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Research In Motion enters Chinese retail channel with BlackBerry 8910 Curve
Remember the mysterious BlackBerry 8910 Curve that showed up briefly back in January? Well, forget that -- this is the real 8910 here. RIM was at China yesterday to launch this familiar-looking device -- OK, it's actually just a 8900 sans WiFi, but it's also the first BlackBerry that'll be sold through Chinese retail channels -- carried by Digital China -- instead of just enterprise contracts. Nothing fresh from the rest of the specs: 2.4-inch 480 x 360 screen, quadband GPRS, 512MHz processor, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, and microSD expansion of up to 32GB. Press release and a couple more pics after the break, if you still care.
BlackBerry, meet TD-SCDMA: RIM partners with China Mobile
Enterprising Chinese have had access to BlackBerrys for some time now, but they've been met with limited sales for many of the same reasons that internationally successful products often fail in China: high prices, cheap clones, and a general lack of understanding of the local market's needs and behaviors. RIM, like any smart manufacturer, would love to find a way to effectively tap into the market, though -- and they're trying to make headway today on news that they've partnered with number one carrier China Mobile on customized devices. By "customized," we mean that these bad boys will support TD-SCDMA, which is China Mobile's proprietary 3G tech -- probably the only carrier in the world that could get away with that, thanks to its nine-figure subscriber count -- and will be offered through local distributor Digital China, whose market expertise RIM is hoping to capitalize. The silver bullet here might be the fact that China Mobile has committed to subsidizing the handsets; China is a huge prepaid market, but if they can get 'em cheap enough, they could have a shot.
Gateway heads into China with help from distributor
Following a brief pilot progam in June, Gateway's announced that it's making its first major push into China, with the company teaming with Digital China, Inc. to offer its systems nationwide. While Gateway isn't getting specific about exactly what systems will available, it is saying that it'll be offering a "new premium line," which will consist of systems boasting Core 2 Duo processors and laptops based on the Centrino Duo mobile platform, with a few displays thrown in for good measure. Those will apparently soon be available at various retailers across the country, including Best Buy's flagship store in Shanghai. Of course, Gateway will have a fair bit of competition to contend with, including that from other US PC makers clamoring for a bigger piece of the Chinese market.
