BlackBerry launches phones for CDMA users

NEW DELHI: BlackBerry handset maker Research In Motion (RIM) today announced the launch of its new dual-screen 'Style' smartphone for CDMA customers in India, to be sold in the open market.

The earlier BlackBerry phones launched for CDMA customers were bundled with the services of Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications.

The new smartphone has a compact flip design with dual high-resolution displays and a QWERTY keyboard. The phone has a 2-inch (diagonal) external screen for quick viewing of notifications and messages along with a 2.7-inch (diagonal) internal screen.

"The CDMA segment represents a significant portion of the overall mobile subscriber base in India and we are pleased to further our commitment to Indian consumers with the introduction of this powerful and stylish BlackBerry smartphone," RIM India Managing Director Frenny Bawa said in a statement.

It also comes with multimedia features which include a 5 mega pixel camera with flash. The handset will support video recording, offers built-in GPS for location-based applications and geo-tagging, Wi-Fi access and an expandable memory slot for up to 32GB of additional storage.

The BlackBerry Style smartphone will offer an optical trackpad for navigation. It will support applications like YouTube, BBM, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

The phone is now available in the market and distribution of the smartphone is being managed by Brightpoint India, RIM's national retail distribution partner for CDMA-enabled BlackBerry smartphones, the statement said.