du, Alcatel-Lucent and RIM launch the BlackBerry solution in the United Arab Emirates

du, Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced the launch of the BlackBerry® solution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). du customers will now be able to enjoy the benefits of enhanced communications and increased productivity by using a Blackberry® smartphone to access email, browse the web, make phone calls, send and receive text and picture messages, as well as access a wide variety of business and leisure applications on the move.

"As an integrated telecom services provider, our goal is to offer our customers the most advanced telecom solutions and the best possible user experience. Integrating email services and data on the mobile phone is a natural step for du. We selected BlackBerry smartphones because they provide the leading wireless email solution used by millions of customers around the world," said Osman Sultan, CEO of du. "Access to email and calendar information on the go has become essential for business people. Launching the BlackBerry solution is an integral step to enrich our portfolio of integrated communication solutions to meet the market needs in the UAE", he added.

Based on its distribution agreement with RIM, Alcatel-Lucent is leveraging its strong local presence in the region to provide du with the end-to-end implementation, integration, launch and support services for delivering the BlackBerry solution to the UAE market. With Alcatel-Lucent managing integration and deployment, du can focus on delivering customer facing services, enabling the operator to quickly meet market demand.

"Our agreement with RIM further reinforces Alcatel-Lucent's ability to leverage our global strengths and local presence to deliver enterprise managed communications and value-added services, enabling the operator to quickly meet market demand. As a result, du customers will enjoy the freedom and flexibility of the BlackBerry solution for staying connected to communications and information whenever they wish," said Frederic Rose, president of Alcatel-Lucent's activities Europe, Africa and Asia.

"Together with Alcatel-Lucent, we are pleased to extend the availability of the BlackBerry solution to du customers," said Charmaine Eggberry, Vice President and Managing Director of RIM, EMEA. "The BlackBerry solution is a great choice for organizations and individuals that strive to be more productive, flexible, and ultimately more successful in work and life."

At launch du will offer the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8300, BlackBerry® 8800, BlackBerry® 8700g and BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8100 smartphones, as well as BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and BlackBerry® Internet Service.

The BlackBerry Curve 8300 is the smallest and lightest full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone. Its stylish design incorporates a large display and a range of advanced multimedia features, including a 2 megapixel camera that comes complete with 5x digital zoom, built-in flash, self-portrait mirror and full screen viewfinder. The BlackBerry Curve 8300 makes it incredibly easy to stay connected to the information and people that matter most.

One of the smallest and lightest smartphones on the market, the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 packs the power and functionality that users have come to expect from a BlackBerry smartphone. Beneath its sleek and stylish exterior, this award winning smartphone supports powerful communications and rich multimedia capabilities, which has made it popular among business users and consumers alike.

The slim and stylish BlackBerry 8800 smartphone is designed to satisfy the needs of demanding mobile professionals. It includes a full, highly tactile QWERTY keyboard with a range of features including built-in GPS, a multimedia player and an expandable memory card slot. The large, high resolution screen, with its automatic light sensing technology, makes viewing email, the Internet and other applications a pleasure.

The sleek and elegant UMTS-enabled BlackBerry 8700g includes a wide range of communications and connectivity features together with a full QWERTY keyboard. It can also be used as a wireless modem for laptops, offering mobile professionals more flexibility in how they stay connected.

du will enable customers to connect through BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, which tightly integrates with IBM Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® and works with existing enterprise systems, to enable highly secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate applications.

For individuals and smaller businesses, du will offer BlackBerry® Internet Service, which allows users to manage up to ten supported corporate and personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts) from a single device.

Source: Alcatel-Lucent