What numbers did Research In Motion need to reach in the first weekend that its next-generation touchscreen phone, the BlackBerry Torch 9800, was available? It's a good question, but the answer is not, apparently, 150,000 phones.

That sales estimate comes from analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus, which were not wowed by the performance. Goldman Sachs called the launch "underwhelming," according to the Wall Street Journal. And while it's hardly a fair comparison -- given that RIM is counting on enterprises ordering the phone in bulk, which isn't likely to happen right out of the gate -- Apple sold 1.7 million iPhone 4s in its first three days. Verizon sold 300,000 Droid X phones, running through its stock in the first week.

It may not come as much of a surprise, but Research In Motion on Tuesday introduced its latest stab at an iPhone killer -- the BlackBerry Torch 9800.

The new slider phone, which features both a multi-touch screen and a QWERTY keyboard, is the first RIM device to run on the BlackBerry 6 operating system that the company hopes will keep it atop the smartphone game. It's too early to say definitively, but at worst it looks like RIM doesn't have another Storm debacle on its hands.