RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) co-CEO Mike Lazaridis told the AP yesterday that AT&T (NYSE: T) is still testing the new high-end Blackberry Bold to make sure the carrier won’t face complaints about the performance, which have plagued the iPhone. RIM said in May that the Bold would go on sale this summer in the U.S., where AT&T has an exclusive, but it has not launched yet. Despite delays in the U.S., the device has already been approved to run on 60 networks in 29 countries, implying that AT&T may be the one with the issue. If the iPhone is already taxing its systems, would it want another data-heavy device on its network? Lazaridis told AP: “There’s great scrutiny, as you might know, on that network and a certain device. So I guess everyone wants to be sure on every last test.”
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel would not say if the Bold was still in testing, but did confirm it would still come out this year. Most likely, the carrier will do everything in its control to have it launch in time for the holiday season. In RIM’s conference call last week, the company hinted it would come soon. Lazaridis’ counterpart Jim Balsillie said, “we look forward to continued rollout of the BlackBerry Bold around the world and a U.S. launch in the near-future.”
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