BlackBerry Torch smart phone to hit AT&T stores

BlackBerrys still fly off the shelves. They still convey the message that their owners mean business - that they're people who are important enough to need e-mail access all the time. But BlackBerrys are now being challenged by phones that say you can have your e-mail, and have fun, too.

Research In Motion Ltd., the BlackBerry maker, revealed a new phone Tuesday that says the company is still in the game. The Torch will be the company's first device with both a touch screen and the BlackBerry's signature full-alphabet keypad.

It hits AT&T stores on Aug. 12 for $199 with a two-year contract.

The Torch comes with a new version of the BlackBerry operating system, BlackBerry 6, that adds touch-friendly features that are mostly already available on other phones:

The Web browser should now work faster, render pages better, and respond to iPhone-like maneuvers like spreading two fingers to zoom. It's based on WebKit, the same underlying software used in the iPhone, Android phones, the Palm Pre and high-end Nokia Corp. phones.

Swiping a finger left or right on the home screen reveals favorite and oft-used applications, much like on the iPhone.BlackBerry 6 provides for "universal search" - one field to search all the content on the phone. This is a long-standing feature of Palm phones and was adopted by the iPhone last year.Research In Motion, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, sold its 100 millionth BlackBerry this year. It's still the most popular smart phone in the United States, ahead of the iPhone.

It's been holding its own against Apple Inc.'s phone, but in the last year, a new challenger has zoomed out of nowhere to put a dent in its market share: Google Inc.'s Android software, used by several phone manufacturers, including HTC Corp. and Motorola.

IT people like BlackBerrys because they're relatively secure and easy to manage. But that also means they're locked down in ways that frustrate their users, who may not be able to install the third-party applications they want. Corporate IT departments are now increasingly being swayed by demand for phones that are popular among consumers.