Apr 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Mary Rose Roberts

Research and Motion recently released its newest hand-held enterprise tool — the BlackBerry 8800 smartphone, a quad-band, GPS device that operates on Rogers Wireless' EDGE network.

The BlackBerry 8800 communicates over commercial networks, including GSM, GPRS and EDGE and uses Bluetooth to support peripherals, such as barcode scanners and printer interfaces. Users can expect 5 hours of battery life and staple BlackBerry features, including support for phone; e-mail; text and instant messaging; Web browser; organizer; multimedia; and corporate data. It also incorporates a QWERTY keypad.

The device now has a built-in GPS receiver that runs location-based software applications. This includes BlackBerry Maps, which provides on-screen driving directions by tapping into the GPS function. It also can generate maps based on data entered into its standard address book function and supports third-party applications, said David Heit, the company's director of enterprise product management. It also can pinpoint the user's location.

“Having a GPS receiver in the device saves the user from having a GPS/Bluetooth peripheral, or [needing] another device altogether that handles that function,” Heit said.

There currently are no plans to add a ruggedized casing to BlackBerry devices because of price-sensitivity issues, according to Heit.

The BlackBerry 8880 costs $200 to $300.

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