New Blackberry Pickings for Australia

June 22nd, 2006: Everybody 'Excited' as RIM to brings the latest Blackberry - Optus announces the same thing on the same day. Consumers to benefit?

Two major Australian Telcos see the power Research In Motion's (RIM) handheld, push-email, Blackberry device to attract business users to their services. Hence both have announced that the 'the quad-band EDGE-enabled BlackBerry 7130g' is now available.

The handset incorporates RIM's SureType keyboard technology, which merges a phone keypad with a familiar QWERTY keyboard to enable a narrower design, And features a speakerphone, dedicated 'send', 'end' and 'mute' phone keys. It also supports MP3 ringtones, smart dialling, conference calling, speed dial, call forwarding, and Bluetooth for wireless hands-free accessories and car kits.

"We're pleased to be working with Telstra to expand their BlackBerry portfolio for customers in Australia." says RIM's vice president, Asia Pacific, Norm Lo. Norm is also, "…very pleased to work with Optus to introduce such comprehensive and exciting offering".

All of this excitement will hopefully bode well for the consumer when it comes to pricing of the units - and of the bandwidth required to make the most use of them. It is this second element that has made Blackberry use almost compulsory for any U.S.-based business person seeking to have emails pushed to them - or to push emails at - the corporate entity.

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