Research In Motion's rival, Apple Inc., releases only one model of the iPhone every year or every other year. Although it has not yet released the long awaited iPhone 5, Apple still was able to sell 20 million units of the current iPhone touch-screen models in the last three months.

RIM, on the other hand, has been struggling to maintain its relevance in the market today. With fewer smartphones with the trademark QWERTY physical keyboard being sold, management of BlackBerry has been under pressure to deliver.

Hoping to hit the bulls eye, RIM is launching not just one but five arrows: RIM is releasing 5 new BlackBerry smartphones based on the BlackBerry 7 Operating System in its largest roll-out ever.

RIM, in conjunction with carriers and distribution partners around the world, is rolling out two new BlackBerry Bold models and three new BlackBerry Torch models, all running the new BlackBerry 7 OS.

The launch of this family of handsets will be RIM's largest global launch ever and more than 225 carriers and distribution partners have already commenced or completed over 500 certification programs for these 5 new handsets.

Featuring what RIM calls its "next generation of hardware and software platforms," these five new BlackBerry 7 based smartphones offer users a variety of designs to choose from and deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity.

The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 are RIM's thinnest smartphones ever, each offering a large keyboard and brilliant touch display. The new BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone builds on the popularity of the BlackBerry Torch 9800 and combines a large touch display with a convenient slide-out keyboard. The BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 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 smartphones in our history," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion. "The BlackBerry solution offers a best-in-class mobile communications experience that customers love and we think they will be thrilled by the faster performance, enhanced browsing and richer multimedia delivered by these powerful new BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Torch smartphones."

Capping the year with a bang (or dud)

RIM said last month it will terminate 2,000 jobs, or almost 11% of its workforce, amid losing market share to Apple Inc.'s iPhone and smartphones running on Google's Android operating system.

Research firm IDC in fact in June said it forecasts the smartphone market to grow 55% (to 472 million smartphone units) year over year in 2011. The increase in demand has benefited Apple and Samsung, which have both gained double digit growth in smartphone sales this year. RIM on the other hand delivered just 13.2 million phones in the three months to late May, its first fall in shipments versus the prior quarter in the past four years.

Quick-messaging devices (phones with a QWERTY keyboard), once a bright spot within the feature phone market, appear to be losing steam as smartphones gain popularity, IDC said in April.

Apple's phones are bolstered by thousands of software or apps available at Apple's App Store and Android devices also have apps for downloading at Android Marketplace. Apple's iPhones and other smartphones have removed the physical keyboard, putting screens as large as the smartphone by using a virtual keyboard.

Not deploying a major new BlackBerry model since August last year, BlackBerry in May cut its earnings outlook and said it would reducing its headcount, after losing ground in the smartphone market to rivals.

Amid shareholder discontent and criticisms that its two-head structure (Mike Lazaridis and founder Jim Balsillie serve as co-CEOs) is not working, RIM has assured shareholders that it would improve its results in the second half of the year.

Lazaridis said last month that the delays in the new OS and the new smartphone offerings are due to company's efforts to launch smartphones that meet market expectations. "It may have delayed us, but we are going to come out ahead," Lazaridis said.
Will the new BlackBerry OS and smartphones push RIM back to the top? See the details below.

BlackBerry 7 OS

According to RIM, BlackBerry 7 introduces a next generation BlackBerry browser with "a significantly faster, more fluid web browsing experience that is among the best in the industry. "

Combining the WebKit browser engine together with the powerful hardware enhancements BlackBerry 7 based smartphones delivers browsing results that are up to 40% faster than BlackBerry 6 based smartphones and up to 100% faster than BlackBerry 5 based smartphones. This BlackBerry browser has also optimized zooming and panning for smoother web navigation and optimized HTML5 performance for gaming and video experiences.

RIM's new BlackBerry 7 based smartphones also feature Liquid GraphicsT technology, with each smartphone "combining a dedicated high-performance graphics processor with a blazingly fast CPU and stunning high resolution display to deliver a highly responsive touch interface with incredibly fast and smooth graphics."

In addition, BlackBerry 7 based smartphones provides a highly refined and integrated suite of phone, email, messaging and social apps to keep users connected and productive throughout the day. Recent enhancements include the newest release of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) which now extends the real time BBM experience to a range of other apps. The updated Social Feeds (2.0) app has been extended to capture updates from media, podcasts, and favorites all in one consolidated view. The new Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones (2.0) app introduces features like Facebook chat and BBM integration that makes it easier for users to connect with their Facebook friends in real time.

BlackBerry 7 OS also includes a number of other pre-loaded applications for increased productivity and collaboration right out of the box. The Premium version of Documents To Go is now included free of charge, offering users powerful document editing features as well as a native PDF document viewer. BlackBerry Protect is also pre-loaded, offering customers the peace of mind that personal data can be backed up and secured in the cloud. BlackBerry Balance is now integrated in BlackBerry 7, allowing users to enjoy the full BlackBerry smartphone experience for both work and personal purposes without compromising the IT department's need for advanced security and IT controls. And further, the popular universal search capability has been enhanced with support for voice-activated search, so users can now simply speak to begin searching their device and the web for information.

The 5 Refreshed Models

Each smartphone features a range of powerful hardware enhancements including a 1.2 GHz processor, HD video recording, 24-bit high resolution graphics, and advanced sensors enabling new augmented reality applications such as Wikitude that can be seamlessly integrated with BBM 6 - all designed to deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity for users around the world.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 series is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet (at only 10.5mm) and the first to offer the perfect union of a high performance keyboard and touch display integrated within the iconic BlackBerry Bold design. The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 are also the first BlackBerry smartphones to include built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications), which provides for the ability to pair accessories or read SmartPoster tags with a simple tap of the smartphone.

Building on the popular design of the BlackBerry Torch 9800, the new BlackBerry Torch 9810 is faster and more fluid with high performance hardware features and the new BlackBerry 7 OS delivering an enhanced multimedia experience. Featuring a large 3.2", high resolution touch display and a distinctive BlackBerry keyboard that easily slides out to allow faster typing, the BlackBerry Torch 9810 truly delivers the best of both worlds.

The BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones offer the fast, fluid BlackBerry 7 experience in a stylish new all-touch design. With a spectacular new 3.7" display, the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone, the new all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9850 and 9860 smartphones are optimized for displaying web pages, photos, videos, and powerful gaming experiences and still deliver the real-time communication and collaboration experience loved by millions of BlackBerry smartphone users around the world.

What's Next for BlackBerry.

By giving consumers five models to choose from, BlackBerry hopes to boost sales in the second half of the year. But is RIM laying all its cards on the table?

Lazaridis has previously said that RIM will be releasing superphones next year. The superphones will be based on the QNX-based operating system, which is running RIM's PlayBook tablet computer.

If indeed, the five new smartphones are only RIM's appetizer to its main dish, then BlackBerry has no other way to go but up. But if RIM does what it did in the past year (launch a new phone in August and laze around in the next 12 months), the BlackBerry will be history.