Manisha KanetkarOptus will be offering its Australian customers the 3G-enabled BlackBerry 8707g from mid August this year.
The 8707g supports the usual BlackBerry “push” email, phone, text messaging, organiser, browser and other corporate data applications. The handset can also be used as a tethered modem, providing customers with the ability to access the Internet from their laptops.
According to its makers, Research In Motion (RIM), the BlackBerry 8707g in combination with Optus 3G networks allows users to simultaneously send and receive email, browse the Internet and use other applications while speaking on the phone, even while the handset is being used as a tethered modem.
The 8707g operates on 2100 MHz UMTS networks and also includes quad-band support on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS networks. The handset features a full QWERTY keyboard, 64 MB flash memory, Bluetooth, built-in speakerphone and supports attachment viewing of popular file formats (including JPEG, BMP, TIFF, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect and Adobe PDF).
The high resolution QVGA (320×240) LCD display on the BlackBerry 8707g claims to support more than 65,000 colours and it incorporates light sensing technology that automatically adjusts the display and keyboard brightness to optimise visibility in outdoor, indoor and dark environments.
RIM also said, for corporate customers, BlackBerry Enterprise Server software tightly integrates with Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise and works with existing enterprise systems. Whilst for individuals and smaller businesses, BlackBerry Internet Service allows users to access up to ten corporate and personal email accounts (including Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and most popular ISP email accounts) from the one handset.
See: www.optus.com.au/smallbusiness