AT&T Still Testing BlackBerry Bold

RIM's BlackBerry Bold was announced back in May...but AT&T is still testing it, and the UK's Orange has apparently stopped shipments over software issues.

Canada’s Research in Motion garnered a lot of attention back in May when it announced the BlackBerry Bold, sporting a 480 by 320-pixel display along with 3G data capabilities along with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi. The BlackBerry Bold represented RIM’s first new smartphone platform in almost two years…and here, almost five months after its announcement, carrier partner AT&T has yet to put it into any U.S. customers’ hands. And now come reports from the UK’s Orange have the carrier suspending shipments of the units in order to work out a software problem.

According to the Associated Press, AT&T is still testing the BlackBerry Bold, and has not committed to an availability date for U.S. customers. RIM co-CEO Mike Lazardis said Thursday that the phone is still undergoing certification by AT&T. The BlackBerry Bold was due to go on sale in the U.S. this summer, but now AT&T will only say that the BlackBerry Bold should be on sale this year.

In the meantime, UK mobile operator Orange has reportedly ceased shipments of the BlackBerry Bold to customers to resolve unspecified "software issues" with the device. The reports immediately led to speculation Orange customers may be encountering problems that have delayed AT&T’s certification for the BlackBerry Bold.

The BlackBerry Bold is currently on sale in about 20 countries.

RIM is apparently keen to avoid the kind of customer backlash that greeted the iPhone 3G when it debuted in the United States earlier this year: some customers were thrilled with the device, but complained bitterly of dropped calls and poor connectivity. Apple has released a software update for the iPhone 3G which apparently solves the problems for most users.