TELECOMMUNICATION: BlackBerry Solution comes to Rwanda

Product review Last week MTN Rwanda launched the BlackBerry solution in Rwanda which brings together smartphones, software and services to allow easy wireless access to email, phone, calendar, web, multimedia and other mobile business and lifestyle applications. So what is this BlackBerry? Below is a preview of the smart phone and it’s benefits. The BlackBerry is a wireless handheld device introduced in 1999 as a two-way pager. In 2002, the more commonly known smartphone BlackBerry was released, which supports push e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services. It is an example of a convergent device. Developed by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM), it delivers information over the wireless data networks of mobile phone service companies. BlackBerry first made headway in the marketplace by concentrating on e-mail. RIM curren ly offers BlackBerry e-mail service to non-BlackBerry devices, such as the Palm Treo, through the BlackBerry Connect software. The original BlackBerry device had a monochrome display, but all current models have color displays. No matter what your individual needs, a BlackBerry solution will enable you to accomplish more by keeping you in touch with information, colleagues and friends. BlackBerry smartphones allow you to stay in touch with everything that matters to you while you’re on the go. Email, phone, maps, organiser, applications, games, the Internet and more. Some smartphones even include a multi-media player and/or camera so you really have everything you need in one stylish device. The BlackBerry solution supports leading enterprise email platforms and can be customised to meet the needs of one person or an entire enterprise, to any scale, in any industry. The device now sports a cell phone and other features, but recently it has gained popularity because of its push email capabilities in particular. Most handheld devices force you to retrieve your messages when you happen to be in a coverage area. With a BlackBerry, email messages are pushed to your device the instant they are received in your inbox. You can view them even when you’re out of cellular coverage. Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of the BlackBerry, has built on this solid foundation of push email and has added a slew of features, including built-in security, to make the BlackBerry a leader in the corporate wireless email market. Once you obtain a BlackBerry device, you’ll need to establish service with one of the wireless carriers. In addition to your regular voice plan, you’ll need a BlackBerry data plan. Although there are options for per-megabyte plans, it’s best to go ahead and get an unlimited data plan since you’re likely to transmit more data than you would with a standard mobile phone. Once your wireless service is established, you’ll be assigned an email address such as username@mycingular.blackberry.net, which will deliver messages to your device. Although you could start using that address, you’ll probably want to integrate your BlackBerry with your existing email accounts. Just set up forwarding using procmail or a .forward file to forward your mail to your BlackBerry email address. You can also configure BlackBerry Web Client to check an email account using POP3 and deliver new messages as they arrive. There’s no “Check Now” or “Send and Receive” button to click--new messages are pushed to your device as they are received.More information from the Internet