Research In Motion Launches the New BlackBerry Torch 9860 and BlackBerry Torch 9810 Smartphones in Malaysia

Malaysia, 24 August 2011 - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced the launch of two BlackBerry® 7 OS-based smartphones in Malaysia: the new BlackBerry® Torch™ 9860 and BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810. Both smartphones are expected to be available in Malaysia from 15th September.

The BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone offers a fast and fluid performance 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 9860 smartphone is optimized for high-quality multimedia, web browsing and gaming. In addition, as would be expected, the Torch 9860 also delivers an outstanding real-time communication and collaboration experience that is loved by millions of BlackBerry smartphone users around the world.

The BlackBerry Torch 9810 is a powerful evolution of the BlackBerry Torch 9800. The new smartphone 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 fast typing, the BlackBerry Torch 9810 truly delivers the best of both worlds.

Gregory Wade, Regional Managing Director, East Asia at RIM, said: “This is an exciting period for RIM and we are thrilled to introduce several new BlackBerry 7 powered smartphones in Malaysia. The new BlackBerry Torch smartphones offer a full touch display and feature RIM’s next generation of hardware and software to deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity.”

The new BlackBerry 7 operating system 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 dramatically improved performance of the advanced WebKit browser engine together with powerful hardware enhancements, BlackBerry 7 based smartphones deliver browsing results that are up to 40% faster than BlackBerry® 6 based smartphones and up to 100% faster than BlackBerry® 5 based smartphones*. Additional enhancements to this next generation BlackBerry browser include optimized zooming and panning for smoother web navigation and optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.

Next-Generation BlackBerry 7 OS
RIM’s new BlackBerry 7 based smartphones feature Liquid Graphics^TM 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 continue the tradition of delivering the world’s best mobile communications experience with 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 (see separate announcement on July 28, 2011). 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 and integrated functionality 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® Balance (announced May 2, 2011) 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.

A New Performance Driven Platform

RIM’s line up of next generation BlackBerry smartphones are built on a new performance driven platform powered by the latest BlackBerry software and hardware. In addition to supporting the new BlackBerry 7 OS, each smartphone also 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.

Note to Editors: For devices images and more details, visit the BlackBerry 7 Virtual Press Room at: www.rim.com/newsroom/blackberry7

* Requires BlackBerry 7 OS. Testing was performed by RIM in July 2011 and measured average page load speeds using pre-release BlackBerry 7 software.