BlackBerry Launches 8800 in Mumbai

After the recent success of the BlackBerry Pearl, RIM has officially launched the BlackBerry 8800 handheld here in Mumbai. This model features a full QWERTY keypad, unlike that of the 8100's Sure-Type. The keyboard can also be switched to AZERTY mode for different regions if necessary.

This model also includes the roll ball or 'Pearl' (as in the BlackBerry Pearl 8100) that glows to ease navigation. The 8800 is also equipped with a large, landscape aspect QVGA (320x240) display, with a slot for external memory using microSD and it also has a built-in GPS for navigation. However maps of the city are not yet available for download.

The quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE handset also supports Bluetooth 2.0, Voice Activated Dialing, and Speaker Independent Voice Recognition etc. It supports all email accounts on BlackBerry Enterpise Servers as well as a few other services. However it is not equipped for Wi-Fi and Infrared. There is also an absence of a camera.

The BlackBerry 8800 has been released in Mumbai today at a price of Rs. 31, 990 and will be available with Airtel and Hutch as providers.