The long-anticipated BlackBerry Bold will be released in U.S stores on October 2, reported the blog Boy Genius Report, citing a “pretty high-up source at AT&T,” on Friday.
Research In Motion, the No. 1 maker of smartphones, has been postponing the release of its first 3G phone for months now.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company had first announced the launch of the 3G phone with built-in GPS, the answer to the iPhone, in July, around the time that Apple was releasing the iPhone 3G. But the launch was postponed until August due to battery life issues and overheating problems, and then it was postponed again with no specified launch date.
Neither AT&T nor RIM has confirmed the rumor yet. AT&T’s web site only says that the 3G phone is “coming soon.”
While RIM is making up its mind about the release date of the Bold, Apple is dangerously catching up with RIM’s 16 million subscribers. Steve Jobs has sold over 3 million iPhone 3Gs since its release on July 11, bringing the total of iPhones sold in little over a year to nine million.
RIM shares plunged $5.25, or 4.15 percent, to $121.52 in trading, the biggest decline since November 2004.