Telstra and Research In Motion (RIM) are announcing the availability of BlackBerry on Telstra's CDMA mobile network in Australia.

The CDMA-based BlackBerry 7250 features email, text messaging, a built-in phone, Bluetooth support for handsfree use with headset or car kit, a bright full color screen, full HTML Web browsing and 32MB of memory for storing messages, calendar appointments and pictures.

"We are very pleased that Telstra is extending the BlackBerry platform to its CDMA customers," said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. "Telstra has been quick to deploy the BlackBerry 7250, enabling more customers in Australia to enjoy the communications and productivity benefits of the push-based BlackBerry platform."

Telstra introduced BlackBerry in Australia on its GSM/GPRS mobile network in 2002. The CDMA network covers more than 98 per cent of the population, or more than 1.6 million square kilometres across both rural and metropolitan areas.