May 27, 2008

Find the right direction with the new GPS-enabled BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone and Vodafone Compass

Aukland, NZ- Finding your way just got easier with the launch of a new product and service from Vodafone: the new BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8110 smartphone and Vodafone Compass.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 developed by Research In Motion (RIM) is now launched by Vodafone in New Zealand  and comes with powerful communications capabilities, amazing multimedia features, and the addition of built-in GPS. 

The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone provides mobile users with access to phone, email, organizer, multimedia capabilities and Internet browsing, as well as other mobile applications. The addition of GPS with Vodafone Compass allows the user to get easy directions and route planning.

Users can  access up to 10 supported email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts) using BlackBerry® Internet Service, and corporate email and data systems via BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, making BlackBerry smartphones an exceptional lifestyle tool for business users and individuals on the move.  The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 retails for $899.

The addition of Vodafone Compass to the range of Vodafone services will make the world of mobile navigation even easier. Vodafone Compass is an intuitive, user-friendly navigation system allowing quick location of destinations by address or postcode and comes complete with voice prompts. Integration with the Yellow Pages directory makes it simple to search for amenities such as restaurants and petrol stations.  Users can also share their location with other Vodafone Compass users in real time.

Vodafone Compass is being launched with a limited time promotion. Customers can download the software and use the service on all new BlackBerry Pearl 8110 and BlackBerry® Curve™ 8310 smartphones for free until 31 October 2008 if downloaded before 31 July 2008. After the promotional period, the pricing for the service will be $2.50 per use on a casual basis, or $10 per month on subscription.

Kursten Shalfoon, Vodafone New Zealand’s General Manager of Product and Services said, “Vodafone Compass is an exciting and innovative service for our customers and the first of its kind to be offered in New Zealand. Together with the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 or BlackBerry Curve 8310, our customers will have the benefits of a full GPS navigation system in their pockets. Vodafone encourages safe mobile use in automobiles and we recommend Vodafone Compass users set their destination before embarking on their journey.”

Available at launch exclusively on the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 and BlackBerry Curve 8310 smartphones, Vodafone Compass will be available on other GPS-enabled mobiles later in the year.

Key features of the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone include, 

• Built-in GPS to support location-based applications and services.
• 2 megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom and enhanced flash. The camera also supports video capture in two resolutions: 240x180 or 176x144 for sharing via MMS. Video recording requires a microSD card, sold separately.
• BlackBerry® Desktop Software that includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry®, which allows users to easily manage media files on their computer and transfer them to the smartphone. The application also includes Roxio Photosuite® 9 LE for enhancing pictures and creating photo albums on a PC. 
• Advanced media player, dedicated volume controls and standard 3.5mm stereo headset jack. 
• Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD)
• Bluetooth® 2.0 support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits and Bluetooth peripherals, as well as support for the Bluetooth stereo audio profile. 
• Externally accessible microSD/SDHC card slot for additional storage of music, photos and videos. 
• Intuitive trackball navigation system and RIM’s popular SureType® keyboard system, which now includes word completion and spell checker.

About Vodafone
Vodafone provides a full range of mobile telecommunications services, including voice and data communications. Vodafone has equity interests in 27 countries and Partner Networks in a further 31 countries, with a proportionate customer base of over 179 million worldwide.  For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.