RIM to Enter Multimedia Smartphone Market with BlackBerry Pearl

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RIM to Enter Multimedia Smartphone Market with BlackBerry Pearl

12:15 pm on September 8, 2006 | Category: Business, Mobile Devices, Cell Phones, PDAs, Email, Multimedia

In a radical departure from RIM’s all-business reputation, the latest BlackBerry email device will feature numerous flashy multimedia features, as well as a built-in digital camera and MP3 player.

The so called BlackBerry Pearl device will hit the U.S. market next Tuesday, and is expected to pose some serious competition to the many multimedia smartphones now available from Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung.

RIM executives believe that the device has the potential to further expand upon the BlackBerry’s largely enterprise-oriented user base of 5.5 million, and appeal to the high-end consumer market.

“There will naturally be some existing users who will upgrade to the Pearl,” said RIM’s co-CEO and chairman, Jim Balsillie. “But there will be totally new users who will say, ‘This is for me. I wasn’t in the market for a BlackBerry, but I am now.’ “