State-owned telecommunications operator China Unicom has begun offering BlackBerry smartphones and services in China. Although primarily targeting enterprises, the telecoms operator will offer the BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry Curve 3G smartphones first in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, with a nationwide roll out expected by September this year.

China Unicom offers BlackBerry data plans ranging from 60 to 128 Chinese yuan a month (the equivalent of $10 to $20 USD), as well as 3G service plans starting at 96 CNY a month ($15 USD). With this attractive pricing, it is only a matter of time before the Chinese population fully adopts mobile data and eventually, the smartphone lifestyle.

Source: Research in Motion

It was announced today that RIM has opened their first retail store in China. There are only a handful of BlackBerry retail stores and this move hopes to bring BlackBerry back into the mainstream there since the devices have been mostly been sold through third-party distributors for the last few years. The BlackBerry store should bring a better consumer experience and help sales increase. The only devices currently available are the newly released Curve 8910 as well as the Curve 8310 which will both operate on the China Mobile network, but there is no mention if more devices will follow. There are also plans to open more retail stores in China sometime in the future.

Via: CIO