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SYDNEY, Australia, April, 29, 2006 – Telstra, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that BlackBerry® Connect™ for the Palm® Treo™ 650 smartphone on the Telstra Network will be available early next month. Telstra customers now have a wider choice of devices that support the robust and secure capabilities of the BlackBerry services and a wider choice of wireless email solutions that support the feature-rich Treo 650 smartphone.
BlackBerry Connect enables new and existing Treo 650 users to benefit from many popular features of the BlackBerry "push"-based architecture via BlackBerry Enterprise Server ™. (1)
Mercie Clement, market analyst, PC Hardware, IDC Australia, said, "The second half of 2005 saw the Australian smartphone market post record growth. It's anticipated that adoption levels of mobile devices by enterprises in Australia will continue to increase steadily again this year. By 2006 we anticipate smartphone [converged device] market growth of 41 per cent, providing a market landscape that holds significant opportunities for smartphone vendors."
Telstra's general manager of Mobiles, Mr Martin Conneely, said Telstra was partnering with industry leaders to offer its customers relevant mobility solutions and devices.
"With more than 2,000 business and government customers using our mobility solutions, we have a lot of experience integrating these services with their existing business processes," Mr Conneely said. "Many of our customers have realised significant productivity gains and competitive advantage from mobilising business applications for their field workers and some have seen return on investment within three months.
"The benefits of the Palm Treo mobility solution are that it integrates a mobile phone with the BlackBerry push email solution and allows customers to access a wider range of business applications. This means our customers can do more using just the one device."
Paul Blinkhorn, vice president, Palm Asia Pacific, said, "Companies in our region that have deployed BlackBerry Enterprise Server or are planning to do so now have strong reasons to consider the Treo 650, already one of the most compelling mobile-computing devices available today for enterprise users. Today's launch underscores Palm's commitment to providing a broad range of world-class, enterprise-strength mobile-computing solutions, and offers Treo 650 customers greater choice and flexibility to address their mobile email needs."
Norm Lo, vice president for Asia Pacific at RIM, said, "BlackBerry provides a powerful and optimised wireless solution to satisfy the requirements of millions of mobile professionals worldwide. We are very pleased to bring BlackBerry Connect to the Treo 650 with Palm and Telstra. With BlackBerry Connect, Telstra's corporate customers are now able to take the advantage of the proven "push"-based BlackBerry architecture on a broader choice of BlackBerry-enabled handsets, including the Treo 650."
BlackBerry Connect for the Treo 650 smartphone supports the following features:
- "Push" Corporate Email delivers messages automatically -- and wirelessly -- to the Treo 650 smartphone's VersaMail® inbox. Changes to the inbox, including read/unread status and deletion, are automatically synchronised between the user's PC and the Treo 650.
- Wireless Calendar Synchronisation keeps the Treo 650 smartphone's built-in Calendar up to date remotely, allowing users to receive, accept or decline meeting requests on the go.
- Attachment Viewing lets users view Excel, Word, PowerPoint, or PDF documents while on the road.(2)
- Remote Address Lookup (RAL) allows users to search their corporate directory wirelessly for email addresses without the need to download every name to the Treo 650.
- Extends the benefits of BlackBerry Enterprise Server to the Treo 650, including centralised device management, IT policies such as over-the-air device disablement and password device lock, and Triple DES encryption supporting end-to-end security.
The Treo 650 has won acclaim for its intuitive user interface, award-winning form factor, and the availability of more than 29,000 third-party Palm OS® applications and enterprise solutions. With third-party software applications available in finance, insurance, real estate, healthcare, education, sales force automation and IT management, users have the ability to mobilise enterprise data now, and the opportunity to leverage a vast community of developers to expand custom enterprise solutions.
Pricing and Availability
The BlackBerry Connect software on the Palm Treo 650 will be available from Telstra in early May on Telstra's $49 a month BlackBerry Enterprise email plan and soon after on BlackBerry Enterprise subsidised plans. The software is a free download and will be available at www.palm.com/au/bbc.(4)
Business and government customers can obtain more information and purchase the BlackBerry Connect solution for the Treo 650 smartphone from their Telstra account managers. Further information can also be found at www.telstra.com/blackberry.
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.
About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., a leader in mobile computing, strives to put the power of computing in people's hands so they can access and share their most important information. The company's products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm®Treo™smartphones, Palm handheld computers, and Palm LifeDrive™mobile managers, as well as software, services and accessories.
Palm products are sold through select internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm Retail Stores and Palm online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).
More information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com/au.
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(1) Solution compatible on BES 3.5 for Exchange and above, and BES 2.2 for Lotus Domino and above.
(2) Attachments that are sent via email can be opened by using the BlackBerry Attachment Viewing Service or via native file viewers on the Treo 650 smartphone. Please refer to the BlackBerry Connect for Treo 650 smartphone User Guide for supported files and size limitations.
(3) Within wireless service coverage area only. Availability and coverage depends upon carrier and the geographic scope of international roaming agreements. Email, messaging and web access requires data services from a mobile service provider at an additional cost.
(4) Subject to software license terms and conditions.
Palm, Treo, LifeDrive and VersaMail are among the trademarks or registered trademarks owned by or licensed to Palm, Inc. All other brand and product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no liability and makes no representation, warranty or guarantee in relation to third party products or services.
Media Contacts:
Sarah Gibbons
Recognition PR for Palm Australasia
+61 2 9252 2266
smg@recognition.com.au
Lesley McKnight
Palm Australasia
+61 2 9844 5420
lesley.mcknight@palm.com
Stephanie Ryan
Spectrum Communications for Research In Motion
+61 2 9954 3299
StephanieR@spectrumcomms.com
Forward-looking statements from RIM:
Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements include, without limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, continued acceptance of RIM's products, increased levels of competition, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in RIM's periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. The Company has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Forward-looking statements from Palm:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements regarding growth in the Australian smartphone market. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially. A detailed discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements is included in Palm's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 3, 2006 and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 3, 2005. Palm undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
