Research In Motion (RIM), the very company that brought us the BlackBerry, has firmly stated that the company plans to push forward against Apple amidst frustrated investors who don’t see eye to eye. While sacrificing recently earned profits, the company plans on developing new products to compete with Apple’s iPhone.

On the one hand you have Apple: the new superstar within the mobile industry. On the other hand you have Research In Motion: the old veteran with high expectations. Apple has quickly earned the respect of many companies already in the industry—this is made obvious with the development of products like the LG VX10000 and HTC Touch Diamond. The question is can Research In Motion keep up with a company which seems to be absolutely flawless in execution as of late?

Research In Motion has developed two products to go the full 15 rounds against the iPhone: the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Thunder. The BlackBerry Bold, like the iPhone, is offered for AT&T customers only—a very bold move, indeed. The company wisely decided to offer its other product, BlackBerry Thunder, on a different wireless network. Verizon Wireless is the beneficiary. This gives both companies an opportunity to expand.

The BlackBerry Bold has been compared to the iPhone on several occasions. The general consensus seems to be that the iPhone is likely to be favored by the everyday consumer while the Bold is likely to be favored by the corporate user. I think it is a fair assessment and it was to be expected. However, the Bold might easily be outdone by the Thunder.

The BlackBerry Thunder¹ looks to be in the best position to offer the iPhone some much needed competition. It features a similar shape, a touch-based interface, a software-based keyboard, a built-in GPS, and more or less the same features that the iPhone has.² So what makes this product any better than the iPhone?

Sadly, I don’t have a clue, but, then again, neither does any other site focused on mobile technology. There are not enough details to even begin speculating.

Regardless, one reason why the BlackBerry Thunder might be a hit is because its primary competition on the Verizon Wireless network is the LG VX10000 (a.k.a Verizon Voyager). The LG VX10000 has a great design, but its functionality—like most other phones on Verizon Wireless’s network—is crippled. Research In Motion seems to receive leeway with their products, and if this remains true with the Lightning, Verizon and BlackBerry might earn themselves a huge payday.

The BlackBerry product line has sold well with people in the corporate environment, but the question is can this device attract the rest of the consumer base as well? I will, again, pass on offering any speculation. It is quite obvious though that touch-based phones are quickly becoming popular amongst general consumers, and this is likely to convince some non-corporate users to explore their products.

More details are sure to come as time goes on, but we won’t know anything for sure until the arrival of the third-quarter of 2008.³