Smoldering Bolds: New BlackBerry gets yanked from shelves again

Research In Motion's BlackBerry Bold has been one of the most problematic smartphones of the year. The handset was delayed several times for purported 3G network testing, while rumors swirled that the real problem was that the device was overheating.

RIM's Erik Van Drunen told Betanews in July that he had no idea where such rumors were coming from, discounting it as a product of the blogosphere. At that point, RIM would not confirm when the device would actually be released in the US.

In October, one month before it became available in the States, UK mobile operator Orange suspended sales of the Bold for unspecified "software issues."

Today, Japanese mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo has halted sales of the BlackBerry Bold after only a week of availability and some 30 users reporting that the device would overheat while the charger was plugged in. There were no reports of visible flames or users being burned.

RIM told Reuters that the issue appears to be limited to Japanese devices, and that it has ruled out battery problems as a cause. One can't help but feel that RIM's statements serve only to confirm exactly the opposite of what they are saying.