Research In Motion, O2 and Cingular today introduced the new BlackBerry 7290 Wireless Handheld. The Java-based BlackBerry 7290 builds upon the popular BlackBerry experience with new features including a quad-band phone, Bluetooth support, a brighter color screen and enhanced memory.

"The new features of the BlackBerry 7290 further enhance the user experience for both data and voice applications, making it ideal for mobile professionals that want a best-in-class mobile solution," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. "The BlackBerry 7290 is an important addition to our product portfolio and will add to the success and momentum that O2 and RIM have already achieved with BlackBerry in Europe." It is expected to be available from O2 in the UK, Germany and Ireland from November 2004.

The BlackBerry 7290 is expected to be commercially available from Cingular in early October. It will be priced on a promotional basis at $149 with a two-year service agreement and packaged with a free wireless ear bud for convenient voice calling.

New and enhanced features for the BlackBerry 7290 include:

• Quad-band support for GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies - enabling full international roaming 
• Bluetooth support for Bluetooth headsets and car kits 
• A brighter LED backlight 
• Updated QWERTY keyboard style with highlighted number keys for easy dialling and typing 
• Increased memory to 32 MB flash memory and 4 MB SRAM

Specifications: