The BlackBerry 7290 is designed for customers who want a compact, all-in-one device with messaging capabilities, integrated phone, organizer and browser for all their mobile communication and information needs. It is expected to be available from O2 in the UK, Germany and Ireland from November 2004.

The BlackBerry 7290 features all the elements of existing BlackBerry 7200 series handhelds, including a compact, ergonomic handheld design, high-resolution color screen that supports over 65,000 colours, easy-to-use QWERTY keyboard, thumb-operated navigation trackwheel, excellent battery performance, plus integrated support for corporate and personal email, phone, SMS, organizer, Internet and intranet applications.

New and enhanced features for the BlackBerry 7290 include:

Quad-band support for GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies - enabling full international roaming

Bluetooth support for Bluetooth headsets and car kits

A brighter LED backlight - making it easy to check information anytime, anywhere

Updated QWERTY keyboard style with highlighted number keys for easy dialling and typing

Increased memory to 32 MB flash memory and 4 MB SRAM to further improve storage capabilities for messages, calendar appointments and applications

BlackBerry comprises hardware, software and service providing an end-to-end solution. For larger corporate customers, BlackBerry Enterprise Server software integrates with Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Domino (Novell GroupWise support is expected later this year) and works with existing enterprise systems to enable secure, push-based, wireless access to email and other corporate data.

For individuals and smaller businesses, BlackBerry Internet Service allows users to access multiple business and/or personal email accounts from a single mobile device and without the need for server software (includes support for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and many popular ISP email accounts).

BlackBerry also features cradle-free wireless email synchronisation for corporate users as well as integrated attachment viewing that supports popular file formats (including: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, WordPerfect, ASCII).