RIM moves cautiously with ‘Bold’ launch

Kris Sangani, consumer technology editor

Research in Motion started rolling out its new flagship mobile device, the Blackberry Bold, in several markets since last weekend.

In part because the Bold is being launched with a large number of carriers around the world, its introduction is not simultaneous. For example, the smartphone is already available in Germany.

In the UK, the mobile device has been available since the weekend on the Orange network - and it is already sold out. Carphone Warehouse were supposed to start selling the device in ‘mid August’, but to date, the company cannot confirm availability. The device will be available from T-Mobile from September 2008.

Rogers Communications, the owner of Canada's biggest wireless carrier, will start offering Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry Bold on Thursday, the telecom firm said.

The Bold is RIM's most advanced smartphone to date and is the first BlackBerry to support high-speed HSDPA cellular networks. It comes with integrated GPS, Wi-Fi and a host of multimedia features.

The new smartphone, aimed at the company's base of business users, will cost between $300 and $400 in the United States. AT&T will be its lead carrier.

The smartphone is expected to be available with carriers around the world by the end of this week, although AT&T has not disclosed when it will launch the device.

The Bold features the most vivid display ever on a BlackBerry, a 2-megapixel camera with video recording capability, and a media player for watching movies and managing music collections.