T-Mobile BlackBerry 8820 Available with GPS & HotSpot Support

T-Mobile and Research In Motion announced the national availability of the BlackBerry 8820 smartphone, featuring built-in GPS and support for T-Mobile’s HotSpoHome( service for Wi-F calling. hone.

The BlackBerry 8820 helps people stay connected to business associates, colleagues, family and friends by offering Wi-Fi connectivity for voice and data, access to location-based applications and services, and a superior mobile experience for personal and corporate e-mail.

With the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home mobile add-on plan, customers can enjoy the freedom of unlimited, nationwide calling over any Wi-Fi network at home, across accessible corporate Wi-Fi networks or at T-Mobile HotSpot locations nationwide.(i) When connected through Wi-Fi, access to information continues to include all of the BlackBerry platform’s security features. Customers can also enjoy faster Web browsing at Wi-Fi speeds.

The BlackBerry 8820 is available at select T-Mobile retail stores, select authorized dealers, online at www.t-mobile.com, or by calling 1-800-T-MOBILE.

For more information about the BlackBerry 8820 from T-Mobile, please visit www.blackberry8820.com or www.t-mobile.com. The smartphone is currently selling for $349.99 with a discount and plan.

The quad-band phone also supports international roaming and is enabled for T-Mobile’s popular myFaves service experience for quick, one-click access to five people by instant messaging, e-mailing, texting or calling from the Home Screen.

“Customers want and need to stay connected to the important people in their lives,” said Leslie Grandy, Vice President of Product Development, T-Mobile USA. “With unlimited nationwide calling using T-Mobile’s popular HotSpot @Home mobile service, access to personal or business e-mail, and reliable GPS navigation services, the BlackBerry 8820 from T-Mobile provides unparalleled value for our customers at home, at the office and everywhere in between.”

“The BlackBerry 8820 smartphone blends powerful communications, connectivity and navigation capabilities with exceptional ease-of-use and executive class styling.” said Mark Guibert, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, RIM. “Together with the innovative T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service, the BlackBerry 8820 offers incredible flexibility and convenience for both professional and personal needs.”

Using the BlackBerry 8820 smartphone’s built-in GPS and location-based applications, such as BlackBerry Maps, customers can navigate between meetings and locate the closest restaurant or use other advanced services such as TeleNav GPS Navigator(TM) to receive audible turn-by-turn directions to reach their next destination.

Key features of the BlackBerry 8820 smartphone from T-Mobile include the following(i):

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE network support for international roaming

• Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) connectivity for expanded coverage and faster Web browsing

• Supports T-Mobile HotSpot @Home, offering unlimited nationwide calling over any accessible Wi-Fi network

• Built-in GPS, BlackBerry Maps and support for TeleNav GPS Navigator

• T-Mobile myFaves® capability, making it easy for customers to stay in touch with those who matter most, with quick, one-click access for instant messaging, e-mailing, calling or texting their Fave 5SM from the Home Screen

• BlackBerry® Internet Service support allowing access to up to 10 supported e-mail accounts, including most popular ISP e-mail accounts such as Yahoo!® Mail and Gmail®

• BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support, which tightly integrates with IBM Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft Exchange®, and Novell® GroupWise® to provide secure push-based wireless access to e-mail and other data, and features IT policy controls for managing usage and deployments

• Easy access to popular instant messaging clients: AOL® Instant Messenger, Yahoo!® Messenger, Windows® Live Messenger, Google® Talk and ICQ®

• Highly tactile full QWERTY keyboard for easy typing

• Intuitive user-interface with an easy-to-use trackball

• High-performance HTML browser for visiting Web sites while on the go

• A large, ultra-bright 320x240 color display provides vibrant imagery and innovative light-sensing technology automatically optimizes brightness for indoor, outdoor and dark environments

• Advanced media player with search capabilities, stereo Bluetooth® support (A2DP/AVRCP), dedicated volume controls and support for numerous audio and video formats including MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+, as well as support for polyphonic, MP3 and MIDI ring tones

• Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry® (included with BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software), which allows customers to manage media files, transfer them from their computer to the handset, create MP3 music files from CDs, add audio tags and album art, create playlists and easily convert files for optimal playback

• Numerous premium phone features with Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), noise-cancellation technology to offset background noise, a low-distortion speakerphone for hands-free conversations, Bluetooth® support for use with headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals, and intuitive call management features such as smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing and call forwarding

• Expandable memory storage via microSD/SDHC expansion slot

• Dimensions: 4.49” x 2.60” x 0.55”

• Weight: 4.7 oz