BlackBerry Bold 9900, Torch 9860 Available for Pre-Order: Can They Break Apple, Google’s Hold on the Market?

Both the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Torch 9860 have appeared on Vodafone's "coming soon" section, leading analysts to speculate whether the company's next slew of devices will reverse RIM's ailing fortunes.

The Bold 9900 and Torch 9860

UK mobile network provider Vodafone today put both the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Torch 9860 onto the "coming soon" section of its store.

Both are set to run the company's new OS 7 operating system and are seen as two of the company's new top-end range of devices.

The Bold 9900 will reportedly be powered by 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processors, come loaded with 768MBs of RAM and have the ability to record f high-definition 720p video.

BlackBerry's other handset the Torch 9860 is also reported as housing some some pretty impressive tech. The device is set to come loaded with a 1.2GHz Snapdragon MSM8655 processor and boast 768MBs of RAM.

Currently Vodafone has only released the price and release date of the Bold 9900.

The device is being advertised as available from 16 August on a two-year, £41-a-month contract -- a bold move considering it puts it in the same price bracket as the perennially popular Samsung Galaxy S2 and Apple iPhone 4 price range.

Despite the lack of official word, the new Torch is expected to be released in a similar price bracket.

Apple iOS, Google Android Dominance

The news that the two devices will be hitting UK shores has already seen analysts questioning whether the devices will help reverse RIM's ailing fortunes.

A recent report from the IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker indicated that the company had lost even more of its previously strong share of the mobile phone market.

The report highlighted that of the major mobile phone providers -- Apple, Samsung, Nokia, HTC, RIM -- BlackBerry had posted the lowest year-over-year growth. It alleged that since 2010 BlackBerry had dropped from a 17.4 to a 11.6 per cent share of the market.

This compares to Apple, which accounted for 19.1 per cent share of the market.

The IDC also reported a healthy growth by Samsung. According to its report the Galaxy S2 maker recorded a whopping 380.6 per cent increase in its market share, accounting for 16.2 per cent of all phone shipments.

The report highlighted the company's lack of new devices and failure to produce a new range of high-end devices to combat Apple and Samsung's now established Galaxy and iPhone handsets as a key reason for the drop.

Despite the news that BlackBerry was working to rectify this, many analysts have speculated that having lost pace with both Apple iOS and Google Android powered handsets, BlackBerry may not be able to recover.

The argument cites that no matter what spec future BlackBerry devices boast, users will be wary of the BlackBerry devices, preferring to stick with the OS they are already familiar with.

"The smartphone market crowned a new leader in 2Q11, and its name is Apple," commented Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team when describing the smartphone market's future.