BlackBerry signs contract with Mobily in Saudi Arabia to offer mobile email service

Dubai: The maker of the BlackBerry mobile email device has partnered with a Saudi Arabian telecommunications operator to offer mobile email service.

Canadian firm Research in Motion (RIM), which produces the BlackBerry, signed the deal yesterday in Saudi Arabia with Mobily. RIM is working with Middle East partner EMS, a Dubai-based mobile systems integration firm.

"Saudi Arabia has always been the largest market for most companies doing business in the Gulf region," said Khalid Al Kaf, CEO of Mobily, which is part owned by etisalat.

"Businesses are in urgent need of solutions that address the fast paced life and competitive environment they operate in. We're happy to be the first to bring BlackBerry to these customers."

In May, RIM and EMS signed a deal with etisalat to launch the service in the UAE. Bill Rom, chief operating officer of EMS, said over 50 companies here have since begun using BlackBerry service and devices.

When asked if BlackBerry would partner with du, the UAE's second mobile telecom operator, Robert Bose, RIM's director of carrier management for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "Our partner is etisalat …. but things change," without elaborating any further.

Currently one BlackBerry model, the 8700g handset, is available for the UAE and Saudi Arabia but new models are expected soon.

BlackBerry, with 5.5 million users worldwide, was the first company to offer a wireless email platform with devices only slightly larger than a mobile phone.

Now the company is trying to keep ahead of the competition as other firms enter the hotly contested mobile email space. Last week the company released the BlackBerry Pearl, a device the size of a normal mobile phone but with a full "qwerty" keyboard, MP3 player, camera and capability to send emails, instant messages and video.

David Keane, RIM carrier marketing manager, said the device retails for about $200 in Europe when packaged with a two-year service agreement.