If you were eyeballing the BlackBerry Pearl 3G and thinking that you wanted to get a little piece of that action, Telstra yesterday announced that they’d be the exclusive carrier for the phone in Australia when it launches later this month.
No pricing information yet, but it’s Telstra, which should give you some idea of what to expect.
Telstra to introduce the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone
Small and stylish smartphone to be available exclusively on Australia’s largest and fastest national mobile network
Telstra is the exclusive Australian launch partner for the stunning new BlackBerry® Pearl™ 3G , the smallest BlackBerry® smartphone yet, which is set to arrive in Australia later this month.
The new BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone is as powerful as it is compact. It measures less than two inches wide and weighs only 93 grams, yet it packs support for high-speed 3G networks, Wi-Fi® (b/g/n) and GPS and features a powerful processor that drives a sharp, high-resolution display.
Telstra Executive Director Mobility Products, Ross Fielding, said the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone combines the best of the BlackBerry smartphone experience with social networking features and an elegant, highly-compact design.
“Telstra is pleased to be the launch partner for this slim and powerful smartphone which will be available exclusively for three months on Telstra’s Next G™ network. Its eye-catching design and smart 20-key QWERTY keyboard with SureType™ software will win fans amongst people who like to keep in touch via email, text message, through Facebook® or via Twitter throughout the day,” Mr. Fielding said.
“The BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone features the famous push-based BlackBerry® Email experience. It’s light and compact and makes one-handed typing simple. We expect it to be a new ‘must have’ fashion accessory as well as an attractive way for consumers to upgrade from a traditional phone to a smartphone.
“The experience will also include BlackBerry® Messenger, an exclusive instant messaging service which allows customers to create groups and share pictures, send voice notes and share calendars with other friends using BlackBerry Messenger.”
The BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone will be available from Telstra in Royal Purple and Piano Black.
Telstra customers can pre-register their interest in the BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone by visiting www.telstra.com/blackberrypearl.
Customers who pre-register will be amongst the first to receive further information on the launch of the BlackBerry Pearl 3G.To mark the introduction of the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G, BlackBerry will stage an exclusive concert event with a mystery performing artist. More information about how Telstra customers can win tickets to the BlackBerry BlockParty or how to enter the exciting search for the host competition can be found online at www.BlackBerryBlockParty.com.au.
Pricing and availability
Pricing and availability will be announced closer to the launch date. It will be available to both consumer and business customers.Key features of the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone include:
Elegant candybar design measuring 108mm x 50 mm x 13.3 mm and weighing only 93 grams
624 Mhz processor with 256 MB Flash memory
360×400 sharp-resolution display (238 ppi)
Optical trackpad that makes navigation fast and smooth, plus a comfortable keyboard that enables quick and accurate typing
Media player for videos, pictures and music, plus dedicated media keys integrated along top of the handset
3.2 MP camera with zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording
Built-in GPS
Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) – first BlackBerry smartphone to support ‘n’
microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB cards
Premium phone features, including voice activated dialling, speakerphone and Bluetooth® (2.1) with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including systems that support the emerging Bluetooth Message Access Profile standard) and other Bluetooth accessories
Access to BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalogue of mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones
Support for BlackBerry® Media Sync for easily syncing photos as well as iTunes® and Windows Media® Player music with the smartphone*
BlackBerry® OS 5
Support for tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks
Removable, rechargeable 1150 mAhr battery that provides approximately 5.5 hours of talk time on 3G networks
* Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies. Photo syncing is currently only available for Windows-based PCs.Full specifications for the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone can be found here: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/blackberrypearl9100/