Is RIM Planning a 'Bold' New Launch with 9800, BlackBerry 6?

Is Research In Motion set to unveil a new BlackBerry next week? Yes, according to a Reuters report that said the mobile device maker plans to hold an event in New York next Tuesday that will feature a new BlackBerry the company hopes will keep it from losing more customers to Apple's iPhone and Android devices.

RIM (NASDAQ: RIMM) has not confirmed that it will be releasing anything next week. A spokesperson for the company said it doesn't comment on rumors and speculation.

What is known is that a new phone, the Bold 9800, is in the works. Photos of the phone leaked to the Crackberry blog show the Bold 9800 with a slide-out hard keyboard, similar to the Palm Pre. It would mark the first time RIM has embraced such a design.

The blog reports the new Bold device would include a 360x480 touchscreen (similar to the iPhone 3GS), a 5-megapixel camera, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, assisted GPS for finding location-based services, and Wi-Fi. It's also believed this would be the launch phone for OS 6, a badly-needed overhaul of the BlackBerry OS.

RIM has already been teasing features it plans to include in the next version of the BlackBerry operating system, OS 6, including: better media support and tools, social media support and a vastly improved Web browsing experience. With the iPhone and Android coming on strong in recent years, a refresh could be good news for the venerable BlackBerry line.

"Where RIM is falling short is on overall user experience. The BlackBerry was designed literally a decade ago and is heavily menu-based. We've moved into a world much more finger-oriented. The one key area of importance is the user experience and bringing it up to par with OSes designed for fingers like Apple's iOS and Android," Avi Greengart, research manager for mobile and consumer devices with Current Analysis, toldInternetNews.com.

Banking on OS 6?

Greengart said that the majority of BlackBerrys sold today are not for business users but consumers, and that the menu-based UI has got to go. But he said it's hard to rate how good OS 6 is going to be since RIM has only shown animations of the software, which makes it hard to evaluate real-world performance.

"Looking at screen shots doesn't tell you how the UI works. I've seen criticisms of the user interface based on these screen shots. While those criticisms seemed reasonable, based on what we've seen, what are we seeing? I don't know," he said.

Beyond the UI, Greengart said RIM needs to improve its Web browsing experience and make app development easier. In April 2009, RIM acquired Torch Mobile, the developers of a Windows Mobile browser called Iris. Iris is a WebKit-based browser that offers tabbed browsing, touch controls, and has a skinnable UI.

As for apps, that's a challenge as well. "I've talked to developers and they said they looked at BlackBerry because of its large user base, but shied away because of the complexity of developing for it and a lack of tools," said Greengart. RIM recently overhauled App World, its BlackBerry app store.

Despite surveys that show BlackBerry dropping in user satisfaction, Greengart said the company is hanging in there. "The BlackBerry brand is incredibly strong, even today with Google and Apple playing the game at a high level. So RIM needs to ensure whatever they do it doesn't detract from their brand and the things that make a BlackBerry a BlackBerry," he said.

Andy Patrizio is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

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