RIM knows itis in a battle, a two horse race, with Appleis iPhone. The new BlackBerry Bold is RIMis latest weapon in the war, according to the Wall Street Journal on Monday. [Subscription required.]

RIMis new smartphone, designed to fend off the iPhone assault, runs on the higher speed 3G network, adds processing punch and integrates more easily with iTunes.

BlackBerry Bold

The BlackBerry Bold recognizes that Apple has made strides in enterprise connectivity, so the design is intended to be even more appealing to corporate customers.

Regarding the improved iTunes sync, RIMis Jim Basillie denied that the feature was aimed at Appleis iPhone. "We donit view it as a competition thing, we view it as a natural sync to an application that you use in your life," he said.

"RIM understands the need to play where the volumes are," said John Jackson, an analyst with the Yankee Group, about the new smartphone. "You have to think about outmarketing the other guys and getting more candy at eye level, which means more models."

In its press release, RIM said, "The BlackBerry Bold smartphone (model number: 9000) is scheduled to be available from wireless carriers around the world beginning this summer."

Whether the BlackBerry Bold and RIM can fight off the competition from Apple is a story yet to be told. Even so, in the words of Appleis own Peter Oppenheimer, clearly, RIM hasnit been just sitting around.