Research In Motion was recently in the news when longtime co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis stepped down in favor of new boss Thorsten Heins. Will the change in leadership pull back the BlackBerry maker from the brink of oblivion? Well, here's an update that gives you an idea of the company's plan regarding the devices that it will launch in to the market this year and in the first quarter of 2013. 

Two new smartphones for Verizon Wireless are now available. The largest US wireless carrier is currently offering the LG Spectrum and the BlackBerry Curve 9370 via its website and retail stores. 

Let's look go over the details for these newly available Verizon phones after the break.

Two exciting handsets with support for AT&T 3G bands have gained approval from the FCC. Published documents indicate that the BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9981 and Samsung Galaxy Note have been approved with support for the carrier's WCDMA 850MHz and 1900MHz frequencies.

An approval from the FCC is not a sure sign that these powerful handsets will be launched by AT&T but it does indicate a possible release into the US market. 

Smartphones have continued to evolve in 2011. This year we saw the arrival of powerful handsets with dual-core processors. The size and the technology of displays have also improved from the iPhone's "Retina Display" to Super AMOLED plus screens. 2011 was also the year for the arrival of major versions of smartphone operating systems such as Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, and iOS5.

So will smartphones continue to grow at the same rate next year? Early rumors and leaks indicate that 2012 will also be a big year for the smartphone industry. Nokia has already launched its Windows Phones and quad-core handsets for Android have already been leaked. Let's look at the rumored upcoming smartphones for 2012 to get a glimpse of the future super phones.

HTC Titan II: This AT&T-bound smartphone packs a powerful main camera. The Titan II will sport a 16 megapixel camera with an f/2.6 lens, dual-LED flashes and the ability to record video in 720p HD. Other features for this handset include a 4.7-inch display, dual-core 1.5GHz processors, a 1.3-megapixel user-facing camera and 4G Long Term Evolution support.

Sony Xperia Ion: This device is the first Sony LTE smartphone. The Ion features a 4.6-inch 720p HD Reality display, and a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU. It will be available at AT&T and will ship with  support for the carrier's 4G LTE network. Other key features for this phone include 1 GB of RAM, 12.1 megapixel camera, FM radio with RDS, DLNA, and Android 2.3.

RIM has added two more handsets into the fray. The new Bold 9790 and Curve 9380 will feature touchscreens and run on the BlackBerry 7 operating system. But will these be enough to compete with the iPhone 4S and the other super phones running on Android and the Windows Phone OS?

Check out the details for these new BlackBerry phones after the break.

The newest BlackBerry handset for T-Mobile subscribers will arrive next week. The carrier has announced that starting on November 9 the BlackBerry Torch 9810 will be available nationwide at its retail stores for $249.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate card. Consumers who want this upcoming T-Mobile phone must commit to a two-year service agreement and qualifying Classic voice and data plan.

Here's an interesting device for BlackBerry users. RIM and Porsche have joined forces to design a futuristic BlackBerry that features a forged stainless steel frame and hand-wrapped leather back cover. The new Porsche Design P'9981 from BlackBerry sports a 2.8-inch 640 x 480 "crystal clear touch display" and a sculpted QWERTY keyboard.

Here's a nice update for AT&T subscribers. Folks who have been waiting for the Blackberry Bold 9900 for AT&T may get their wish soon. One of the carrier's Twitter acounts has revealed that the "BlackBerry Bold 9900 is coming soon! Stay tuned."