RIM launches Blackberry 8820

The makers of Blackberry, Research in Motion, RIM, has launched a new Wi-Fi handset to take on Apple's heavily hyped iPhone. The all new 8820 Blackberry will provide GPS satellite navigation, play music and videos, and provide wireless access.

Mike Lazaridis, RIM President and Co-CEO, said that steve Jobs and Apple's iPhone has brought a lot of attention to the sector. "Hats off to Mr Jobs for growing the whole industry," Lazaridis said at RIM's annual shareholder meeting in Canada. "We all knew the smartphone market was growing. Some of us believe that eventually all phones will be smartphones. I think what the iPhone announcement did was that it just accelerated the public's awareness and acceptance of a smartphone."

Apple's iPhone was released in the US in June 2007. The iPhone can handle phone calls, e-mail, Web browsing, music, and videos.

RIM, which has been doing well in the corporate market in the past few years, has now set its sights on the consumer market as well. Its push e-mail software allows customers to access their e-mail in real time.

Lazaridis said, "The BlackBerry 8820 complements our carrier partners' cellular networks with the added ability to stay connected via Wi-Fi at home, through hotspots, and corporate campuses."

The new Blackberry 8820 will be the first dual mode smartphone from RIM and will feature the thinnest keyboard. AT&T will sell the Blackberry 8820 in the US later in 2007. RIM has included a microSD/microSDHC (microSD High Capacity) expandable memory slot that can support current and future generations of microSD memory cards up to 32GB.

Blackberry 8820 will combine EDGE/GPRS/GSM cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity for data access and voice support through UMA (unlicensed mobile access). The BlackBerry 8820 smartphone supports the 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards.

Blackberry also puts the Global Positioning System technology to good use. Through its built-in GPS, the BlackBerry 8820 can pinpoint its location and provide "out-of-the-box" support for a wide variety of location-based applications and services, including BlackBerry Maps.