BlackBerry 8800 In Australia

[BESadmin]

BlackBerry 8800 In Australia
30th March 2007

With good looks, built-in GPS, support for ACC, MP3, MPEG4 and H.263 multimedia files, svelte lines and piano black finish, you might find it hard to believe its a Blackberry.

If it were not for the increasingly iconic Pearl Navigation Trackball front and center on the device and the full QWERTY keyboard making the look like a somewhat wide, stomped on Blackberry Pearl, you might forget the device is for email and think it was a cell phone.

Although the RIM-made machine is still crippled by its less-than-3G quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE connectivity, the 8800 comes with all the "best-in-class performance with smoothly integrated support for voice and data applications, including phone, email, text messaging, web browser, organiser, multimedia and more" you have cometo expect from BlackBerry's.

Sure, the 8800 still lacks a digital camera, but for a business-approved device a multimedia player and expandable memory card slot for extra storage, the handset offers a of fun and function. The built-in GPS (Global Positioning System), a first for BlackBerry handsets in Australia, provides "out-of-the-box" solution for location based applications and services.

As a phone the 8800 features the same Speaker Independent Voice Recognition for Voice Activated Dialling (VAD) as the Pearl and has advanced noise cancellation technology.

Intuitive call management functions include smart dialling, conference calling, speed dialling and call forwarding, as well as dedicated "send", "end" and "mute" keys. The BlackBerry 8800 can operate with BlackBerry Internet Service, giving users the ability to manage up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, as well as BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which includes IT policy controls for managing the smartphone's features and usage.

The BlackBerry 8800 is expected to be available in Australia from late April to early May.

www.blackberry8800.com

[BESadmin]

Vodafone GPS BlackBerry Ready In May
30th March 2007


Vodafone has announced its version of the new GPS-enabled Blackberry 8800 will be mapping out the country for Australian road warriors by early May.

The new smartphone with built-in GPS functionality is the thinnest Blackberry ever, yet still manages to pack in the usual BlackBerry email functionality you would expect, plus multimedia features on top of the mapping and "out-of-the-box" support for a wide variety of location based applications and services.

At only 14mm thick, the 8800 has the look of the BlackBerry Pearl with a stylish design, premium finishes and RIM's intuitive trackball system for easy navigation.

An easy-to-use full QWERTY keyboard, large, ultra-bright, high-resolution display with built-in light sensing technology that automatically adjusts for lighting conditions, push email and mobile phone functionality, the BlackBerry 8800 includes a media player (with expandable memory slot for music and videos), TXT messaging, web browser, organiser and more. Through its built-in GPS, the BlackBerry 8800 can also provide

Edward Goff, General Manager Business Markets at Vodafone Australia, said the 8800 "brings together the leading functionality from the BlackBerry platform and adds GPS to make it the ultimate pocket-sized map mobile solution for business professionals. It’s one of the most practical smartphones on the market today, perfect for city executives, road warriors, international business travellers or anyone navigating their way to an unfamiliar destination.”

Norm Lo, Vice President of Asia Pacific at RIM, said: “The BlackBerry 8800 offers both style and performance in a single handset. It is optimised to satisfy the most demanding mobile workforce and it can significantly enhance communications and productivity for both individuals and workgroups.”

The BlackBerry 8800 will be available from early May through corporate sales channels and via order through Vodafone stores, priced at *RRP $899.00.

[BESadmin]

The BlackBerry 8800 has been confirmed for early to mid may. A number of sites are currently taking orders:

Mobile Network - Blackberry 8800