackberry designed to compete head-to-head with the iPhone. Allegedly code-named Storm (or Thunder), the device is said to feature an all-glass screen, on-screen keyboard, multi-touch and a Webkit-based mobile browser — just like the iPhone. RIM has not confirmed these rumors.
RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie was to deliver the keynote address Thursday at the CTIA Wireless, IT and Entertainment trade show in San Francisco, where he may provide more information. In any case, Wall Street already expects RIM to deliver a “broad consumer assault” this year, “including the Bold, a touchscreen, flip, slider, 3G Pearl and others,” Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital Markets told his clients in a note last month.
Both Apple and RIM, as well as other smartphone makers, are feeling pressure from the tightening economy as consumers delay purchases. The smartphone sector grew only 16 percent in the second quarter, compared to 55 percent in the same quarter of 2007.
Even though…