Announcements
Lighter and more powerful: BlackBerry Bold 9700 joins Next G range
From tomorrow, Australians will have a new and more powerful smartphone at their finger tips, with the launch of the new BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 on the Telstra Next G™ network.
Telstra Product Management Executive Director, Ross Fielding, said that if the original BlackBerry® Bold™ 9000 was any indication, the new model would be a hit with both Australian businesses and consumers.
"Lighter and more powerful, the new Blackberry 9700 has a full keyboard and push email service which will help customers stay connected to their email, office calendar and the mobile internet. Teamed with Telstra's Next G™ network it provides outstanding smartphone performance in more places," Mr Fielding said.
The new BlackBerry Bold picks up a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus and flash plus a new touch-sensitive trackpad that replaces the traditional trackball. There is also a next-generation (624 MHz) processor which makes running multiple applications fast and easy.
"A premium finish and a high build quality are carried across to the new model. Battery life continues to be outstanding giving customers the range they need to stay connected on longer trips," he said.
Consumer customers are also likely to find the new BlackBerry Bold an attractive package.
"Consumers are demonstrating a real appetite for smartphones and we think the BlackBerry Bold 9700 will be popular with these customers. BlackBerry's seamless email on-the-go experience and the ability to personalise each phone by downloading and running a range of social media applications like Facebook and Uber Twitter are amongst the features we expect will appeal most to consumers," Mr Fielding said.
Telstra also confirmed that it would continue to offer the original BlackBerry Bold which was recently upgraded to Blue Tick coverage performance providing superior hand-held reception in regional and rural coverage areas. Telstra's Next G™ network offers more than twice the geographic coverage of the next largest 3G network in Australia making it ideal for people living, visiting and working in regional and rural Australia.
The number of smartphone shipments to Australia increased by 29 per cent in the first half of 2009 as Australian businesses continued to adopt email-capable phones to boost workforce productivity and the growth in mobile applications made smartphones a must-have companion for many consumers[1].
Pricing and availability
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is available from24 November from Telstra Shops and dealers and online at http://www.telstra.com/. Telstra business and enterprise customers can contact their account executive.
It will be available on a range of plans including:
- A range of Telstra Enterprise & Government Enterprise Fleet Plans.
- Telstra Business plans, including for $0 upfront on a new $85 Mobile PLUS plan from December 1. More information about Mobile PLUS plans.
- Telstra consumer customerscan purchase the device for $999 (RRP) on a MRO over 24 months.
What's it got?
- Sleek design measuring 109 mm x 60 mm x 14.1 mm and weighing only 122 grams
- Sharp 2.44-inch light-sensing display
- Highly tactile full-QWERTY keyboard - with finely sculpted keys and chrome frets - for fast, accurate typing
- Touch-sensitive trackpad that allows intuitive and responsive navigation
- Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
- 3.2 megapixel camera with variable zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording
- BlackBerry® OS 5.0, offering users email management and calendar enhancements as well as a better browsing experience with faster JavaScript and CSS processing
- Built-in GPS for maps and other location-based applications including Whereis® Navigator
- 3.5 mm stereo headset jack
- Up to 15 hours' standby time; up to 360 minutes talk time
- 256MB internal flash memory, expandable memory up to 32GB (comes bundled with a 2GB microSD card)
- Bluetooth® 2.0
[1] Year-on-year growth. Source: IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, October 2009.
Media contact:
Martin Barr
Reference Number: 373/2009
