BlackBerry Torch Drags RIM Into 21st Century: Rich Jaroslovsky

It’s become fashionable among the digerati to dismiss the BlackBerry as a remnant of yesterday’s technology and lump its maker, Research In Motion Ltd., with Microsoft and Nokia as wireless pioneers who squandered their early advantages and are now sinking toward irrelevance.

All of which raises the stakes for the BlackBerry Torch 9800, which goes on sale in the U.S. from AT&T Inc. on Aug. 12. The Torch, which will cost $199 on a two-year contract, represents RIM’s attempt to bring the classic BlackBerry concept into the 21st century’s second decade, and is the first device to run the BlackBerry 6 operating system.