Optus will be the first Australian carrier to exclusively sell two of Research in Motion’s new BlackBerry devices announced overnight.
The carrier has confirmed that Research in Motion’s (RIM) new iPhone-like BlackBerry Torch 9860 and BlackBerry Bold 9900 will go on sale in Australia from the 1st of September through its retail outlets, online store and distribution channels. A spokesperson for Optus said today that it will have a 45 days of exclusivity on the handsets before any other Australian carriers can sell the two devices.
Both the Torch 9860 and Bold 9900 will be the amongst the first devices to be made available for sale running BlackBerry’s new update for their operating system, BlackBerry 7. BlackBerry 7 offers a number of new and improved features, including an all-new web browser which offers HTML5 support, augmented reality and voice controls allowing users to search without typing.
The 9860 features a 3.7″ touch display, which is the biggest screen ever for a BlackBerry device, as well as a 1.2GHz processor, 768 MB RAM, 5MP camera, full 720p HD video recording, a flash and over 4 and a half hours battery life talk time. There’s also no physical keyboard on the device.
RIM’s new slimline BlackBerry Bold 9900, meanwhile, includes a width of just 10.5mm, support for Near Field Communications (NFC), built-in GPS, 2.8″ touch display, 1.2 GHz Processor, 768MB RAM and a full, physical QWERTY keyboard. Despite RIM announcing five new models overnight, it’s unclear whether the remaining three – the Torch 9850, Torch 9810 and the Bold 9930 – will be made available in Australia.
Consumers interested in the Optus handsets can pre-order today, with government and corporate officials encouraged to contact their Optus Account Manager to confirm their interest. Pricing will be revealed closer to the launch date.
Image credit: Research in Motion
2 of those remaining 3 “yet to be released” devices are just CDMA versions and will not be coming to Australia.
bring it on, Optus! meanwhile, optus should also optimise its 2G EDGE/GPRS network coz at some areas i sometimes feel the data coverage is somewhat patchy, unlike its 3G network which is doing fine.
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