Reports have emerged that Research In Motion’s latest handset has been delayed to ensure BlackBerry Bold users do not fall victim to the 3G issues that have been hounding owners of Apple’s iPhone 3G.

Originally scheduled for release over the summer, we assume just a little after the latest iPhone, the Bold was delayed in the U.S. RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis spoke to the Associated Press late last week and hinted that the handset’s delayed entry into the North American Market is because AT&T wants to be sure it doesn’t see a repeat of the shoddy coverage experienced by customers with Apple’s device.

Apple’s iPhone 3G woes appears to have finally been resolved following the release of the 2.1 firmware, months after the launch of the hardware. RIM likely wants to make sure the experience is perfect out of the box for AT&T customers.

"There’s great scrutiny, as you might know, on that network and a certain device. So I guess everyone wants to be sure on every last test," Lazaridis told the AP.

There’s still no word on when the Bold might hit the U.S. but AT&T maintains we’ll see it before the year is out. The Blackberry Bold is currently out in the wild in Canada, where it roams in its native land on Rogers Wireless’ HSDPA network.

The the last few weeks has already seen an announcement regarding the launch RIM’s first clamshell BlackBerry, a flip version of the company’s Pearl device. While clamshells are seen as a more social design for a cellphone, a separate announcement from the Canadian smartphone maker detailed the company’s foray into the “work hard play hard” market with another new handset the BlackBerry Storm.

While there’s likely to be those who are wary about buying a 3G phone on AT&T’s network (the company has seen several lawsuits about the iPhone coverage), it looks like BlackBerry owners looking to upgrade will be spoiled for choice this holiday season.

Read the full story on the Associated Press