Waterloo, Ont.-headquartered Research In Motion has unveiled the BlackBerry Torch, a new touch-screen device with a slide-out keyboard that will complement a virtual keyboard on the 3.2-inch touch screen. The company is also facing demands from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and India for more control.

The phone will use the new BlackBerry 6 operating system and will have the “pinch-to-zoom” feature common on the Apple iPhone. The Torch name comes from its acquisition of Torch Mobile, which built the new Internet browser on the phone. The new operating system will also be available for the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and 9650, as well as the BlackBerry Pearl 3G.

In New York, RIM President and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis talked up the Torch's universal search function, which brings up results as icons, as well as the universal inbox that integrates emails and updates from other applications, such as instant messages, Facebook and Twitter.

On the application front, RIM is promoting a subscription model that would allow game developers to charge for more levels, or for news agencies and media companies to charge a recurring fee.

Too secure for some

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has threatened to ban the use of BlackBerry’s data services, claiming that the system denies the country’s authorities access when needed for policing or national security matters. The UAE government ordered state telecom carriers to disable BlackBerry services. However, both the US State Department and the Canadian government have sided with RIM.

Kuwait is now also demanding that RIM block a list of 3,000 pornographic websites. As well, RIM has been in discussions with India's Department of Telecommunications over concerns raised by Indian security agencies regarding BlackBerry's encryption; it’s been rumoured that RIM has reached an agreement to allow Indian security agencies to monitor BlackBerry communication traffic.

RIM's market share has been slipping, with its share price sliding around 20% since March. Earnings and revenues have also recently disappointed analysts.