Subject: [NEXTEL-1] RIM Adds Wi-Fi to WackBerry Devices

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2003 13:40:08 -0500

RIM Adds Wi-Fi to WackBerry Devices

Research In Motion (RIM) is adding Wi-Fi functionality to its BlackBerry devices
in anticipation of enterprise customers' needs. The company is testing the Wi-Fi
enabled BlackBerry devices and expects to introduce them next year.

====================================================================

WackBerry aims to go WiFi

By RICHARD SHIM
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Research In Motion is working to allow its BlackBerry devices to connect to
Wi-Fi wireless networks, anticipating demand for the feature from its target
corporate customers.

With the gradually growing number of Wi-Fi wireless network installations in
large businesses and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) trials on those
networks, RIM has been testing built-in Wi-Fi connectivity in its BlackBerry
devices and plans to introduce the capability later next year, the company
confirmed Monday.

"We're essentially aiming to extend the key benefits and competitive
differentiators of BlackBerry to 802.11 environments," said a statement from
Mark Guibert, vice president for RIM, based in Waterloo, Ont. "There are a
number of partnership and competitive considerations that influence how much
detail we share, so we're not tipping our hand too much at this point in time."

BlackBerry devices wirelessly send and receive data and voice calls over
wide-area cellular networks. Supporting wireless transmissions over Wi-Fi would
echo recent interest in the communications and networking worlds to combine
cellular and Wi-Fi technologies. Data and voice can be exchanged more cheaply
over Wi-Fi networks than cellular networks. Wi-Fi networks also allow for higher
throughput speeds but have a shorter range than cellular networks.
RIM added voice capabilities to BlackBerry messaging devices last year.

Chipmakers and device makers have been anticipating the call to add Wi-Fi to
portable devices and have already begun integrating the feature. Atheros
Communications, Broadcom, Philips Semiconductor and Intel have announced plans
to release low-power 802.11b chips specially designed for portable devices.

Dell, Hewlett-Packard, PalmOne and Toshiba, among others, have already added
Wi-Fi capabilities to their devices

 http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031208.gtbherry1208/BNStory/Technology/

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