A Research In Motion BlackBerry StormLUCAS JACKSON
Research In Motion is expected to make it easier to surf the Internet on its BlackBerry smartphone with the acquisition of Toronto-based browser company, Torch Mobile.
As RIM continues to compete with Apple's iPhone and other smartphones for consumers wallets,' the BlackBerry maker needs to improve its browser, say analysts.
Torch Mobile would be able to help RIM "start over from fresh," Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said Friday.
"Customers say it needs to be fixed and they have been complaining about this," said Mr. Dulaney, who's based in San Jose, Calif. He said RIM's Internet browsing experience isn't usually considered as strong as that of the iPhone.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed by Waterloo, Ont.-based RIM.
Torch Mobile is the maker of the Iris mobile browser.
"RIM is just saying, 'Look we can patch our browser to the nth degree and wind up with a piece of garbage or we can start over from fresh' and I think that's what they're doing with this," he said.
RIM says Torch Mobile employees have joined its software development team and will contribute expertise in mobile browser technology to the BlackBerry platform.
As more and more consumers move to smartphones, the ability to easily surf the Internet becomes more important, Mr. Dulaney said.
The performance of RIM's browser has become an issue since the iPhone was introduced, Mr. Dulaney said.
IDC Canada analyst Kevin Restivo said Torch Mobile technology could be in BlackBerrys by late 2010.
"I think you will see a marked improvement in the future with help from the Torch employees," he said from Toronto.
To win more consumers, RIM needs to be known for more than providing secure, e-mail on the device, Mr. Restivo said.
"Clearly, the smartphone market has evolved to the point where people, be it consumers or corporate users, need a fully fledged web browsing experience to complement corporate e-mail."