As unlikely as it may seem, COO Dennis Kavelman said today at the launch of the BlackBerry Bold that he’d like to take Apple CEO Steve Jobs for a drink.

The BlackBerry Bold will be in direct competition with the Apple iPhone and will be sold by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. BlackBerry manufacturer RIM is looking to expand the user base of their product far beyond top management to anyone and everyone.

Kavelman isn’t worried about going head to head with Apple, whose strategy with the iPhone he terms we do music and we’re going to add a phone into it”. In fact, Kavelman welcomes any competition which can get consumers interested in mobile email, web access and video all in a smartphone.

“I want to buy them [competitors] a drink,” he said; remarking that he held the hope that consumers would walk into stores in search of a competing smartphone but instead leave with a BlackBerry Bold.

The Bold is roughly the size of an iPhone but is a little wider and shorter than one. WiFi and GPS capabilities are built in. Both are now nearly standard features on better smartphones.

The Bold features a full QWERTY keyboard rather than a touchscreen and the RIM “pearl” trackball for easy navigation.

Since the BlackBerry is first and foremost used for mobile email, adding a touch screen may have been off-putting to its traditional user base. However, rumor has it that RIM is currently developing its own touch screen smartphone; the BlackBerry Thunder.

The Bold also boasts the advantage (when compared to the iPhone) of faster HSDPA speed capabilities, taking full advantage of new 3G mobile networks and mobile sites like 800buzz mobile.