Breaking the class barrier

As yet another Blackberry was launched in India, the device is being projected as a convergence tool that can be a laptop-cum-e-mailing device as well as a mobile phone and a MP3 player for Indian consumers. “When you set a budget aside for all those devices and then compare it to the cost of a BlackBerry, you will see the benefits,” said Frenny Bawa, Vice President for India at Research in Motion Ltd., which introduced the device.

The company made two announcements on January 15. First was the launch of BlackBerry Curve 8900—the thinnest and lightest BlackBerry with a full QWERTY keyboard. The other was a tieup with Redington India to take the BlackBerry into malls and retail outlets. “We want it to be available to everyone,” says Bawa. The company has launched four new models in the last four months. It had launched BlackBerry Storm, the touch screen device on January 12 exclusively with Vodafone at a price of Rs 27,990. Curve 8900 has also been launched at the same price. The lowest-end BlackBerry in India is the 8700 that sells for Rs 14,999.

For the people
. Four models launched in four months—taking the total number of handsets available to seven “current generation” models.
. Phones and connections can now be bought at retail stores other than those of service providers.

—Suman Layak