Cingular readies BlackBerry software on Nokia 9300

(IDG NEWS SERVICE) - Cingular Wireless LLC in November will let subscribers use Research In Motion Ltd.'s (RIM) BlackBerry software on a non-BlackBerry device for the first time, the mobile operator announced this week at the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment show in San Francisco. The BlackBerry Connect software will be available on the Nokia Corp. 9300, a flip-open handset with a QWERTY keyboard, Cingular said in a statement. BlackBerry Connect is software that RIM is beginning to license to third parties for use on non-RIM devices. RIM's BlackBerry, one of the first handhelds to have a keyboard, has become a familiar sight as business users rely on it for real-time e-mail on the road. Cingular said it will be the first U.S. operator to offer BlackBerry Connect.

Enterprises will be able to use BlackBerry Connect with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and individuals and small businesses can use it to access Internet service provider and Web-based e-mail accounts through BlackBerry Internet Service, according to Cingular. Customers could also use the individual and enterprise BlackBerry services at the same time. Cingular, with a national Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service network and faster infrastructure in many locations, is the largest mobile operator in the U.S., with more than 50 million subscribers. The 9300 will use Cingular's national Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution network where available.

RIM isn't about to give up on the hardware business, however. At the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association event on Tuesday, it announced a deal with Intel Corp. to use that company's upcoming mobile processor, code-named Hermon, in a phone to be launched in the fourth quarter (see "CTIA: RIM to use Intel's Hermon mobile chip"). However, RIM is up against emerging competitors, notably Good Technology Inc., that make mobile e-mail software for many different devices. Sprint Nextel Corp., the nation's third-largest operator, plans to roll out BlackBerry Connect on Palm OS devices next year, Eric Martin, manager of business device marketing, said in an interview at CTIA.

The company is responding to customer requests, he said. Sprint currently offers Palm Inc. Treo handhelds running Palm OS. "Not everyone is sold on the legacy RIM form factor," Martin said.