Rogers Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) have introduced the new BlackBerry (News - Alert) Pearl 8120 smartphone for customers in Canada.

 

This new smartphone supports Rogers Home Calling Zone, a UMA based service from Rogers that enables customers to make unlimited voice calls over a wireless Internet connection.

 

The service works by connecting calls through a voice wireless router over a high-speed Internet connection when at home and can switch to the cellular network when out of range, according to Rogers.

 

Rogers’ officials said that the new service leverages the dual-mode Wi-Fi and cellular capabilities of the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone for both cellular and home calling.

 

Customers can use the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone inside and outside the home, which enables them to stay connected whenever they want.

 

Measuring 107mm x 50mm x 14mm and weighing approximately 91 grams, BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone from Rogers comes equipped with Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g); 2 megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom, built-in flash and video recording capability.

 

Additional features of this smartphone are advanced media player; support for high speed USB 2.0 for transferring of files between a PC and the smartphone; accessible microSD/SDHC expandable memory slot for additional storage; along with support for downloading music directly from the Rogers MusicStore.

 

This smartphone also offers Rogers Do More portal enabling access to a variety of mobile applications for business and personal use; instant messaging option with BlackBerry Messenger, Google Talk and Yahoo! Messenger also support for the Facebook (News - Alert) for BlackBerry Smartphones application.

 

Moreover, this device features enhanced noise cancellation to offset background noise, a low-distortion speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.0) support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals; SureType keyboard system, including new word completion and spell check features and other advanced features.

 

“Rogers Wireless (News - Alert) is proud to add the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 to our extensive lineup of BlackBerry phones, and especially to our innovative Home Calling Zone service, a Canadian first," said John Boynton, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Rogers Wireless.

 

He also said that with the UMA-enabled BlackBerry Pearl 8120, not only will customers have the benefits of RIM’s push email solution, they can also experience the flexibility and convenience using their BlackBerry phone for both home and away, with Rogers Home Calling Zone.

 

Mark Guibert, vice president of corporate marketing at RIM, added that in addition to Wi-Fi connectivity for both voice and data, the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone offers rich multimedia features and mobile messaging capabilities in a compact and stylish design.

 

“The Rogers Home Calling Zone service adds another valuable dimension to the customer experience and helps make the new BlackBerry Pearl 8120 an ideal phone for both personal and business use,” he added.

 

Companies inform that the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 retails for $149.99 with activation on any combination of 3 year voice plan and 3 year BlackBerry data plan from Rogers.