China Unicom and Research In Motion Launch BlackBerry Smartphones and Services

Beijing, China and Waterloo, Ontario - China Unicom and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced the launch of BlackBerry® smartphones and services in China. China Unicom will be launching the BlackBerry® Enterprise Solution, including the BlackBerry® Torch™ and BlackBerry® Curve™ 3G smartphones.

With its comprehensive 3G/WCDMA coverage in China, China Unicom has one of the most mature technology networks delivering innovative, high-quality and advanced 3G services to millions of customers in China. The BlackBerry smartphones and services will enrich China Unicom’s 3G offerings in the marketplace.

Trusted by millions of people globally, the BlackBerry solution brings together smartphones, software and services to allow easy wireless access to industry-leading email and messaging, social networking, phone, organizer, web, multimedia and other mobile business and lifestyle applications.

BlackBerry Torch Smartphone
The BlackBerry Torch features an exciting combination of a large touch screen, optical trackpad and backlit slide-out BlackBerry keyboard. It offers support for high-speed 3G networks around the world, includes the latest generation in Wi-Fi® (b/g/n) connectivity and features built-in GPS. Its 5 MP camera takes exceptional pictures with continuous auto focus, image stabilization, scene modes and zoom, and it also supports video recording. It comes with a combined 8 GB of media storage out-of-the-box and includes a microSD/SDHD memory card slot that can bring the total storage memory to 36 GB for customers who want more.

With the BlackBerry 6 operating system, the BlackBerry Torch smartphone offers a redesigned interface that seamlessly works with the touch screen and trackpad. BlackBerry 6 includes expanded messaging capabilities with intuitive features to simplify the management of social networking and RSS feeds. BlackBerry 6 also integrates a WebKit-based browser that renders HTML web pages (as well as HTML email) quickly and beautifully. Additionally, it features a new universal search feature, which allows users to easily search through email, messages, contacts, music, videos and more, as well as extend searches to the Internet.

The BlackBerry Curve 3G smartphone
The BlackBerry Curve 3G smartphone features a comfortable full-QWERTY keyboard for fast, accurate typing, optical trackpad for fluid navigation, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi and dedicated media keys that allow music lovers to easily play their tunes while on the go. The BlackBerry Curve 3G also features a camera that can record video and a microSD/SDHC slot that supports up to 32 GB memory cards for media storage. Support for 3G networks makes browsing faster, streaming music smoother, and gives users the ability to talk on the phone while they browse the web or instant message with BBM™.

The BlackBerry Enterprise Solution is recognized as the gold standard for enterprise mobility, and is a trusted and reliable tool for companies and government organizations around the world. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server software tightly integrates with IBM Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® and works with existing enterprise systems, to enable secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate applications.

Availability
BlackBerry smartphones and services will be available from China Unicom in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong from May 18. BlackBerry smartphones and services are expected to roll out to China Unicom’s operations nation-wide by September this year. BlackBerry service plans bundled with BlackBerry smartphones are available. Please contact the local operation of China Unicom for further details.