Press Releases

BlackBerry Curve 9320 Press Release

WATERLOO, ONTARIO – May 9, 2012) – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced a stylish new smartphone for socially-connected customers. The new BlackBerry® Curve 9320 smartphone features all the core BlackBerry messaging and social-centric features that keep people connected, and it offers global 3G connectivity backed by long battery life to allow users to make the most of their day.

"The new BlackBerry Curve 9320 is designed to make it incredibly easy for users to stay socially-connected," said Carlo Chiarello, EVP, Smartphone Business at Research In Motion. "The new BlackBerry Curve 9320 will be especially popular with customers upgrading to a smartphone for the first time and existing Curve customers looking for a step up in speed and functionality."

 

The BlackBerry Curve 9320 has everything a customer needs to stay in touch with the people and things that matter most to them. It features a dedicated BBM key, bringing the power of RIM’s popular mobile social network up in an instant, as well as the best keyboard in its class for quick and easy typing. It includes a built-in FM radio, allowing users to tune into their favorite local stations, and listening to the FM radio does not require a data plan or use data services. Designed to allow both 3G connectivity and long battery life, customers can get up to 7 hours of talk time or up to 30 hours of FM radio listening or music playback with headphones.

Bargain of the year: BlackBerry Curve 9320 is coming to Three

The BlackBerry^® Curve 9320 will be available from 14^th May online at www.three.co.uk and in all Three stores.

The BlackBerry Curve 9320 packs all the latest smartphone features into an affordable and stylish device. It has a traditional Qwerty keypad to help people type quickly on the go, easy to use side buttons that let you jump quickly to your favourite apps as well as instant alerts to help even the busiest person stay on top of their social network updates.

With BBM Music, the BlackBerry Curve 9320 provides access to millions of tracks and allows people to share music with friends. This new BlackBerry also acts as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, creating an internet connection for up to five other devices, such as laptops and tablets – dependant on tariff. With great battery life, there’s also no need to worry about running out of power when out and about.

Sylvia Chind, head of handsets at Three said, “The BlackBerry Curve 9320 is a great handset for social networking addicts, who want to stay in touch while on-the-go. With Three’s all-you-can-eat data plans on both Pay As You Go and Pay Monthly, people can browse online and stream music as much as they like, plus add to their friend lists without ever adding to their phone bill.”

The BlackBerry Curve 9320 is available for free on Three from £15 a month on the Essential Internet 100 plan with no surprise data bills. Guaranteed.

The handset is also available on Pay As You Go for £139.99. All in One 15 costs £15 and gives 30-day access to all-you-can-eat data along with 300 any-network minutes and 3,000 texts. Or All in One 25 costs £25 and offers 500 minutes, 3,000 texts and all-you-can-eat data for a 30-day period.

Samsung unveils latest addition to its award winning notebook category – Notebook Series 5 550P

Samsung Electronics today announced the launch of its new Notebook Series 5 550P with 3^rd Generation Intel® Core i7 Processor, designed to give users an immersive multimedia experience.

The Series 5 550P – available in 15″ and 17″ sizes – is designed to meet consumers’ increasing demands for high-quality multimedia content with a range of powerful features. With Intel’s latest 3^rd generation Core i7 Processor, dedicated graphics processing, a Blu-ray drive, generous storage capacity and JBL optimised speakers complete with subwoofer, the Series 5 550P delivers an exceptional multimedia experience even while on-the-go.

Research In Motion Appoints New Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer

Research In Motion today announced key additions to its executive leadership team with the hiring of Kristian Tear as Chief Operating Officer and Frank Boulben as Chief Marketing Officer.

With deep experience in the mobile computing industry, Mr. Tear and Mr. Boulben will complement RIM’s existing executive team as the company continues to focus on expanding its global customer base and prepares for the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 platform.

“Kristian and Frank bring extensive knowledge of the rapidly changing wireless global market and will help RIM as we sharpen our focus on delivering long-term value to our stakeholders,” said Thorsten Heins, RIM’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Most importantly, both Kristian and Frank possess a keen understanding of the emerging trends in mobile communications and computing.”

BlackBerry 7.1 now available to download in the UK

BlackBerry® 7.1, the latest version of the BlackBerry® smartphone OS, is now available for customers in the UK. The update is available for the BlackBerry® Bold 9900, BlackBerry® Torch 9810 and 9860, BlackBerry® Curve 9360 and 9380 smartphones, and the Porsche Design P’9981 smartphone from BlackBerry. Starting today, customers can upgrade their smartphones to BlackBerry 7.1 for free over the air or using BlackBerry® Desktop Software.

BlackBerry 7.1 incorporates BlackBerry® Tag, a new way to share content with other BlackBerry customers using near field communications (NFC) technology. By tapping two NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones together, customers can share contact information, pictures, a URL from the browser or documents. BlackBerry Tag can also be used to invite a friend to BBMT or to pair their BlackBerry smartphone with an NFC-enabled Bluetooth® device.

With BlackBerry 7.1, customers can be productive from virtually anywhere. Now they can turn their BlackBerry smartphone into a mobile hotspot that can be shared by up to 5 Wi-Fi®-enabled devices, including laptops and tablets.

A new Battery Saving Mode feature has been added which allows customers to extend the battery life of their BlackBerry smartphone when it is most needed. The new feature provides customers the option to have their smartphone settings automatically adjusted when the battery power reaches a level pre-defined by the customer. Some of the settings the Battery Saving Mode will automatically adjust include the brightness level, backlight timeout, and the mobile hotspot auto shutdown timer.

Customers with a BlackBerry Curve 9360 or 9380 smartphone will find a nice surprise with the BlackBerry 7.1 OS update in the form of an FM radio. The FM radio is already built in to the Curve 9360 and 9380 models and BlackBerry 7.1 adds a new app that allows them to tune in and enjoy local FM radio stations. Listening to the FM radio does not require a data plan or use data services.

BlackBerry 7.1 is available for download today. For more information about the BlackBerry 7.1 OS update, visit http://uk.blackberry.com/update/

Posted by: James

BlackBerry 10 Platform Striking the Right Chord with Developers

BlackBerry World 2012 / BlackBerry 10 Jam – Orlando, FL – Developers and top brands are already beginning to commit to the BlackBerry® 10 platform for their mobile application development. Today at BlackBerry World, Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) revealed endorsements from a number of key partners who have already confirmed their excitement for the upcoming launch of the BlackBerry 10 platform.

RIM has been working diligently with app providers to help ensure BlackBerry customers will have access to high-quality content and apps when BlackBerry 10 smartphones are launched.

“The level of enthusiasm among developers for BlackBerry 10 is amazing. The platform has been built to give developers the ability to create amazing content and a great user experience.  The support and excitement we already see from developers is both rewarding and encouraging,” said Martyn Mallick, Vice President, Global Alliances and Business Development at Research In Motion. “We are hearing every day from partners who want to start building and showcasing their work on BlackBerry 10.”

Virgin Media to launch ZTE Tania Windows Phone smartphone in UK

ZTE has announced that Virgin Media will be a launch partner for the ZTE Tania Windows Phone smartphone in the UK. From mid May 2012, Virgin Media online and retail stores throughout the country will make the ZTE Tania available for Pay Monthly and Pay-as-you-go* customers.

Ideal for both professional and personal use, the ZTE Tania makes it simple to connect and share with friends, family and colleagues. Virgin Media pay monthly customers will be able to enjoy a range of competitive tariffs and existing Virgin Media customers can benefit from a range of exclusives such as a £5 reduction on their monthly tariff, double the texts, double the data and 3,000 minutes to other Virgin Mobiles. Virgin Media home phone customers can also enjoy free calls to Virgin Mobiles** within their inclusive Talk Plan.

The ZTE Tania comes fully equipped with Microsoft’s latest release of Windows Phone. Windows Phone has a wide range of fully integrated functionalities such as a direct link to users’ Xbox LIVE accounts, an intuitive and seamless sync for Microsoft Office Mobile, and Zune music streaming. The phone’s Live Tile feature brings friend and family groups to life by delivering the latest updates and news from popular social networks, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn directly to the home screen.

Motorola RAZR MAXX will be available in the UK from mid-May

When it comes to buying a new smartphone, pocket appeal and a long battery life are two of the top priorities according to a recent report from Strategy Analytic. So step in the Motorola RAZR MAXX – which delivers this and so much more!

With its impossibly thin and lightweight design, this iconic handset boasts features with the wow factor and a battery that can handle even the most demanding lifestyle. The Android powered Motorola RAZR MAXX is expected to be available in the UK from mid-May, so you can start talking, texting, typing, watching and more. for even longer.

RAZR MAXX delivers up to 17.6 hours of talk time so you won’t spend your day plugged into the wall. Similarly, its 1GB RAM combined with a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and Android operating system will ensure you are always entertained, delivering a lightning-fast user interface and the power to multi-task like never before. You can rock your playlists while checking email, breeze through photos – all day, every day, all at the same time.

Still seriously thin at just 8.99mm, RAZR MAXX is the exact opposite of frail. It’s made strong with KEVLAR fibre, while Corning Gorilla Glass defends the hyper-vibrant 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Advanced display from scratches. And every part of the Motorola RAZR MAXX is protected by a splashguard coating, which even extends to the electrical boards inside, ensuring a go anywhere, do everything attitude.

Samsung announce the Galaxy S Advance

Samsung Mobile UK has today announced the Galaxy S Advance will be available in the UK from 30^th April.  Joining Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy portfolio, the Galaxy S Advance boasts the same sleek and stylish design of the award-winning Galaxy S II.

Simon Stanford, Vice President, UK & IRE Telecommunications & Networks Division, Samsung UK and Ireland said: “We’ve been pleased with the response we’ve had from customers, partners and media since announcing the Galaxy S Advance in January.  As with many of our smartphones before it, the Galaxy S Advance features a screen which uses our Super AMOLED technology so anyone that buys one will experience unparalleled colour and vivid clarity when viewing any content on the device.”

A dual-core 1.0GHz processor and HSPA 14.4 Mbps connectivity means owners of the Galaxy S Advance can enjoy a highly responsive interface and super-fast speeds when browsing the web and downloading content, as well as smoother screen transitions and faster image processing.

Featuring Android Gingerbread and Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, the Galaxy S Advance allows users to stay connected at all times through Samsung Hubs which offer access to music, books and games. Samsung’s own cross-platform communication service ChatON offers easy instant messaging and group chatting and allows content to be shared in multiple formats to make messaging simpler and more intuitive. Owners of the device will also benefit from its Find My Mobile feature, a lost-phone management system that enables customers to trace their missing device directly via the Internet or even delete the device’s data remotely – ensuring personal information remains safe.

The Galaxy S Advance will be available in the UK across a variety of networks including Phones 4u and Vodafone.

Full specs and images below:

Nokia Lumia 900 to launch with Phones 4U

Phones 4u is proud to announce that, further to confirming its white exclusivity across the entire Nokia Lumia family of smartphones (including the Lumia 900), it will be the FIRST European retailer to range the eagerly anticipated Nokia Lumia 900.

Further to the US Nokia Lumia 900 launch event, the product has already proven to be an overwhelming success and with the continuing high demand for Nokia’s latest Lumia smartphones, the Lumia 900 will now launch in the UK at Phones 4u on 14^th May.

Due to overwhelming demand for the Lumia 900 in the US having a small knock-on effect on product availability in the UK, those who were the first to preorder their Lumia 900* from Phones 4u will receive a set of Nokia Purity by Monster in-ear headphones in addition to their free Nokia Play 360 wireless speaker when the Lumia 900 now launches on the 14^th May.

Nokia’s third Lumia smartphone builds on the range’s sleek, attention grabbing design and rich social and Internet experience.  The Nokia Lumia 900 features a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack Display for rich, bright images and Nokia’s highest capacity battery yet, making it the perfect smartphone for enjoying media and entertainment on the move all day long. The primary camera on the Nokia Lumia 900 has exclusive Carl Zeiss optics, a large aperture for improved performance in low light conditions and wide angle focal length for capturing full 16:9 images.  It is also the first Lumia phone to feature a front-facing 1 MP HD camera, with large aperture and wide-angle lens for sharp, bright images and video calling.

The Nokia Lumia 900 will now be available at Phones 4u both in store and online from 14^th May. 

Posted by: James