Rogers and RIM have launched the new model 8800 Blackberry, operating on the high-speed EDGE network. Despite being the thinnest Blackberry yet, it incorporates GPS, QWERTY keyboard, trackball navigation, a media player, and a microSD expandable memory slot.
The 8800 supports polyphonic and recorded music ring tunes, and includes a multimedia player with a stereo headset jack for music files as well as video.
Here is how RIM responds – in part – to the perceived threat from Apple’s iPhone. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server integrates with MS Exchange, Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise environments. RIM has added a new set of IT policy controls for managing the BlackBerry 8800’s features and usage.
In other words, RIM understands the needs of the IT department to integrate email and networking functionality into the corporate environment. As I mentioned when the iPhone was launched, Apple will need to develop these skills and relationships if it wants to move iPhone beyond the consumer market.
Rogers wins either way: Blackberry for corporate users, iPhone for consumer. Will the device market push the other carriers in Canada to look at a GSM overlay?