ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. joined smaller rival T-Mobile USA Inc. in offering Research In Motion Ltd.’s latest BlackBerry, the consumer-focused Pearl. Cingular is selling the gadget for $200 with a two-year agreement.
“The BlackBerry Pearl from Cingular provides a winning combination of business and entertainment-related applications that make it a great device both for work-time and leisure-time use,” said Jeff Bradley, vice president of business data services for Cingular Wireless. “The iconic yet highly functional design, popular BlackBerry service, and rich music and video features coupled with our Cingular-exclusive capabilities make this a powerful offering that will play well equally in the enterprise and consumer spaces.”
T-Mobile USA was the first to introduce RIM’s Pearl in the United States, and is currently selling the device for $200 with a service contract.
RIM’s Pearl competes against a variety of similar high-end phones-including Motorola Inc.’s Q and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s BlackJack-many of which are selling for half of what the Pearl costs.
In other phone news, Leap Wireless International Inc. announced its Cricket brand will sell Motorola’s W315 phone in time for the holiday season. The carrier is selling the handset for $140.
