RIM releases the BlackBerries it should have 2 years ago

RIM released a trio of new BlackBerry devices this morning, running the new BlackBerry 7 operating system. This is its stopgap OS release before jumping to a new platform, QNX, which is supposed to launch on phones next year. (It’s already powering the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.)

I’m told by a trusted BlackBerry whiz that BB7 is nicer and feels snappier, but that the platform is clearly showing its limitations. “Exactly where RIM should have been 2 years ago.” Or even earlier.

These BlackBerries look okay, and will be decent updates for anyone locked into the BlackBerry platform. But no one’s going to ditch their iPhone or high-end Android devices for these.

QNX-based BlackBerries need to be a LOT better if RIM is going to be competitive in the high-end smartphone market ever again… or else it’s pretty much going to be a low- to mid-level and overseas story going forward.

Related: The BlackBerry’s downfall is almost as crazy as Android’s rise