[London, ENGLAND] BT and
Canadian mobile developer
Research In Motion Limited (RIM)
announced Tuesday that they are working together to bring
the BlackBerry wireless e-mail solution to the U.K.
Designed for corporate users, BlackBerry is a complete, secure,
wireless e-mail solution that operates over General Packet
Radio Service (GPRS). Its key features are a large screen,
easy-to-use keyboard, and “always-on” operation.
BT Cellnet will start trials of the BlackBerry service
later this year.
Mike Lazaridis, president and joint chief executive officer
at Research In Motion, said the convergence of Internet and
wireless technologies with business applications is an
unmistakable trend. It would, he said, fundamentally impact
the way people work.
“BT Cellnet’s decision to invest early in GPRS technology
will pay dividends as customers recognize and embrace the
potential of the wireless Internet,” said Lazaridis.
GPRS provides interoperability between the Internet and
existing GSM networks. It uses GSM radio base stations and
converts wireless data into Internet packets, using
bandwidth only when it is needed. It also supports fast
point-to-point communication through wireless handhelds.
Already well-established in North America, BlackBerry gives
users mobile access to their corporate e-mail system
wherever they travel. Users can keep their existing
e-mail address and have no need to dial in to the
server. E-mail is “pushed” to the user whenever it
arrives.
Other features of BlackBerry are a full-featured
organizer, with calendar, address book, task list,
memo pad, calculator and alarm. Powerful encryption
with Triple DES ensures that all data remains secure.