Blackberry Bold keeps RIM in the lead

The wait has been long, but now that the summer is almost over, the Blackberry Bold is starting to get out of the door. As the latest smartphone from the leader in enterprise mobility, the Bold from RIM is expected to be a huge step up over previous models and may end up being the smartphone of 2008.

Since January we’ve had various leaks, showing deployment plans, pictures and stats. During the summer, RIM launched its presentation site, in the usual full multimedia style. Some of the new features includes an improved interface, a 2MPx camera, Wi-fi, 3G and full multimedia support.

The phone finally launched last week on Rogers at $399 with contract, and will be coming to AT&T in the US at the end of the month. Reviews have started to appear everywhere, along with lots of photos. Overall, it seems the Bold lives up to its promises, and is amonst the fastest Blackberries to date. Its new user interface is also very intuitive and well done.

While it may not have the visual appeal of some other smartphones, the Blackberry Bold is exactly what RIM needs to stay the leader in business phones, and based on early hands on reports, there’s no reason to think this will change.