RIM Acquires Torch Mobile to strengthen the Blackberry Browser

When it comes to mobile browsers, it’s obvious that Safari for the iPhone is king. Sure, Opera was there long before Apple released the iPhone, but I’m pretty sure most readers would agree when I say there is no contest on which is the better mobile browser. Good news is, a lot of companies are starting to catch up. Samsung’s proprietary browser is getting better, you have the Pre’s, and then of course, rumors of putting Google Chrome on Android-based phones.

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry browser, on the other hand, is not winning anything as of the moment. So it is in their best interest to do everything to remain competitive in this overly saturated smartphone market.

It’s latest acquisition may just be the right move to address this this issue. Torch Mobile, a WebKit developer that offers the Iris mobile browser, announced Monday that it has been acquired by RIM for an undisclosed sum.

In the company’s website, Torch Mobile wrote:

“Our team of developers will join RIM’s global organization and will now be focused on utilizing our WebKit-based mobile browser expertise to contribute to the ongoing enhancement of the BlackBerry platform.”

Webkit is slowly becoming a standard technology for the smartphone market. It is being used by RIM’s competitors including the iPhone, Palm’s Pre, Symbian S60 phones, and Android-based devices. It provides users with superior browsing experience and is fast and robust. The best part, is that it’s open source.

Terms of the deal were undisclosed. But clear as crystal, one can conclude that RIM is getting serious in addressing its need for a competitive browser for its Blackberrys. It’s not a matter of if RIM will release a WebKit-based browser, its now a matter of when RIM will release a WebKit-based browser.