Thin Blackberry 8800 Released

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RIM released the BlackBerry 8800, the thinnest BlackBerry handset yet, equipped with a QWERTY keyboard, trackball navigation, built-in GPS, a media player, a microSD expandable memory slot and a stereo headset jack.

The quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE-enabled BlackBerry 8800 will be offered by Cingular with a dark blue finish and push-to-talk capabilities, starting later this month. Cingular will sell the phone for $300 with a two-year contract.

The 8800 pads the existing business-focused product line. The 8800, RIM is adding some multimedia features to its line of phones for business users. The device will include noise cancellation for enhanced audio performance, a low-distortion speakerphone, Bluetooth 2.0, and support for polyphonic, MP3 and MIDI ringtones. A high-resolution 320 x 240 landscape display screen is also equipped with light sensing technology that will adjust the screen, keyboard and trackball brightness for various lighting environments.

The device is slated to be available from Cingular as well as a variety of GSM carriers worldwide.