AT&T’s debut of the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is delayed because of ongoing testing, Research In Motion co-CEO Mike Lazaridis told the Associated Press late last week.

Lazaridis acknowledged that “great scrutiny” exists for the product launch. The Bold is the first BlackBerry with HSDPA networking and a high-end touchscreen. Moreover, Research In Motion doesn’t want to experience the customer backlash that followed the recent Apple iPhone 3G launch.

Given the increasingly computer-like complexity of modern smartphones, it’s possible that firm release dates will become less common – or that computer-like bug fixes and software patches for phones will become more common.