Phone fans await official BlackBerry launch

BlackBerry have been used in Vietnam for some time though many of them had to be “hacked” to be compatible with local networks (Photo courtesy of TinhTe forum

Local mobile phone fans are eagerly looking forward to the local launch of BlackBerry services and products next month, although some have concerns about the cost of services.

Viettel Mobile will import 4,000 BlackBerry smartphones, targeted at business people, from BlackBerry developer, Canada’s Research In Motion Company.

Viettel Tit will also launch technical support services, including PushMail, an “instant” BlackBerry email service.

The planned new Viettel services will give Vietnamese BlackBerry fans the chance to access official technical support services and software, said Nguyen Tri Dong, who has used a BlackBerry for three years and owns five different models.

Vietnamese people started using BlackBerrys a long time ago, buying the devices overseas and bringing the high-tech products home. However, most current users say they would have to think twice about using the new services because the fees are not competitive.

Viettel Deputy General Director Tong Viet Trung says the company will launch PushMail service at VND450,000 (US$27.73) per month for BlackBerry Internet Service specific to individual customers and VND600,000 ($36.97) per month for BlackBerry Enterprise Service specific to businesses and corporations.

The fees were unlikely to attract current BlackBerry users, most of whom are office workers, information technology insiders and students, said Le, who owns a mobile phone shop on Hanoi’s Lo Duc Street and has long traded BlackBerry devices.

Another disadvantage, according to Le, is that the services are only offered to Viettel network subscribers.

BlackBerry users in Vietnam now use PushMail through Gmail Mobile software in combination with another data communication service called General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Using this, they can register for email other than Gmail, including Yahoo! and Hotmail.

This method costs users about VND150,000 ($9.24) per month, on average, and can be used with all mobile phone networks.

Source: SGTT

Update from: http://www.thanhniennews.com/education/?catid=4&newsid=42237