RIM unveils five new BlackBerries

Toronto : In its biggest ever global launch of smart phones, Research In Motion (RIM) Wednesday unveiled five new BlackBerry models running on its new BlackBerry 7 Operating System (OS).

The new smart phones include two new BlackBerry Bold models and three new BlackBerry Torch models.

The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 will be the thinnest smart phones ever and introduce an all-new, all-touch design featuring the largest display on a BlackBerry smartphone to date.

"This is the largest global launch of BlackBerry smart phones in our history," RIM president and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said at the RIM headquarters at Waterloo near Toronto.

With its aging handsets contributing to massive decline in its market share in North America, RIM said it was rolling out the new devices in conjunction with 225 wireless carriers globally.

The announcement by the top Canadian technology company comes at a time when the it faces declining market share, shrinking revenue and profit warnings.

The company has sunk from top to the third spot in the US smart phone market in a matter of months under onslaught from Apple's iPhone and Google Android devices. 

Its stock has sunk more than 60 per cent this year, currently trading at about $24 - the lowest in six years.