RIM Intro’s Bold iPhone Rival

Research in Motion has made a Bold move in its fight against Apple in the smartphone arena with the new BlackBerry Bold.

Debuting this summer, the Bold boasts is the first RIM phone to use HSDPA technology for faster data delivery, pitting it against the 3G iPhone that Apple is expected to announce next month. It also has more storage, GPS, a video camera and, according to Bloomberg, lets users listen to their iTunes libraries.

AT&T, the exclusive US home for the iPhone, will also be the first carrier to offer the Bold. With all the new consumer-friendly features, smartphone fans will have a big decision to make when choosing between the Bold and the iPhone: keyboard or touch-screen.

RIM has also launched a $150 million venture fund in partnership with Thomson Reuters and the Royal Bank of Canada that will invest in companies building smartphone applications.

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