RIM Introduces the Sleek New BlackBerry 8800 Smartphone

Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced BlackBerry® 8800 – its latest range of smartphone.

The BlackBerry 8800 is the thinnest BlackBerry handset equipped with a full, highly tactile QWERTY* keyboard and RIM’s user-friendly trackball navigation system, it also includes built-in GPS (Global Positioning System), multimedia features and a microSD expandable memory slot.

“The BlackBerry 8800 smartphone offers another winning combination of superior hardware, software and service embodied by an extremely elegant industrial design,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion.

The quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE-enabled BlackBerry 8800 offers integrated support for voice and data applications, including phone, email, text messaging, web browser, organizer, multimedia, powered with an ultra-thin, high-capacity battery.

Through its built-in GPS, the BlackBerry 8800 can pinpoint its location and provide “out-of-the-box” support for a wide variety of location based applications and services, including BlackBerry Maps. BlackBerry Maps provides driving directions — with the ability to track the route via GPS — and integrates with other BlackBerry applications, so users can generate a map from an address in their BlackBerry Address Book and send maps via email from their BlackBerry 8800.

The BlackBerry 8800 is a world-class mobile phone with advanced and easy-to-use phone features including noise cancellation for enhanced audio performance, Speaker Independent Voice Recognition for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), intuitive call management functions such as smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing and call forwarding, as well as dedicated “send”, “end” and “mute” keys. It also features a high quality, low-distortion speakerphone and Bluetooth® 2.0 for use with hands-free headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals. Support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ringtones is included.

With the large, bright, high resolution (320 x 240) landscape display, images appear vivid and crisp for viewing emails, attachments, pictures, videos, web pages, business applications and games. Built-in light sensing technology automatically adjusts the screen, keyboard and trackball brightness for optimized visibility in various lighting environments. The vibrant display, coupled with the BlackBerry 8800’s innovative trackball navigation, delivers a user experience that is dynamic and intuitive.

The battle for smartphones seems to be picking up as more and more people are migrating towards smartphones and with Apple also jumping in the fray, competition is only expected to intensify.
Nokia has already announced the launch on N95 – its smartphone which is no longer called a mobile phone but is dubbed as mini computer while Apple Iphone will be in the market by June 2007.