Smart introduces EDGE-enabled BlackBerry 8700g

Smart Communications Inc., in cooperation with Research In Motion (RIM), now offers the BlackBerry 8700g to its postpaid subscribers.

"We are very excited to be working with RIM to launch the new BlackBerry 8700g for our customers in the Philippines," said Eric Alberto, PLDT Corporate Business Group senior vice president.

"The stylish BlackBerry 8700g offers our customers enhanced e-mail, phone and data application features in a single device, allowing mobile professionals to take advantage of our nationwide, speedy EDGE network to remain connected while away from the office," said Alberto.

The BlackBerry 8700g features a completely re-engineered device platform with a powerful Intel processor, 64 MB flash memory and 16 MB SDRAM, providing the ultimate balance of performance, design and function.

Combined with the proven BlackBerry platform, the new BlackBerry 8700g provides a comprehensive all-in-one solution for mobile professionals in the Philippines.

"The BlackBerry 8700g is a powerful tool for individuals and organizations that want to enhance communications and increase mobile productivity," said Norm Lo, RIM vice president for the Asia-Pacific. "We are very pleased to be working with Smart to bring the BlackBerry 8700g to the Philippines."

BlackBerry has become the industry’s leading wireless e-mail solution because of its proven reliability and convenience. Users do not have to retrieve or "pull" e-mail from an account since BlackBerry automatically "pushes" e-mail messages to handsets.

Smart Gold, Infinity and Addict Mobile subscribers will enjoy BlackBerry services with the BlackBerry 8700g.

The large landscape QVGA (320 x 240) LCD screen of the BlackBerry 8700g supports more than 65,000 colors. It also incorporates an intelligent light sensing technology that automatically adjusts the display and keyboard lighting levels to provide optimized visibility in outdoor, indoor and dark environments.

In addition to the full 35 key QWERTY keyboard for easy typing, the quad-band and EDGE-enabled BlackBerry 8700g comes with premium phone features such as dedicated "send", "end" and "mute" keys, supports smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing, speakerphone and Bluetooth support for hands-free headsets and car kits.

For corporate customers, BlackBerry Enterprise Server software tightly integrates with Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise and works with existing enterprise systems to enable secure, push-based wireless access to e-mail and other corporate data.

For individuals and smaller businesses, BlackBerry Internet Service allows users to access up to 10 corporate and personal e-mail accounts, including Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and most popular ISP e-mail accounts, from a single device.  

Smart, in cooperation with RIM, first introduced BlackBerry services in the Philippines in May 2003. In late 2005, the wireless services leader also introduced RIM’s BlackBerry Connect Software to make the BlackBerry service available to users of handsets like the Nokia 9500 Communicator, Nokia 9300 smartphone and Sony Ericsson P910i.