RIM Boosts Blackberry Options

Research in Motion will showcase its latest BlackBerry devices at TechXNY, which is being held this week in New York.

There are three new BlackBerry devices, designed for different networks. The first is for dual band GSM/GPRS networks, and can operate in both the U.S. 1900-MHz band and the Europe/Asia Pacific 900-MHz band. This handheld is expected to be available later this year, a RIM statement says Tuesday.

The second new device is the first BlackBerry to be designed for Code Division Multiple Access networks. The third is based on Java 2 Enterprise Edition, allowing it to run various business applications, and will have access to the U.S. Integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network, a digital cellular network focused on business and corporate users, RIM says.

Both of these devices are expected to be available in the third quarter of this year, the statement says.

More Support

The Waterloo, Ontario, company will provide multi-network support for its BlackBerry Enterprise Server, it says.

RIM will also show new features that have been added to BlackBerry's server management software. These are expected to include support for Microsoft's Exchange and Lotus Development's Domino, plus a new Web-based application called BlackBerry Web Client.

BlackBerry Web Client will allow users to access multiple existing e-mail accounts from their BlackBerry device. These features are expected to be available in either the third or the fourth quarter this year, the statement says.

BlackBerry is currently available in North America, the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Hong Kong. The company has recently announced additional plans for an Australian and Mainland China launch.