Research In Motion, the developer of BlackBerry, will sell the
popular e-mail phones in China by the end of this year through its
distribution partner Alcatel Lucent, the companies said
yesterday.
It marks RIM's official entry into the world's largest cell
phone market, and China Mobile will be the service provider.
RIM has worked with China Mobile since last year on service
issues but people can't yet buy BlackBerry phones in China.
The first model offered to Chinese customers in foreign
enterprises will be the BlackBerry 8700. Availability for domestic
enterprise customers in key markets is expected to begin later this
year, Alcatel Lucent said in a statement.
TCL Communications, a major Chinese mobile phone manufacturer
owning the brand Alcatel, will make the BlackBerry phones.
Canada-based RIM had its share estimate raised to US$150 from
US$125 at UBS AG after announcing the plan. RIM's stock advanced
9.8 percent to US$124.53 on Tuesday.
"The BlackBerry platform offers robust and unmatched benefits
for enterprise customers that wish to enhance mobile productivity
and competitive advantage. We look forward to building on the early
interest and momentum we are experiencing in China with both
multinational and domestic corporations," Jim Balsillie, RIM's
co-CEO, said in a statement.
Alcatel Lucent, which provides products to mobile carriers and
enterprises, will help RIM to expand in China as both companies
target enterprise users, according to Sandy Shen, an analyst at
Gartner Inc.
"BlackBerry will grab market share in the high-end market and
influence brands like Dopod, Nokia and Motorola in this segment,"
Shen said.
By the end of June, more than 670 enterprise clients, including
Coca-Cola, Nokia, Standard Chartered, and 3,482 personal users, had
subscribed to Shanghai Mobile's BlackBerry service since the
service launched in May last year.
Shanghai Mobile charges users 398 yuan (US$52.58) to 598 yuan a
month for the BlackBerry services, which allow users to access
e-mail, the Internet, phone calls and corporate data.
(Shanghai Daily October 25, 2007)
