Press Release
April 27, 2004
Telstra and Nokia deliver latest BlackBerry® innovation
In an Australian first, Telstra and Nokia today announced the availability of the BlackBerry enabled Nokia 6820 handset that will provide users with access to the popular, "always on" email solution via a mobile phone.
Telstra Business and Government Mobile Sales and Solutions Managing Director, Murray Bergin, said while Telstra was already experiencing strong BlackBerry growth, this latest innovation and future devices would help boost up-take of the technology.
"This latest BlackBerry innovation means Telstra's business customers can use the same secure, push based wireless technology that currently supports thousands of users Australia-wide to access corporate email through a Nokia handset," Mr Bergin said.
"Our customers want simplicity, reliability and mobility in a single device and the unique push-based BlackBerry services will provide users with always-on access to important information wherever they are in Telstra GSM coverage areas.
"To date, Telstra has sold the BlackBerry solution to almost 350 Australian corporations, with more than 6000 users taking advantage of the unique benefits it provides. The success of BlackBerry is a vindication of corporate mobile applications and has lifted mobile data revenue for Telstra.
"Telstra's commitment to being the market leader in delivering innovative wireless solutions that improve productivity and reduce costs for our customers is evidenced by the rapid evolution of the BlackBerry solution since we introduced it to Australia in September 2002.
"We now offer customers value-added features including tri-band support for worldwide international roaming to approved countries, a BlackBerry Solution tailored for the Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) market and consumers, and a BlackBerry Desktop Redirector Solution which allows users to take advantage of the benefits of push email, voice and SMS without the need to install expensive IT infrastructure."
Mr Bergin said the launch of the Nokia 6820 device, which provides access to the BlackBerry solution, is the latest measure in the advancement of BlackBerry in Australia.
In addition to providing the ability to connect into a corporate BlackBerry environment, the key features of the Nokia 6820 include:
- User friendly interface with a full QWERTY keyboard when the phone is flipped open and five way scroll;
- Integrated camera and handsfree speaker phone;
- Bluetooth technology;
- The ability to multitask through easy access to applications while managing a phone call;
- Tri-band on 900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS networks for global coverage;
- Downloadable applications such as dictionary, language translator, expense tracker and City Guides; and
- Instant messaging/chat.
Studies show that a typical user of the technology may recover an average of 53 work minutes a day through turning traditional downtime into productive time and that this can help deliver huge value through immediacy and responsiveness.
Mr Alex Lambeek, General Manager, Mobile Phones & Multimedia, Nokia Australia said: "Nokia believes that business mobility will fundamentally change the way people work. In a recent study conducted by Nokia, 77 per cent of the business professionals surveyed in Australia said that they always need to access their email while away from office.
"The Nokia 6820 is designed to enable efficient and easy to use text input for richer messaging and task management in a compact, ergonomic package. It offers an easy transition for end-users from mobile voice to messaging, email and calendar applications.
"Recent studies have also shown that full or QWERTY keyboards are the most popular input mechanism for text - preferred by 53 per cent of users."
Some of Australia's largest companies and government organisations that have successfully adopted Telstra's BlackBerry solution include Queensland Department of Regional Development and Premier, Transurban, Deutsche Bank, Wesfarmers Insurance Federation, Brown Brothers, Arnold Bloch Liebler, GSA Group, Amcor, CSIRO, Lotteries Commission and Storage-Tek.
