The BlackBerry Torch: Comparing Berries and Apples?

RIM debuted its latest BlackBerry smartphone yesterday in a joint press event with AT&T in New York. The new Blackberry Torch 9800 offers a multi-touchscreen and a slide out vertical keyboard. It also features the all new BlackBerry-Six operating system.

Some are calling it an iPhone competitor, others call it an iPhone killer. But for those who have enjoyed the QWERTY keyboard for so long, and the iPhone for that matter, will the Torch pick up enough fans?

Ramon Llamas, analyst at IDC Mobile Device, joined Stuart Varney on Varney & Co. this morning to say "it's almost like comparing berries and apples."

"I wouldn't position this as an iPhone killer," Llamas tells The Company. "Having a touchscreen on the BlackBerry is a necessary step for the BlackBerry."

The phone comes preloaded with a number of applications, allowing it to compete in a market that has become obsessed with "apps."

However, Stuart Varney, along with Fox Business' Liz Claman and Charles Payne insisted that there are many BlackBerry uses who have stayed loyal for so long mainly because of the keyboard, something BlackBerry prides itself on.

Llamas continued to assure him, "With the Torch, you are going to have both. You are going to have the best of both worlds."