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BlackBerry launches new Torch 9800

BlackBerry has unveiled its newest and most hi-tech handset, which it says will be serious competition for the iPhone.

Manufacturers, Research in Motion (RIM) revealed the Torch 9800 at a glittering event in New York this week, displaying a model that combines both a touchscreen and a key pad. RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis said every effort had gone in to making this phone as close to perfect as possible.

"We spent a lot of time on the details – how the applications interact, how the features interact," he said, hoping to combine the brand's corporate popularity with consumer appeal.

"Following extensive research and development to address consumer needs and wants, we are delivering a communications, browsing and multimedia experience that we think users will love, and we are thrilled to debut BlackBerry 6 on the amazing new BlackBerry Torch smartphone."

Features on the new device include a 5-megapixel camera with flash, autofocus and geo-tagging feature, a large 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen and a 624MHz processor.

Unlike its predecessors that only catered to the needs of corporate users, BlackBerry 6 offers integrated connectivity with social networking sites like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook and hence is likely to appeal to a broader customer base.