14 DAY TRIAL // RIM seems to have decided on a collaboration with SK Telecom, one of the largest South Korean operators, to release its Blackberry products on the still forbidden market that Korea represents for most mobile manufacturers. The device that will first hit the store shelves in the area is the Bold 9000, which is set to be launched in a few days.
Things seem to be coming along for RIM, which, up until a few weeks ago, probably would have never thought of entering the Korean market. The decision for the isolation of this segment was not one that mobile manufacturers took; quite the opposite, since in all Korean markets all foreign devices were forbidden unless these were modified to fit certain requirements.
The idea wasn't a totally ridiculous one, since an alternative type of software was needed to equip phones in order for them to work properly on the Koreans' Internet platform. Thus, most companies chose not to spend a lot of money modifying their devices and slowly started to disregard this market entirely. Now, however, it seems that the rules are changing and things are looking up for both mobile manufacturers and Korean users.
Even though the rules are said to be abolished on the first of April 2009, SK Telecom officials are explaining that, till then, a Blackberry use in Korea does not represent an impossibility, since foreign businesses operating in the country have set up accounts in Hong-Kong for example and are running their devices on roaming.
Laura Kim, SK Telecom spokeswoman, explained that this news had already created a lot of stir among users. "We're looking at a fairly good amount of customers even at the beginning of the launch,"
The Blackberry Bold 9000 is set to have an official launch on Tuesday and it will probably go on the market around December 29th, even though the information is not yet confirmed, mainly because by April 1st things might turn ugly again.