Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) introduced its first BlackBerry device featuring its highly anticipated BlackBerry 6 operating system--the Torch 9800--and is partnering with AT&T (NYSE: T) to launch the device.

The device features a 3.2-inch screen, slide-out 35-key Qwerty keyboard, optical track pad and a 624 MHz processor with 512 MB of Flash memory. The device also has a 5-megapixel camera with flash, WiFi and 4 GB of built-in memory storage plus a microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB cards.

The Torch 9800 will debut on Aug. 12 for $200 with a two-year contract.

"It takes months and years of effort to refine and finally bring to market truly innovative services," AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega said at an event unveiling the device and new OS in New York, according to the blog Boy Genius Report. "If you include meetings, from the engineering levels to the CEO level, we spent hundreds of thousands of hours between the companies." 

RIM's launch of the Blackberry 6 is deemed as one that could either either make or break the future of the company as RIM sees its smartphone market share slipping to Apple iPhones and Android-based devices. According to a report released by Nielsen earlier this week,  42 percent of current BlackBerry users plan to buy another BlackBerry device for their next phone, while 29 percent plan on switching to an iPhone and 21 percent indicated they will be buying an Android-based device.

Last week a Reuters article declared that RIM's future looks bleak, as its market share slipped to 41 percent in the first quarter from 55 percent in the previous year, according to Gartner Research. In addition, it cited Google's growing dominance and the fact that Apple indicated more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 companies were testing or deploying the iPhone.

While RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis touted BlackBerry 6's advancements, many of the new features are a means of catching up to what is now standard on competing smartphone platforms. The OS's user interface includes touchscreen navigation, and users will be able to swipe among five customizable home screens for applications. BlackBerry 6 also features a universal search function that enables users to search for any content on the handset, whether that content is from the web or in BlackBerry App World. A new app called Social Feeds organizes social networking and RSS feeds, and the OS also has threaded messaging, new multimedia software and a WiFi music sync function.

RIM said BlackBerry 6 will be made available as an upgrade to existing BlackBerry Bold 9700, BlackBerry Bold 9650 and BlackBerry Pearl 3G users.

 For more:
- see this release
- read this release on OS 6.0
- take a look at this All Things D post
- see this GigaOM live blog
- read this Engadget live blog
- see this Boy Genius Report live blog
- take a look at these pictures and specs

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