Just days after a New York Times article mused “Blackberry’s Era May Be Ending,” Research in Motion introduced their newest device, the Blackberry Torch, at a highly publicized, Apple-esque launch event in New York. The conference, which was held to heighten consumer interest in the new BlackBerry gadget, was a first for RIM, but it seems that the phone they revealed was nothing new—which has critics asking—for all of RIM’s marketing efforts, can the Torch deliver much-needed sales for the floundering device manufacturer?

Possibly. Most of the Torch’s features, including the touch screen navigation, 624 MHz processor, and 360 x 480 pixel display, are nothing to write home about—or, not anyway, in comparison with the other extraordinary mobile devices on the market today. Though competition in the Smartphone industry is staunch, it’s evident from public responses like the title of an MSNBC.com article that calls the new phone “underwhelming” (and BlackBerry “doomed”), that critics and analysts expected a much stronger showing from RIM.

And with critiques like these circulating the tech community, will the BlackBerry Torch be dead on arrival? Only if consumers are underwhelmed, too. While most reviews of the new BlackBerry have been unfavorable, if not wholly disparaging, it appears that some critics have failed to consider the niche popularity of the BlackBerry. In fact, much of RIM’s success in the mobile industry thus far, has not been with selling cutting-edge, sexy, feature-packed devices, but with catering to the business class—providing practical, highly-functional and reliable devices for moderate daily use.
 
And, when it comes to fulfilling that role, the Torch doesn’t seem like such a long shot. Conventional—even ordinary, as it may be described, the plainness of the device may actually appeal to consumers, especially those already familiarized with the Blackberry OS. And a few mobile analysts are attuned to the newest BlackBerry’s utilitarian appeal, such as one analyst who remarked, “it’s not very flashy, but it should extend the company’s reputation for solid, efficient, reliable products.”

Only the numbers will say for sure, but the Torch may be a viable alternative to Android devices and the iPhone, at least for a certain market—which may be indicative of RIM’s biggest struggle—expanding their consumer base. Although the Torch may not increase BlackBerry’s market share, it’s likely to appeal to their niche audience, and with 32 percent of the Smartphone market secured, “doom” seems exaggerative— “growing pains” describes the manufacturer’s current struggles much more accurately.