According to analysts, the sales of the latest BlackBerry smartphone – the BlackBerry Torch 9800 – can thus far be best described as lackluster and “unimpressive,” going by the retail spots checks.

Going by the statistics, the handset, which hit the AT&T stores in the US on Thursday, has met with a rather lukewarm response from the customers, especially when compared to the sales of the other recently-released handsets.

As per analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus, the weekend sales of the Torch were only about 150,000 units, which stand simply no competition for the sales of the new iPhone 4 that sold about 1.7 million units in the first three days after launch.

Despite the fact that the Torch has had a limited rollout – the device is presently available only through AT&T -, the slow start of the phone is evidently disappointing news for its maker Research In Motion (RIM), which is already losing ground, in North America, to more successful smartphone-market rivals like the iPhone.

In fact, the somewhat underwhelming and “not hot enough” launch of the Torch has forced RIM to announce a reduction in the price of the handset in an attempt to boost its sales – the $199-priced phone will now sell for $99, with a two-year AT&T contract, on Amazon and other Websites!