The BlackBerry Torch slider phone is reportedly selling well in the US, since its launch earlier this month.
This is according to a report by BMO Capital Markets. The website Businessweek states: In a note to investors, BMO analyst Tim Long said his industry checks show strong sales of the company’s new Torch BlackBerry model. The phone, RIM’s first with both a keyboard and a touch-screen, went on sale this month. Long said the new model and growth in international markets will drive growth in RIM’s fiscal second quarter, which ends in August. RIM is scheduled to report results for the quarter Sept. 16.
This news follows less favourable reports last week of struggling sales in the US for RIM’s first slider smartphone. During its opening weekend, 150,000 handsets were sold – compared with 1.7 million iPhone 4s in the phone’s first 3 days. Prices for the new BlackBerry were reduced by certain retailers recently, although V3 reports that Tim Shepherd, an analyst at Canalys, has pointed out you can’t really compare sales figures between the iPhone and the Torch 9800 and “get a reliable read, as BlackBerry launches are not surrounded by as much media hype as an Apple product.”
Torch 9800 deals are anticipated to launch in the UK this coming October, and the phone has already been spotted on a couple of retailers’ websites. As well as sporting a slide-down QWERTY keyboard, the Torch runs on the new BB OS 6 and benefits from faster performance, social networking integration and better multitasking support.
BlackBerry smartphones have traditionally appealed to business people as a result of strong email ability and practical design. With the Torch 9800, RIM is widening the appeal by combining the practical elements with multimedia features found on other high-end smartphones. Are you impressed by this phone? Let us know what you make of the new BlackBerry, over on our Torch customer reviews page.