RIM debuts a pretty lame handset—on purpose

In an attempt to stay alive until it’s finally ready to release the BlackBerry 10 platform, Research in Motion launched a not-very-fancy BlackBerry in India today. The new handset, the Curve 9220, has a built-in radio and a decent-ish camera, and it only works on the slower 2G networks. As far as smartphones go, it’s pretty underwhelming—which is exactly the point. RIM is building cheaper phones to court lower-end markets overseas (they’ll launch the phone in BlackBerry-loving Indonesia in the next few weeks), and will use the money from those sales to bankroll its next big moneymaker. Better yet, the company hopes the buyers of cheaper phones will trade up their entry-level devices for something flashier later on. It’s a pretty smart move that has earned kudos from analysts—though not quite smart enough to stifle those damn persistent sale rumours. [Reuters]