Getting Close to RIM Rollout of "iPhone Killer?"

Berrytimes.cn

The smart money set on Wall Street smells a story in the making. Shares of Research in Motion jumped sharply Wednesday morning in anticipation of the rumored rollout of a touchscreen handset that will compete against Apple's iPhone.

Reuters quotes Avian Securities analyst Matt Thornton saying the company is likely going to announce what's called the slider 9800 handset at a joint announcement in New York next week with AT&T. "The earlier they are going to say it is going to be available on the shelves the better. They don't want to miss one of the key seasons," he said, referring to the approach of the back-to-school calendar.

Earlier this spring, tech web sites began publishing what purported to be leaked photos of the upcoming RIM handset running the Blackberry OS 6. (If you want to browse, the Chinese web site Berrytimes.cn has a gallery with very clear images of what's said to be a prototype of the upcoming device.)

In late morning trading, shares of RIM finished up more than 4%.

The new BlackBerry 9800 is expected to be launched at an event in New York City on Tuesday next week. AT&T, which is expected to be the exclusive carrier for the new phone, will be joining RIM for the announcement. CNET reported news of the press conference earlier this week.