This summer is shaping up to be a battle of the super smartphones after the latest BlackBerry was unveiled.

The BlackBerry Bold is a faster, slicker and sexier version of the e-mail and phone handheld device beloved of harried business executives. Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian makers of the Bold, are pitching it at the top end of the smartphone market, which was revolutionised by Apple’s iPhone last year.

In fact, the Bold, expected to be available in Britain towards the end of June, beats the iPhone to high-speed 3G wireless networks. The much-rumoured 3G iPhone is expected in the US next month.

The Bold has more processing power than the previous BlackBerry, and thanks to its HSPDA connectivity, faster internet browsing on the move and video streaming. RIM hopes that the host of features on the new Bold will help it to compete outside its usual market and cater for “the business person’s consumer side during evenings and weekends”.

Expert View

What I want out of my mobile, first of all, is better phone service

Jonathan Weber

• More

• Post a comment

HTC Touch Diamond goes up against the iPhone

The Taiwanese manufacturer is taking on Apple with a new touch screen phone that makes typing easier and works on 3G

• iPhone rival beats Apple to the draw

• iPhone sellers braced for hit on unsold handsets

• Apple forced into iPhone contracts U-turn

Related Links

• Choose at your peril

There are more than 14 million BlackBerry users in 135 countries but these are mainly corporate or business users. The iPhone and other brands such as Nokia, HTC and Sony Ericsson dominate the market for personal use.

Since its introduction a year ago, the iPhone has cornered 28 per cent of the US smartphone market. RIM has 41 per cent of the market. Sales of the iPhone have been slow but have picked up thanks to recent cut-price deals. Apple predicts it will have sold ten million iPhones worldwide by the end of the year.

Early reviews of the Bold are talking up its crisp display and sleek looks. It has borrowed a curvier design and a silver trim from the iPhone and it has a leatherette back that can be replaced in different colours.

No British carriers have been announced yet. There is no official word on price but it is expected to sell for about $300-$400 (£150-£200) in the US. In Britain you should be able to get it free if you are willing to have a pricey enough contract.

With the 3G iPhone due soon, the competition is hotting up. The HTC Diamond, which also has high-speed web connectivity, was launched last week. Smaller than the Bold, it boasts a similar range of features and its 3D TouchFlo software is said to rival the acclaimed iPhone touch-screen browsing experience.

HTC, a Taiwanese company, has been winning fans with a range of smartphones including the HTC Touch, which has sold more than three million units worldwide.

Apple is thought to have stopped making the basic version of the iPhone while it puts the final touches to the new 3G version. It is rumoured that the new device will be revealed at Apple’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference in San Francisco on June 9.

Explore Tech & Web

• Personal Tech

• The Web

• Gadgets & Gaming

Times recommends

• Spore: make yourself a little monster
• Human search engines: Chinese web vigilantes
• Living with Google's double-edged sword