Press Release
September 23, 2003
New BlackBerry® 7230™ Now Available From Market Leader O2
O2 today announced availability of the new BlackBerry 7230™ for enterprise customers who demand 'messaging on the move' capability. It is now available in the UK and Germany, and will be available in Ireland from October. A number of major corporations have now ordered substantial quantities of the new device. O2 also announced that its BlackBerry solution for SME and professional consumer customers will be available from November.
The BlackBerry 7230 is the first such colour BlackBerry device, and features a crisp, high-resolution screen in a compact, lightweight design with superior battery performance. It enables corporate customers to manage their communication and information needs from a single device - including corporate email, company intranet, Internet browsing and full mobile phone capability. The BlackBerry 7230 is triband, enabling seamless use to the US. It can also be used across Europe, Australia and Asia due to O2's extensive GPRS roaming capability.1
To date, O2 has sold around 32,000 BlackBerry devices to more than 1200 organisations. Kent Thexton, chief marketing and data officer, mmO2 commented, "We are the leading provider of BlackBerry in Europe and are very happy to extend our BlackBerry portfolio further. We believe that we hold a strong position in this market, and have learnt a great deal from selling the original BlackBerry handhelds. Testament to our successful relationship with RIM, we continue working to tailor the BlackBerry 7230 and O2 services to improve the customer experience still further."
O2 recently completed a customer trial of the BlackBerry 7230 - it recorded the highest satisfaction rating of any mobile data service, with particularly high ratings for mobile email access and SMS functionality. More than 95% of trialists stated that they had demonstrated their BlackBerry handheld to friends or family.
A study of BlackBerry corporate users reported that 93% agree that it has allowed them to convert downtime into productive time, and the typical BlackBerry user reports that they recover 53 minutes of downtime every workday.2
O2 also announced that its BlackBerry solution for SME and professional consumer customers will be available from November. This brings the benefits highlighted above, but without the need for an enterprise server. It offers access to Internet based email, mobile Internet browsing and mobile phone capability.
Leveraging its long running relationship with RIM, O2 will be tailoring its BlackBerry solution for SME and professional consumer customers for an even better customer experience. O2 will provide tailored services and content, including O2 Active - the colour icon menu service that offers customers a simple means to access and navigate O2's growing range of mobile data services such as ringtones, games, information, alerts and pictures.
Availability and Pricing
The new BlackBerry 7230™ for enterprise customers is now available in the UK and Germany. Pricing as follows:
| UK | £239, network charge from £28/month [minimum contract 12 months] |
| Germany | €249, network charge from €30/month [minimum contract 12 months] |
| Ireland | To be confirmed. |
The BlackBerry solution from O2 for SME and professional consumer customers will be available from November.
1 See Note to Editors
2 Source: Ipsos-Reid, 2001
Note to editors
The new BlackBerry 7230 overview
- Ideal for professionals who want to manage all important information and communications from a single integrated handheld.
- Send and receive email and SMS messages on the go, with easy to use 'thumb-typing' keyboard and navigation trackwheel.
- Can be used as a wireless extension to existing email boxes, with support for to up to 10 corporate or personal email accounts.
- 'Push' based architecture means that emails are forwarded automatically; no need to dial in.
- Users can read and forward email attachments (including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe PDF).
- Support for international roaming including triband capability enables professionals to use one handheld, wherever there is compatible roaming capability.
- The integrated phone offers excellent voice clarity and supports services such as call waiting, conference calling and call forwarding (hands-free headset included)
- Both screen and keyboard are backlit for easy reading and typing at day or night
- BlackBerry 7230 includes 16MB flash memory, plus 2MB SRAM, rechargeable/removable lithium battery and USB connectivity for quick battery charging.
- Users can retrieve a wide range of information from the web, including up-to-date news, stock quotes, travel, sports, entertainment, weather reports and more.
- Device includes multiple-featured calendar, address book, memo pad and task list applications
- Pocket sized, lightweight and stylish.
The BlackBerry family of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties of, and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited, used by permission.
O2 GPRS roaming
O2 in the UK offers GPRS roaming with 34 networks in 30 countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, USA.
O2 in Ireland offers GPRS roaming with France, Austria, Italy, USA, Portugal, Spain, Czech Republic, Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Israel, Isle of Man, Poland and the UK.
O2 in Germany offers GPRS roaming to Austria, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Hong Kong, Switzerland, USA, Singapore, Spain, Italy, San Marino, Russia, France, Monaco, Phillipines, Poland, Turkey, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Czech Repulic.
