New Delhi and Waterloo , On, June 7, 2005 : Airtel , India 's leading mobile service provider, and Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM), today introduced the globally acclaimed, BlackBerry® 7100g Ô business phone in India . Another first from Airtel in India, this innovative business phone is the result of years of research and development by Research In Motion and brings to the country SureType Ô keyboard technology and the best combined wireless phone, e-mail & data experience for users who prefer a traditional ‘candy bar' handset design. A wider portfolio of BlackBerry products being made available in India , exclusively by Airtel in partnership with Research In Motion (RIM), will help in increasing the adoption & usage of BlackBerry in India .

The BlackBerry 7100g from Airtel - a sleek and stylish business phone - is a breakthrough innovation that packs all the benefits of BlackBerry into a traditional phone design. The BlackBerry 7100g combines a full-featured quad-band mobile phone that includes Bluetooth ® support and speakerphone with push-based wireless email , SMS, web browser and personal organizer applications - all on a large and bright, high-resolution color screen . The BlackBerry 7100g has been developed for active mobile professionals who want to manage their work wherever they are and also keep in touch with family, friends and the latest news using an all-in-one handset.

Announcing the launch of the BlackBerry 7100g in India, Mr. Atul Bindal, Director & Chief Marketing Officer, Bharti Cellular Limited, said, “Airtel is the first and only service provider in India to offer BlackBerry and it has been well received by both Airtel's prosumer and corporate customers. The launch of BlackBerry 7100g will catalyse further growth of BlackBerry in India as it gives customers more choice and meets their mobile lifestyle needs and preferences.”

According to Mr. Don Morrison, Chief Operating Officer at Research In Motion, “The BlackBerry 7100g and its innovative SureType keyboard technology delivers a compelling phone and messaging experience in a sleek and stylish design. Airtel's strong technical and service capabilities add significant value and we think the combined offering will be very appealing to customers looking to upgrade from their existing mobile phone.”

The BlackBerry 7100g™ incorporates SureType™ technology, an innovative, keyboard technology that effectively converges a phone keypad and a QWERTY keyboard to fit elegantly within the size constraints of a traditional ‘candy bar' design. The BlackBerry 7100g allows four hours of talk time and eight days stand by time and features quad band support (850/900/1800/1900 MHz).

For individuals and smaller businesses , BlackBerry Internet Service Ô allows users to access up to ten corporate and/or personal e-mail accounts (including Microsoft Ò Exchange, IBM Lotus Ò Domino Ô and many popular ISP e-mail accounts) from a single device.

For corporate customers , BlackBerry Enterprise Server Ô software tightly integrates with Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise® and works with existing enterprise systems to enable push-based, wireless access to e-mail and other corporate data with industry-leading security features.  

Airtel launched BlackBerry in October 2004 with three BlackBerry models in India – the BlackBerry 7730™, the BlackBerry 7230™ and the BlackBerry 6230™. Within 8 months of launch of BlackBerry in India, Airtel serves most of the premier corporates including Ernst & Young, GE Capital, HSBC Bank, Wipro Technologies, Standard Chartered Bank, Infosys, Siemens, Gillette India, Star TV, Morgan Stanley, McKinsey & Company, Master Card, Hewitt, Johnson & Johnson and several other large corporates & SMEs as its clients.  

The BlackBerry 7100g will be available in India at an introductory price of Rs. 19,000/-, the offer being valid for a limited period.

Service Support

In keeping with its commitment to provide world-class service to its customers, Airtel has set up special technical and sales support teams. The technical teams have been specially trained in UK. For information and queries, Airtel customers can call “7070” while the others can call a different set of call numbers, customized to each city. BlackBerry services are currently available in 23 cities in the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, etc. With all the 23 Airtel mobile networks being GPRS ready, customers can use BlackBerry in any telecom circle in the country. 

 

About Research In Motion

Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM's portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include BlackBerry Ò wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com

 

 

About Bharti

Bharti Tele-Ventures is one of India's leading private sector provider of telecommunications services with an aggregate of 12.26 million customers as of end of April ‘05, consisting of approximately 11.39 million mobile customers. The company is the only operator to provide mobile services in all the 23 circles in India. The company also provides telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 14 circles. The company complements its mobile, broadband & telephone services with national and international long distance services. The company also has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. The company provides reliable end-to-end data and enterprise services to the corporate customers by leveraging its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the gateways and landing station. For more information, visit www.bhartiteleventures.com

Media Contact For Research In Motion :

Katie Lee

Research In Motion Asia Pacific

+852 2116 8112

kale@rim.com

 

Courtney Flaherty

Brodeur for RIM

+1 (212) 771-3637

cflaherty@brodeur.com

 

RIM Investor Contact

RIM Investor Relations

+1 (519) 888-7465

investor_relations@rim.com

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements include, without limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, continued acceptance of RIM's products, increased levels of competition, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in RIM's periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. The Company has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The BlackBerry and Research In Motion families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners.

 

For Further Information:

Deeba Ali / Prem Subedi      

Rediffusion DYR Public Relations

Ph: 51669349/ 51681107

Fax: 51669350

Deeba_ali@ind.dyr.com / prem_subedi@ind.dyr.com