14 DAY TRIAL // On Monday, Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion and wireless carrier Telstra announced the launch of the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone in Australia. The smallest BlackBerry smartphone today is set to be put on sale at the carrier starting today, and should be exclusively available via Telstra for the following three months.
The BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone comes with a stylish and compact design, while featuring great levels of performance and capabilities, including support for BlackBerry email and messaging, as well as social networking capabilities. The phone sports a 20-key condensed QWERTY keyboard and the SureType software solution from RIM, enabling users to type words faster, for an improved messaging experience.
“BlackBerry Pearl smartphones have always been popular in Australia with both consumers and business customers, and we are very excited to deliver the new, enhanced BlackBerry Pearl 3G to the local market. We believe the BlackBerry Pearl 3G will appeal to many customers who want a smartphone that offers both fashion and function,” said Adele Beachley, managing director, Australia and New Zealand, Research In Motion.
The new device comes with a weight of only 93 grams, while being less than 50 mm wide, the phone sports support for high-speed 3G and Wi-Fi (b/g/n) networks, along with built-in GPS receiver, and a sharp, high-resolution display. The handset comes with an optical trackpad for enhanced navigation, a 3.2-megapixel photo snapper with flash, and a microSD memory card slot with support for up to 32GB of additional storage space.
Ross Fielding, Telstra’s executive director, Mobility Products, commented, “The BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone is a beautifully designed smartphone that’s easy to use, compact, lightweight and stylish. Combined with our new and great value BlackBerry Cap plan, this smartphone makes it easy and affordable for social people to connect, exchange messages quickly, access info as it happens and share favourite moments.”
The new mobile phone will become available at Telstra in royal purple and piano black on a range of plans, including the BlackBerry $59 Cap Plan for 24 months with a $0 upfront cost. The plan includes up to $400 of standard voice calls, SMS and more. Those who would like to purchase the device without a contract will find it available from Telstra for $679.