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New 3G BlackBerrys Aimed at Enterprises, Consumers
Research In Motion is offering two new 3G smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold 9650 and the BlackBerry Pearl 3G, aimed at enterprises and consumers. The new BlackBerrys make the BlackBerry Bold RIM's flagship line. RIM President Mike Lazaridis called the BlackBerry Bold 9650 "extraordinary." The Pearl 3G is the smallest BlackBerry ever.
Research In Motion on Monday rolled out two new 3G smartphones. With its BlackBerry Bold 9650 and BlackBerry Pearl 3G, RIM is offering something for both enterprises and consumers.The new models point to the Bold as RIM's flagship product as the Tour line fades into history. By focusing on the Bold and Pearl lines, RIM is making it easier for users to track support technologies such as 802.11, according to Michael Gartenberg, a partner at Altimeter Group.
"Over the last year or so we've seen how important software is. Hardware is important, but it's the software that runs on the hardware that makes a winning combination," Gartenberg said. "Beyond apps, RIM also needs to talk about an improved browsing experience and the general evolution of its software platform. It will be interesting to see how much RIM says about the next version of the software platform at its conference in Orlando this week."
Newer, Bolder BlackBerry?
The BlackBerry Bold 9650 offers a full QWERTY keyboard, an optical trackpad, and built-in Wi-Fi, which makes it possible to talk on the phone while browsing the web or sending and receiving e-mail.
The Bold 9650 also includes 512MB of flash memory and an expandable memory-card slot that supports up to 32GB microSDHC cards, with a 2GB card included. Like all BlackBerry models, the smartphone offers e-mail, messaging -- IM, SMS and MMS -- and social-networking capabilities.
"The new BlackBerry Bold 9650 is an extraordinary smartphone that we think customers will love," said Mike Lazaridis, RIM president and co-CEO. "Whether at work or at play, the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 offers a truly impressive communications , multimedia and connectivity experience."
Smallest BlackBerry Ever
RIM also announced the Pearl 3G, the smallest-ever BlackBerry. The new model is less than two inches wide and weighs 3.3 ounces, but still offers support for high-speed 3G networks, Wi-Fi and GPS. Its features include e-mail, messaging and social networking.
The new Pearl 3G also has an optical trackpad for navigation, dedicated volume and media keys, a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash, and support for up to 32GB of personal content.
"Considering the fast-growing consumer interest in smartphones and the fact that more than three-quarters of the people in the global mobile-phone market are still buying handsets with a traditional alphanumeric keypad, we think the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G addresses a substantial market opportunity," Lazaridis said.
On the software front, RIM just announced BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 with voice over Wi-Fi calling to support the mobile workforce. In conjunction with Cisco Unified Communications Manager, the new software lets customers use their regular desk phone number and extension from their BlackBerry smartphone.
"This latest release enables businesses to better leverage their investment in the corporate phone system , adapt to the growing demand by employees for more flexible work arrangements, improve workforce productivity, and save costs on long-distance and international roaming charges," said Alan Panezic, vice president of platform product management at RIM.
Wireless Business Solution Zee Tawasha