Casablanca, Morocco, Dubai, UAE and Waterloo, ON- inwi, Emitac Mobile Solutions and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution for inwi customers, including the launch of prepaid service plans for BlackBerry smartphone users in Morocco. The service plans will enable inwi\'s prepaid customers to enjoy the benefits of using a BlackBerry smartphone to stay connected with their business and personal contacts.
“The introduction of prepaid BlackBerry service plans strengthens our offering, enabling us to make our communication services accessible to everyone. Customers no longer need to keep a monthly subscription in order to enjoy the benefits of a BlackBerry smartphone with mobile access to email, Internet browsing, instant messaging and a wide variety of other business and personal applications,” said Frédéric Debord, CEO, inwi.
Babar Khan, CEO, Emitac Mobile Solutions said: “We are delighted to have achieved another milestone in the North African market by partnering with inwi and RIM to launch a prepaid BlackBerry solution. The availability of both postpaid and prepaid options for BlackBerry smartphone users shows commitment from all partners involved in the project. inwi’s prepaid BlackBerry service plans, combined with affordable BlackBerry smartphones, will greatly benefit the Moroccan market.”
Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing, RIM added: “It is with great pleasure that RIM has worked with Emitac Mobile Solutions and inwi to bring a prepaid BlackBerry solution to Morocco. BlackBerry smartphones offer advanced communications and multimedia features together with easy-to-use and stylish designs that are the perfect choice for people who want to stay connected, productive and entertained while on the move.”
At launch, inwi will offer BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for corporate customers and BlackBerry® Internet Service for smaller businesses and individual users, along with a range of BlackBerry smartphones, including the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700, BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 and BlackBerry® Curve™ 8520 smartphones.
BlackBerry Enterprise Server is specifically for organizations that manage their own email servers. It tightly integrates with IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® and uses advanced encryption and IT policy controls to enable secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate data.
BlackBerry Internet Service is designed for smaller businesses and individuals. It allows customers to access up to 10 supported corporate and personal email accounts (including popular ISP email accounts such as Yahoo! Mail and Google Mail) from a BlackBerry smartphone.
The new BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone offers top-of-the-line performance, functionality and features with support for 3G HSDPA networks around the world, a next-generation (624 MHz) processor, 256 MB Flash memory, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi®, a 3.2MP camera and a high resolution (480 x 360) display.
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 has an expansive feature set that keeps users easily connected with their office, friends and family. In addition to exceptional phone, email, messaging, organizer, web browser and multimedia applications, the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 also features global connectivity support, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, a fast processor (512Mhz) and a hi-resolution (480 x 360) display.
The slim and approachable BlackBerry Curve 8520 provides easy access to email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and social networking sites (including Facebook® and MySpace), and features a highly tactile full-QWERTY keyboard for comfortable, accurate typing. It is Wi-Fi-enabled, and includes rich multimedia capabilities with easy access to music, games, and other mobile applications for entertainment on the go.
About inwi
inwi offers tailored solutions for both consumer and business users. It has a network of more than 400500 offices throughout Morocco and more than 20000 points of contact. inwi offers an excellent service to its customers, ensuring that wherever they are, they feel at home using its services. iwi has a vast team to ensure that all of their customers get the best deal. In order to expand its network, inwi has formed partnerships with dealers like Go.com, Tenor Distributors, Iwaco and Sahatel, which reflect inwi’s core features and continues to work closely with its integrated partners who act as business advisors in enterprise solutions.
For more information, visit: http://www.inwi.ma/
About Emitac Mobile Solutions (EMS)
Emitac Mobile Solutions (EMS) is a Dubai based solutions and service provider and RIM strategic channel partner, focused on the delivery, implementation and support of BlackBerry Solutions. Delivered by an experienced team of mobile professionals, EMS provides mobile operators with sales, marketing, distribution, solution implementation and technical support services for the BlackBerry wireless platform from Research In Motion (RIM). For organizations using the BlackBerry wireless platform, EMS provides the ability to rapidly create, deploy and manage robust client-server wireless applications that reduce an organization\'s total cost of ownership and significantly increases the value of their mobile technology investment. EMS is the region’s first Mobile Virtual Solutions Provider (MVSP) whose services are delivered through partnerships the company has with mobile operators in the Gulf, North Africa and Eastern Europe. For more information, visit: www.emsmobile.ae
About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com
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