Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM), the manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphones, hopes to launch a new BlackBerry model in China by the end of October this year, an official from RIM China said last Friday at a conference in Shenzhen. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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"We will hopefully be able to secure a network access license from the Ministry of Industry and Informatization [MII] before the end of October this year for our second BlackBerry model for the Chinese market," Johnson Xu, RIM's south China sales director, told Interfax at the First China Mobile Phone Industry Research Conference. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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The new model will probably have a camera and multimedia functions, Xu said. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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In October last year, RIM introduced its first BlackBerry for China, the 8700g, through a distribution deal with Alcatel-Lucent. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) achieved certification to sell the 8700g model in China through a partnership with TCL Communications, a Chinese mobile device manufacturer that holds the Alcatel brand for mobile handsets. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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RIM will continue to work with Alcatel-Lucent to distribute the second BlackBerry model in China, Xu said. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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When asked by an audience member at the conference if Apple's (AAPL) launch of the iPhone has threatened the sales of BlackBerry smartphones worldwide, Xu said that there has not been a significant impact. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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"The iPhone targets consumers while BlackBerry targets enterprise users. Apple has not, to date, launched an enterprise solution to counter RIM's. We have different markets," he said. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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An official from Shanghai Mobile told Interfax earlier this week that the 8700g costs RMB 2,200 ($314.29) if the subscriber signs a one-year contract for the RMB 398 ($56.85) per month BlackBerry service package. The device is supplied free to those who sign a two-year contract for the RMB 598 ($85.43) per month package. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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The RMB 398 ($56.85) monthly package has a monthly 50 Megabytes [MB] data cap within mainland China, while the RMB 598 ($85.43) package has a 398 MB monthly data cap within mainland China and 2 MB of data outside mainland China, according to the Shanghai Mobile official. Xu said RIM shares the monthly service fees with China Mobile. œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6
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Two Sony Ericsson mobile handset models that utilize the BlackBerry Connect software can also be used with China Mobile's BlackBerry push mail service.œ94“HZ8ÝýZwww.bb818.comA‘Ôޞ2üu{6