DoCoMo Halts BlackBerry Bold Sales Due to Overheating

Japan's DoCoMo has suspended sales of RIM's BlackBerry Bold due to overheating, marking another unpleasant chapter in the troubled handset's brief lifespan.

Japanese mobile operator DoCoMo has announced that it has suspended sales of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Bold smartphone because the unit can overhead while the battery is being charged. The suspension marks another black eye on RIM’s smartphone handset, which has met with troubles around the world: UK mobile operator Orange suspended sales of the BlackBerry Bold last year to resolve "software issues" with the device, and U.S. mobile operator took more than six months to certify the BlackBerry Bold for use on its network and open up U.S. sales in November of 2008.

The BlackBerry Bold went on sale via DoCoMo on February 20. DoCoMo says it has sold about 4,000 BlackBerry Bold phones, and had about 30 users complain the phone’s keyboard gets excessively hot. DoCoMo said there have been no reports of injuries, property damage, or fire from the heating.

"This issue appears to be specifically limited to the BlackBerry Bold devices sold in Japan since last week and sales of BlackBerry Bold devices in other countries are unaffected by this matter," RIM said in a statement. RIM is offering a specialized version of the BlackBerry Bold in Japan featuring a redesigned keyboard with Japanese text input support; DoCoMo also planned to offer a camera-free version of the BlackBerry Bold.