March 14, 2006

By: Shawnee McRoberts
Website: http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com

Cingular Wireless and RIM Introduce the Blackberry 7290 for International Travelers

Cingular Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM) (TSX: RIM) announced today the newest member of the BlackBerry(R) family, the BlackBerry 7290 Wireless Handheld(TM). It is Cingular's first quad-band, Bluetooth enabled product offering designed especially for business customers who want to stay connected while traveling internationally.

The Java(TM)-based BlackBerry 7290(TM), currently exclusive to Cingular within the United States, combines phone, e-mail, Short Messaging Services (SMS), organizer, Web browsing and corporate data access capabilities in a single handheld. The 7290 operates on the GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies, which enables both domestic and international roaming in practically any GSM market worldwide.*

"International roaming for voice and data is the next horizon for mobile professionals," said Jim Ryan, vice president of data product management and business marketing, Cingular Wireless. "With the BlackBerry 7290, Cingular customers can take advantage of our substantial international capabilities today and enjoy even greater coverage in the future as our footprint grows."

"The BlackBerry 7290 provides a smooth blend of powerful features for the mobile professional that wants a best-in-class mobile solution. It is a robust addition to Cingular's portfolio of BlackBerry devices," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. "BlackBerry continues to stand out with customers because it excels in the areas that matter most -- usability on the front-end and integration on the back-end."

The BlackBerry 7290 features a crisp, high-resolution screen that supports more than 65,000 colors, excellent battery life and an updated QWERTY keyboard with highlighted number keys for easy dialing and typing. The 7290 comes with 32 MB of flash memory and 4 MB of SRAM, allowing for more storage capabilities. The device also supports cradle-free wireless e-mail synchronization, integrated attachment viewing (including support for popular file formats such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, PDF and ASCII) and remote address look up in addition to secure, push-based wireless connectivity.

The 7290 also features Bluetooth, a short-distance technology designed to wirelessly connect electronic devices, which enables customers to take advantage of wireless headsets and car kits. Cingular is currently offering three Bluetooth-enabled ear buds that are compatible with the BlackBerry 7290.

The BlackBerry 7290 is expected to be commercially available from Cingular in early October. It will be priced on a promotional basis at $149 with a two-year service agreement and packaged with a free wireless ear bud for convenient voice calling.

Also See: free cell phones.

Author Notes:

Shawnee McRoberts contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com.  An industry resource for the wireless industry featuring articles, comparisons and reviews of phones and service plans.