United States Cellular Corp. (USM), a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems Inc. (TDS) is scheduled to unveil its latest smartphone offering, BlackBerry Torch 9850 smartphone on Aug. 26, 2011. The product is priced at $199.99 and includes a rebate of $100 as well as a data plan.
The BlackBerry Torch 9850 features a touch screen with a 3.7-inch display, representing the largest BlackBerry screen to date. Additionally, it is also equipped with Liquid Graphics technology and advanced graphics processor along with a high-resolution display.
The smartphone also possesses the latest BlackBerry web browser offering speed up to 40% faster than BlackBerry 6 and up to 100% faster browsing experience than BlackBerry 5. The browser includes features like optimized zooming and panning for smoother web navigation and optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.
U.S. Cellular’s launch of BlackBerry Torch 9850 comes close on the heels of AT&T’s exclusive offering of BlackBerry Torch 9810 in August 22, an updated version of the original BlackBerry Torch that debuted last year, marketed by AT&T. BlackBerry Torch 9810 is available at $500 with a two-year contract and the no-contract offering is priced at $450.
Going forward, U.S. Cellular remains optimistic on the growing demand for its smartphones. In first quarter 2011, smartphone sales represented approximately 42% of equipment sales and are expected to remain a key revenue driver.
U.S. Cellular continues to expand its smartphone and Tablet arena and plans to launch its first 4G enabled smartphone powered by Google’s (GOOG) Android 2.3 operating system in 2011 and will continue to roll out through 2012.
Apart from the upcoming launch of Blackberry, the company introduced two new mobile tablets and entered the Windows 7 platform with four new HTC smartphones. U.S. Cellular’s smartphone gallery also comprise several Android-based phones, such as the recently launched HTC Merge and LG Genesis apart from Samsung Acclaim, Samsung Mesmerize, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HTC Desire, LG Apex and LG Optimus U.
Further, U.S. Cellular also offers Blackberry and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Mobile phones such as the Blackberry Curve 9330, Blackberry Bold, and Samsung Exec. These handsets are expected to drive revenues going forward on the back of higher adoption and penetration. Further, these smartphones remain the key drivers of the company’s data revenues as they are backed by U.S. Cellular’s high-speed nationwide 3G EV-DO network.
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