RIM to launch World Phone called BlackBerry Tour

Research In Motion is all set to add another smartphone to its BlackBerry lineup as it aims to win market share among both executives and mainstream consumers despite tough economic conditions.

The new model is known as the BlackBerry Tour and falls somewhere between the BlackBerry Curve, which has proved very popular with consumers, and the BlackBerry Bold, which RIM has aimed at high-end corporate users.

RIM co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said in an interview that the new device will soon be launched with Verizon and Sprint in the United States and Telus and BCE's Bell unit in Canada.

Even though the device isn't drastically different from many other BlackBerry handsets in appearance - it has the familiar candy-bar shape with a full keyboard - Balsillie said the Tour is a big step forward.

It is what RIM calls a "world phone," which means it can easily access voice and data services on networks outside the user's home country. This has proven popular with business users in the past.

To appeal to the retail market, the Tour is loaded with multimedia features similar to those found in the BlackBerry Curve and Pearl, including a photo and video camera and media player.

Unveiling products that cross customer categories is proving increasingly important to RIM and it is continuing to make deer inroads into the broader retail market.

However, the company is also being careful not to alienate the corporate users who have been its mainstay and who rely on its smartphones to send wireless e-mail securely.

At the same time, rivals such as Apple and Palm in North America and Nokia in Europe are launching new products and aggressively pricing their phones to lure users.

World Phone to offer broadband services at Rs 95

There has been a race to capture revenue in the ISP section and this is gradually warming up in India. Ideally the service provider should provide all the three services, telephone, cable TV and the internet. However due to a technological gap all the three areas have progressed in a non linear fashion.

The MTNL and the BSNL have made an attempt to provide IPTV on their telephone lines. Now World Phone Internet Services Pvt. Ltd, a leading Category “A” Internet Service Provider has tied up with cable TV providers to provide broadband services. The broadband internet service will be initially provided in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) region only.

World Phone has offered this service at the most competitive rate of Rs 95 per month. 200 MB data download per month is free with the service. The pricing is likely to be the USP. World Phone is a pioneer in offering low cost services. The company had introduced lowest calling rates to USA, UK and Australia last year.

“With the launch of our new service with an affordable tag, we would be tapping the population in Delhi & NCR. We hope that with this price tag and the quality of service, we will be able to garner at least 5000 subscriber in the first three months. Lower monthly commitment would be a strong and bold step by World Phone for enhancing broadband penetration in masses”, says Mr. Aditya Ahluwalia, Chairman, World Phone Internet Services Pvt. Ltd.