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Rogers and Research in Motion Announce the UMA-enabled BlackBerry Pearl 8120 Smartphone Posted in Devices on 04 Jun 2008 08:57 by Kevin Michaluk | 
7 comments
We have known this was coming for a while now, so it's nice to see it get all official. Rogers and RIM announced this morning the launch of the UMA-enabled BlackBerry Pearl 8120 Smartphone. This is the first UMA-enabled BlackBerry to hit Canadian soil, and will allow consumers to take advantage of Rogers' recently-launched Home Calling Zone UMA-based service.
As a Rogers customer, I have to say this is a pretty tempting phone for me to go and buy. The cost-savings of the Rogers Home Calling Zone would be significant. It's enough to make me trade in my Curve. BUT... Rogers should launch the BlackBerry Bold in the next month. The Rogers Bold will likely not be UMA-enabled. So what to do? Save money, or have the latest and greatest?? I'm leaning towards the latest and greatest.. For more details, read the Full Press Release after the jump! PRESS RELEASE Rogers and RIM Launch the UMA-Enabled BlackBerry Pearl 8120 Smartphone With Rogers Home Calling Zone, a wireless router and a high-speed Internet connection, customers can use the same phone inside and outside the home TORONTO, ONTARIO and WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 4, 2008) - Rogers Wireless (TSX:RCI)(NYSE:RCI) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today introduced the new BlackBerry(R) Pearl(TM) 8120 smartphone to customers in Canada. The new smartphone supports Rogers Home Calling Zone, a UMA(i)-based service from Rogers that enables customers to make unlimited voice calls over a wireless Internet connection(ii). Rogers is the first carrier in Canada to offer UMA services with its new Rogers Home Calling Zone. The new service leverages the dual-mode Wi-Fi(R) and cellular capabilities of the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone for both cellular and home calling. Rogers Home Calling Zone works by connecting calls through a voice optimized wireless router over a high-speed Internet connection when at home and can seamlessly switch to the cellular network when out of range - offering seamless mobility and the ultimate in convenience. Customers can use the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone inside and outside the home, making it easier to stay connected how and when they want, while effectively managing their phone costs. "Rogers Wireless is proud to add the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 to our extensive lineup of BlackBerry phones, and especially to our innovative Home Calling Zone service, a Canadian first," said John Boynton, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless. "With the UMA-enabled BlackBerry Pearl 8120, not only will our customers have the benefits of RIM's world-renowned push email solution, they can also experience the flexibility and convenience using their BlackBerry phone for both home and away, with Rogers Home Calling Zone." "In addition to Wi-Fi connectivity for both voice and data, the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone offers rich multimedia features and the industry's leading mobile messaging capabilities in an amazingly compact and stylish design," said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. "The Rogers Home Calling Zone service adds another valuable dimension to the customer experience and helps make the new BlackBerry Pearl 8120 an ideal phone for both personal and business use." Available in an attractive titanium-coloured finish, the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone from Rogers features:
The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 from Rogers Wireless also comes with a variety of in-box accessories including stereo headset, travel charger and 1GB microSD memory card. Rogers Home Calling Zone With Rogers Home Calling Zone, customers can use the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 to make unlimited voice calls, when in their home calling zone. For $15 per month customers can make unlimited local calls, or for $20 per month customers can make unlimited local and Canada-wide long distance calls. Calls seamlessly transfer between UMA and cellular networks, and calls originating over UMA do not count against a customer's monthly allotment of voice minutes. Pricing & Availability
The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 retails for $249.99 with activation on any combination of 3 year voice plan and 3 year BlackBerry data plan from Rogers. Some conditions apply. Bookmark/Search this post with:
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Did you just say the Rogers Bold will NOT be enabled?
Yeah. The Bold will have WiFi, but I don't think Rogers will enable UMA on it.
Rogers is pushing UMA/Home Calling Zone as a consumer service, and the Bold will still be going out to a lot of enterprise channels. I don't think Rogers will be putting out an 8320 on UMA either anytime soon. That's their way of keeping UMA for the consumers is by only offering the Pearl on it.
Hrm.. interesting. I wonder if UMA is a carrier or device controlled thing. If it was a device type of thing, it would tempt me to get an unlocked Bold, but that would be a hefty premium to pay due to the huge subsidy I would get from rogers if i bought it from work.
"In addition to Wi-Fi connectivity for both voice and data, ..."
John Boynton, SVP and Chief Marketing Officers comment implies both Voice and data will benefit from UMA. Only voice traffic will be unlimited, we will be hosting the data stream and paying the World's highest data rates for the privilege.
Brilliant!
[img]http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/7/1/9/71265/rogersuma-0.jpg?rev=0[/img]
Rogers carcass is revenged by Bay Streets bears.
with programs like iskoot and others becoming more available on BB - i hope rogers can see that at least they can charge something for UMA. it would be a real shame to restrain to potential of the bold just to keep revenues as high as possible.
if the BB bold doesnt offer UMA - its going to be a real deal-breaker for some.
For Crying out loud, why do the carriers have to milk every last dollar they can out of their antiquated service plans before finally giving into what their customers are begging for.
I'm guessing that since access to the UMA service will be locked up tighter than fort knox that i will not be able to use it with the Rogers 8320 that i bought directly from RIM.
Bah i say
Bah!!!!