ATLANTA and WATERLOO, Ontario, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today unveiled the new BlackBerry® 7130c™ and service offering that brings the power of BlackBerry to on-the-go individuals at consumer friendly prices.
The new BlackBerry Personal Plan from Cingular offers customers direct and easy access to their Internet e-mail accounts for as low as $29.99 per month. The plan is designed solely for use with the newly enhanced BlackBerry Internet Service™ (note: this plan excludes access to BlackBerry Enterprise Server™). In addition, customers can select the new, EDGE-enabled BlackBerry 7130c handset for as low as $199.99. The solution, which will be available beginning next week in Cingular retail stores, is ideal for on-the- go consumers such as young professionals who need to stay in touch and parents who spend their days juggling work and family activities.
"BlackBerry has long been the darling of corporate America," said Mike Woodward, executive director, mobile professional solutions, for Cingular Wireless. "But clearly wireless e-mail can benefit more than just corporations. Cingular's new BlackBerry Personal Plan and the easy-to-use BlackBerry 7130c are designed specifically to make wireless e-mail accessible to everyone that leads a mobile lifestyle."
Cingular's BlackBerry Personal Plan includes BlackBerry Internet Service™ which optimizes the personal e-mail experience. BlackBerry Internet Service provides customers with the ability to have their personal e-mail pushed to their BlackBerry 7130c automatically from most popular Internet Service Provider (ISP) e-mail accounts. The solution provides automatic and wireless synchronization of read, deleted and sent e-mail from the user's BlackBerry handset to their e-mail account. Users with multiple e-mail accounts can choose from multiple "sent from" e-mail addresses when sending an e-mail. Customers can also browse the Web wirelessly via Cingular's popular MEdia Net wireless Internet access service or use the BlackBerry Browser™ for HTML Internet browsing.
The new BlackBerry 7130c, exclusively available from Cingular, has a slimmer, narrower phone-like design that will appeal to the broader wireless user population. It allows users to stay connected with a full featured phone and integrated, wireless high-speed access to e-mail, text messaging, Web, organizer and applications. The handset uses RIM's popular SureType™ technology which effectively converges a telephone keypad and a QWERTY keyboard to attain the narrow design of a traditional mobile phone, while ensuring dialing and typing is quick and easy.
The BlackBerry 7130c delivers premium phone features including smart dialing, conference calling, speed dial, call forwarding, polyphonic and MP3 ring tones, as well as speakerphone and Bluetooth® support to ensure wide compatibility with hands-free headsets and car kits.
It also features a large, brilliant 240X260 color LCD screen that supports more than 65,000 colors, delivers vivid graphics and features an intelligent light sensing technology that automatically adjusts screen and keyboard lighting to provide an optimized view in outdoor, indoor and dark environments.
"RIM and Cingular are providing a winning combination that will once again broaden the appeal of BlackBerry," said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at RIM. "The BlackBerry 7130c incorporates our latest technology in a slim and stylish design and works with a newly enhanced service that makes it even easier to set up and manage personal e-mail accounts. It operates on Cingular's high-speed EDGE network and delivers outstanding voice, e-mail and browsing performance. Together with Cingular's new BlackBerry Personal Plan, the BlackBerry 7130c is a compelling choice for customers looking to upgrade their mobile phone."
The BlackBerry handset is powered by Cingular's nationwide* EDGE network, the largest high-speed national wireless data network in the U.S. with availability in 13,000 cities and towns and nearly 40,000 miles of major highways. Customers will also be able to use the quad-band BlackBerry 7130c in more than 170 countries for voice and over 100 countries for data. With the optimized device platform, integrated EDGE capabilities, Intel® processor, 64 MB flash memory and 16 MB SDRAM, BlackBerry 7130c users will experience noticeably faster Web browsing, application performance and attachment viewing.
"No other wireless carrier in the world has more BlackBerry subscribers than Cingular," added Woodward. "Given our leadership position, Cingular is pleased to introduce this new, consumer-friendly BlackBerry solution. Just about everyone can now enjoy the functionality, and rich push e-mail, voice and Web browsing features that have made BlackBerry so popular."
The new consumer-friendly BlackBerry Personal Plan from Cingular will be available beginning Monday, June 12, in Cingular retail stores across the U.S. and includes unlimited e-mail and Web browsing for $29.99 per month, with a qualified voice plan. The BlackBerry 7130c is available for as low as $199.99 with a two-year contract and qualified voice plan.
The BlackBerry 7130c is also available for enterprise customers using BlackBerry Enterprise Server™ with service at $44.99 per month with a qualified voice plan and unlimited data usage or for $49.99 a month as a data only option.
* Not available in all areas.
