RIM Announces BlackBerry with WiFi Calling
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Richard Baguley Published on July 18, 2007 Comment on this |
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18th July 2007 - BlackBerry manufacturers Research In Motion (RIM) have just announced the latest addition to the BlackBerry family; the 8820, which includes support for 802.11G wireless networking. This WiFi connection isn't just about faster web browsing; it also supports UMA (Universal Mobile Access), which allows for calls to be made over WiFi connections, which can then be invisibly switched to the cellular network when the user goes out of range of the WiFi connection. The 8820 also includes a GPS receiver and a MicroSDHC port, which can support MicroSD cards up to 2GB in size, and MicroSDHC memory cards up to a capacity of 32GB. No pricing details were revealed, but RIM did say that AT&T would be offering the new BlackBerry later in the summer.T-Mobile have recently launched their Hotspot@home service, which uses UMA and allows users to make unlimited calls from home for an additional $9.99 a month. They currently offer two phones that support their new service (the Samsung t409 and the Nokia 6086), but it isn't clear yet if T-Mobile will be offering the new BlackBerry 8820, or if AT&T will be launching their own WiFi calling service using the new phone.
As well as the new UMA calling support, the new BlackBerry also includes a full GPS receiver that can be used for turn-by-turn navigation. The Assisted GPS receivers on many phones, such as the Helio Ocean, don't allow for the continual position updates that turn-by-turn navigation requires.
The 8820 is also a quad band GSM device, so it should be able to connect to any GSM network the world over. The data connection is still limited to a relatively slow EDGE connection, though; RIM did not include a faster EVDO or UMTS connection.
RIM also makes much of the multimedia capabilities of the 8820, bundling a new PC desktop media management package from Roxio. music can be played back over Bluetooth headphones using the A2DP/AVRCP standard, but the 8820 has the same 2.5-mm headset socket as the 8800; if you want to use a pair of standard headphones, you'll need an adapter. And like the 8800, the 8820 does not include a camera.
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