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It seems RIM is positioning the BlackBerry 8520 as the global BlackBerry and are marketing it to countries all around the world. Its low price point makes it an ideal candidate for regions such as Europe, where phones are often free and customers are very sensitive to price.
The device has launched in Venezuela via Movistar, Malaysia, France via Boygues Telecom, Belgium and the Netherlands
Do you want the 8520 in your country? Sound off!
Simon picked up the story that RIM VP Jeff McDowell confirmed App World will be hitting France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, this month, with Brazil and India next on the list.
Congratulations to RIM legal for entering the French market, which is a relatively difficult market to enter. The US Commerical Service has echoed this sentiment, and it has portrayed the French market in a way that could be deemed isolationist.
“Enforcement of complex technical standards and lengthy testing procedures sometimes appears to exceed reasonable requirement levels needed to assure proper performance and safety, for example in the areas of electronics, telecommunications equipment, and agriculture phytosanitary standards.”
It takes several months for RIM legal to sort through the legal documents and conditions for App World to enter a new market. It took RIM legal 2 months to get App World to Britain and there are many European countries with more complicated and restrictive laws surrounding content distribution. So while getting App World around the world is a top priority, it could be a couple years before we see global penetration.
[Via]
Paris, France and Waterloo, Canada – SFR and Research In Motion today announced that SFR will offer the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone. Customers will be able to purchase the BlackBerry Curve 8900 from the SFR online store starting January 31st 2009 and in SFR retail outlets in February 2009.
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet, and sports a sleek, refined design that is extremely comfortable in the hand. In addition, it has a dazzling high-resolution display (480 x 360) and a fast processor for snappy performance. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone is supported on BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry Enterprise Server and will be available from €99 including taxes in conjunction with SFR’s Illimythics service plans and €109 excluding taxes with SFR Business Team Pro service plans.
Users will also be able to benefit from the Business Mail Illimité service plan and SFR Find & Go navigation services:
Business Mail special offer from SFR – available from January 21st to March 24 2009:
SFR Find & Go special offer:
Business Mail and SFR Find & Go special offers are available from 21/01/09 to 24/03/09 for new subscribers of an Illimythics 3G+ or Pro service plan (on a 12 month minimum contract) with compatible mobile phones. More details are available at www.sfr.fr.
Continue reading ‘SFR and RIM Launch the BlackBerry Curve 8900 in France’
Bouygues Telecom and Research In Motion today launched the BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone in France. The new BlackBerry Curve 8900 has an expansive feature set that keeps users easily connected with their office, friends and family. In addition to being an exceptional phone with powerful email, messaging, organizer, web browser and multimedia applications, the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 also features built-in Wi-Fi®, GPS, a fast processor (512Mhz) and a dazzling hi-resolution display, enabling customers to remain connected, productive and entertained while on the move.
Prices start from €149 including taxes (with a minimum 12 month subscription) on a Forfait Pro or Neo.2 three-hours or more voice plan. To mark its launch, between 26 January 2009 and 22 February 2009, customers will be able to purchase the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 for €79 including taxes (sales price of €129 in store with a €50 discount).
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is available for corporate clients from €179 excluding taxes (with a 24 month minimum subscription). Details available at http://www.enterprises.bouyguestelecom.fr. To mark its launch, between 26 January 2009 and 31 March 2009, corporate customers will be able to purchase the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 for €59 including taxes (sales price of €109 in store with a €50 discount) in conjunction with the Neo Mail Entreprises data plan.
BlackBerry Curve 8900 specifications
When we last heard from our French friends, they were just beginning to receive the BlackBerry Storm, RIM’s first touchscreen device. Today, Bouygues Telecom and RIM have jointly announced the launch of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, RIM’s first FlipBerry.
Bouygues Telecom is offering the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 from €129 including taxes (on a 12 month contract) in all Club Bouygues Telecom outlets with a Pro service plan or a Consumer service plan of 3 hours and more. For more information, click the links below:
www.bouyguestelecom.fr
www.entreprises.bouyguestelecom.fr
Cross another country off the list of those waiting to be hit by the Storm. RIM and SFR jointly announced the release of the BlackBerry Storm today in France. Our merry French brethren will be able to pre-order the Stormfrom on the SFR online store November 20th, with in store availability beginning December 3 in all SFR shops. Here’s a list of applications preloaded on the BlackBerry Storm:
SFR is selling the BlackBerry Storm for €99 with a €50 discount, and is offering two new Illimythics 3G+ plans specially designed for the BlackBerry Storm. You can see full plan details after the jump.
Sorry Americans, I know this stuff just makes you rip out even more clumps of hair, but the world must know that Indosat, Celcom, Bouygues, and TELE2TANGO all plan on packing the BlackBerry 9000. It might actually be a bit of a relief, as many won’t have the Bold available until mid- to late- September, which is the rumoured AT&T release date. You won’t be alone guys, just hang in there. Here are the details…
(via RIM)
Previously available in only North America, BlackBerry Unite! has now been localized for all around the globe. Central American, Italian, German, French, Asia Pacific and Spanish versions of the software is available for small groups of up to 5 to share media, contacts, and take care of management tasks. There are plenty of small and medium businesses out there that could use some extra functionality from their BlackBerrys, and when the software is free, it’s hard to go wrong.
(BlackBerry Support Community Forums via BerryReview)
Download sites for BlackBerry Unite! behind the jump…
When we heard that the French were against BlackBerrys for government use due to security concerns, we were a little confused: weren’t they designed to be secure devices for exactly this type of use? To recap, the French are worried that their intelligence data is vulnerable to interception by British and American operatives (data from French BlackBerrys is routed through severs at RIM NOCs in the US and UK). However, RIM says that to be successful, the culprits would have to use hundreds of computers running at over 100 GHz for millions of years.
An interesting article from World Politics Review sheds some light on the conflicting reports. Pointing to the French government’s previous attempts to halt iPod marketing in order to allow domestic companies to develop competitive technologies, WPR indicates that the French may be hoping that raising concerns about information transmitted over BlackBerrys would encourage more French people to rely on electronics manufactured and managed by French companies.
Apparently, it’s not working. The French media is reporting that the substitute device offered by the French government is not as efficient as the BlackBerry, leading some French civil servants to use their BlackBerrys in secret. It just goes to show that, despite political agendas, it’s hard to separate a government worker from their BlackBerry.
Hot off the presses, we’ve got news that the BlackBerry 8820 is en route, packing delicious Wi-Fi connectivity. Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b and g will all be supported, as documented in the FCC patent last week, and not only for data. Generic Access Networking (a.k.a. UMA) will allow for seamless dual-mode calling while in a Wi-Fi hotspot. Although that’s the big feature, besides which the device is largely an 8800, the new BlackBerry will also also be bringing a few other goodies. For one, it will support microSDHC memory cards, meaning up to 32GB of storage capacity. We looked at the 8 GB cards that are in the works from Samsung not too long ago. No 3G just yet, still quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE. GPS is in there too, and RIM also points out AZERTY and QWERTZ keypad availability, pointing to an early launch in both France and Germany. In fact, RIM’s handset index lists France as the only European country confirmed to carry the 8820 so far.
Press release and more behind the jump.
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