Cingular Wireless put a little more smarts in its handset lineup today with news that subscribers can now have Research in Motion’s consumer-oriented Pearl smartphone.
Cingular said the smartphone would support its Push to Talk network; TeleNav GPS NavigatorT, which gives subscribers GPS-based driving directions; its EDGE high-speed wireless data network.
With a 160Kbps download speed, Cingular’s EDGE network trumps the 120Kbps
data rate for T-Mobile. The line between 2G and 3G service is 144Kbps, said Gartner analyst Todd Kort, and Cingular’s Edge trumps the 120Kbps data rate for T-Mobile.
Kort said Pearl is the product that enables RIM to become a mainstream phone player. RIM will be one of the world’s top 10 phone vendors by 2009. RIM now has 7 million customers, he added.
RIM sold the Pearl as its first consumer-focused device.
Along with its e-mail service, popular with corporate users, the Pearl
includes a digital camera, multimedia features and a slimmer design.
When the Pearl debuted it was offered exclusively through T-Mobile,
selling a half million handsets. The agreement provides Cingular a
connection to the fanatical BlackBerry user base and RIM an even wider
audience.
“Cingular has a much broader audience and higher quality network,” Kort
said. A joint venture of AT&T and Bell South
, Cingular claims more than 58 million customers.
RIM’s Pearl has attracted a larger audience than the Motorola’s Moto Q
Phone. Verizon and Sprint Nextel offer the phone, designed to compete with
RIM by offering Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, keyboard and office application
integration. But the Moto Q never approached
the level of success enjoyed by Motorola’s RAZR, Kort said.
Pricing is key to whether Cingular can continue the success T-Mobile
experienced with the Pearl. Cingular will charge $29.99 per month for
the carrier’s BlackBerry Personal plan, while corporate customers will pay
$44.99 per month for unlimited service, according to a statement. There are
additional fees for both Push to Talk and Cingular’s TeleNav GPS service.