[Tom]

Atlanta, GA and Waterloo, ON - Business customers who prefer the look and feel of a phone for their primary wireless device now have a handset on which they can access their corporate and personal e-mail and organizer information with today’s introduction of the BlackBerry 7100g™ from Cingular Wireless. The BlackBerry 7100g provides the look and feel of a sleek handset while incorporating a quad-band GSM™ “world phone” and retaining the powerful wireless e-mail, browser and data capabilities enabled by the BlackBerry® platform. The BlackBerry 7100g was developed and manufactured by Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM).

The BlackBerry 7100g features a brilliant and large high-resolution color LCD display and RIM’s SureType™ keyboard technology. SureType effectively converges a telephone keypad and a QWERTY keyboard to fit within the size constraints of a traditional mobile phone, while ensuring dialing and typing remain quick and easy. It also includes Bluetooth® support for use with Bluetooth headsets and car kits for a flexible handsfree phone experience, as well as a speakerphone for impromptu conference calls. The BlackBerry 7100g from Cingular also supports all the latest features of the new BlackBerry Enterprise Server v4.0™.

The BlackBerry 7100g uses Cingular’s ALLOVERSM network, the largest digital voice and data network in the country. This business phone’s quad-band (850/900/1800/1900) design gives Cingular customers the ability to stay connected when abroad in more than 170 countries for voice communications and over 75 countries when accessing e-mail, calendaring and other data applications.

“The introduction of the BlackBerry 7100g opens up the `BlackBerry experience’ to a much wider business audience that considers voice as their primary wireless application but also desires the robust data features that BlackBerry provides,” said Michael Woodward, Executive Director, mobile professional solutions, for Cingular Wireless. “Cingular Wireless is the leading BlackBerry provider and the addition of this breakthrough solution further strengthens our portfolio of BlackBerry products.”

[guinda35]

I don't believe it Guess. I called Cingular today, no dice. In fact I've been calling them for over a week, since the press release first came out, and no one's known diddly about the 7100g.

I won't believe it until I see the 7100g's at the Cingular Kiosks at the mall. Until then I'm stuck, because I'm afraid Cingular won't know what I'm talking about (they don't now), if I walk into their store with a third party vendor 7100g, let alone give me any support. This is a hell of a way to introduce a neat phone.

[Eric5273]

I wish I knew why they removed it from their website a few days ago. I read in one of the forums that it was pulled because of a software problem. The only software problem I have heard about is the bluetooth bug where it hangs up if you get a call-waiting call. If that is why they pulled it, then I would rather that be fixed anyway. Or perhaps there is another bug I don't know about. If I knew for sure they pulled it because they were simply backordered, then I would just order one from eaccess and avoid waiting.

[guinda35]

But why announce its availability? And why not let their reps know what's going on, so that we won't draw a blank stare when we ask for it? It seems like the consumers know better what models Cingular is carrying, and why they're not being sold, than the Cingular reps themselves.