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During the buildup to the release of the BlackBerry Bold, we’ve heard some not-so-savory things about AT&T in this whole ordeal. We can’t confirm any of it, so of course we’re taking it with a grain of salt. The word, though, was that AT&T favored/favors the iPhone, and wants to be accommodating to what has become their flagship phone, even if that means pushing away the BlackBerry. Hence, a September 1 release of the Bold, when we were originally hearing mid-July, early-August. Via Electronista, we’re hearing that the BlackBerry might be on the outs with AT&T.

They cite an analyst who claims that RIM devices accounted for 70 percent of AT&T’s smartphone sales in June. That number is supposed to fall off due to AT&T’s marketing approach to the iPhone. With the Bold still almost a month away from launch, this cannot be good news for RIM. It could affect 25 to 30 percent of their sales, which are said to come from Ma Bell.

It would be unfortunate for RIM to fall out of favor with America’s largest GSM network, since RIM releases the GSM versions of most devices before the CDMA counterpart. Except, of course, for the Thunder. AT&T is also the only GSM carrier to have a nationwide 3G network — though T-Mobile is rumored to have their network running by October 1.

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