Airtel and Research In Motion Launch the Wi-Fi Enabled BlackBerry 8820 Smartphone in India

Company News

New Delhi, October 1, 2007

Airtel and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today launched the BlackBerry® 8820 smartphone in India. The BlackBerry 8820 is the first dual-mode BlackBerry® handset combining EDGE/GPRS/GSM cellular network and Wi-Fi® connectivity. The BlackBerry 8820 also features built-in GPS that can pinpoint its location; and with the Wayfinder navigation application introduced by Airtel, it supports turn-by-turn navigation and the ability to map and share routes. The BlackBerry 8820 is now available from Airtel at MRP of Rs. 31,990.

The BlackBerry 8820 smartphone supports the 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards to enable data access over enterprise Wi-Fi connections, as well as through public hotspots and home networks in India. The smartphone works in conjunction with both BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and BlackBerry® Internet Service and can seamlessly switch between cellular networks and a Wi-Fi network to allow users to access email, Instant Messaging, organizer, web browsing and other mobile data applications.

Thanks to the WayFinder* application, users can plan trips, save favorite locations and easily share routes and maps by email. WayFinder supports voice-assisted turn-by-turn navigation and provides maps covering major cities and road networks in India. It is available for a free trial of six months.

“We are excited to bring India’s first dual mode Wi-Fi enabled BlackBerry 8820 smartphone to our customers,” said Mr Sanjay Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel. “This exceptional device underlines our commitment to innovation and delivers a best in class communication experience to Airtel’s business, corporate and professional consumers.”

“The BlackBerry 8820 is a sleek, stylish and powerful smartphone with best-in-class communications and connectivity features for Indian business professionals,” said Norm Lo, Vice President of Asia Pacific at Research In Motion. “We are pleased to introduce the BlackBerry 8820 in India with Airtel.”

Featuring RIM's thinnest smartphone design, the BlackBerry 8820 comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, large and bright display (320 x 240), user-friendly trackball navigation system, best-in-class voice and data functionality, Bluetooth® 2.0 support for use with hands-free headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals. The BlackBerry 8820 also includes RIM's latest media player enhancements and a microSD / microSDHC (microSD High Capacity) expandable memory slot that can support current and future generations of microSD memory cards up to 32GB. Support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ringtones is also included.

The BlackBerry 8820 features a new and powerful desktop media manager, the Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry®, which allows users to easily search for media files on their computer, view and organize them, create MP3 music files from CDs, add audio tags, create playlists and automatically copy or convert pictures, music and videos for optimal playback on the smartphone.

To meet various security requirements, the BlackBerry 8820 is compliant with Wi-Fi security protocols including WEP (Wireless Equivalency Protocol), WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) and WPA2, as well as Cisco Compatible Extensions for simple, secure connectivity with Cisco wireless solutions. For enterprises that require Wi-Fi users to access the corporate network through a VPN (Virtual Private Network), the BlackBerry 8820 includes IPSec-based software that supports the most commonly deployed VPN gateways from vendors including Cisco, Check Point and others.

The BlackBerry wireless platform gives customers the capability to deploy a variety of applications and business solutions from third party software providers to support business needs such as CRM, sales force automation, field services, business intelligence, supply chain management and continuity of operations, as well as a broad range of industry-specific applications for sectors including health care, law enforcement, government, financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical, professional services, real estate, manufacturing, wholesale and retail.

For further information, please contact:

Yusuf Uz Zaman / Prem Subedi / Sonal Bisht

Rediffusion | DYR (PR)

Mobile: 9871995990 / 9810868873 / 9871388366

Telephone no: 41669349/ 26512658 /59/97

Fax - 41669350