RIM Adds Wi-Fi and Cellular Technology to Its BlackBerry Devices

[jones]

RIM Adds Wi-Fi and Cellular Technology to Its BlackBerry Devices
It will also add multimedia features and GPS capabilities
By: Cosmin Vasile, Communications News Editor

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Research In Motion's co-CEO and Chairman James Balsillie said recently that the company will release a version of its popular BlackBerry handheld device by the end of the year that will include both Wi-Fi and cellular technology.

In addition, around July, the service will be available for Palm devices and it is expected that 20 more would be able to use it by the end of the year.

Currently BlackBerry Connect works only with GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) devices, but Balsillie said that CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) carriers would be adding the capability to their BlackBerry networks in the near future. He said that the focus is on GSM because "providers want to be able to sell their devices to 200 carriers in 100 countries."

Balsillie also said that RIM would be introducing new features to BlackBerry devices, including MP3 players, video, memory expansion and image capture, very soon. In addition, he said that GPS would be included in virtually all BlackBerry devices, except for some that would work with a Bluetooth GPS receiver.

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