DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates, first to decide to suspend BlackBerry services in the region, will also be first to receive the latest model of the smart phone, The National newspaper reported on Thursday.
A spokeswoman for makers Research In Motion (RIM), in the report, said the Torch version of the phone, due for release next week in the United States, will be available in the UAE from October — the deadline set by the government to suspend key BlackBerry services in the country.
"It’s business as usual for us," The National quoted the spokeswoman as saying. "This is the first time a major RIM device is being released in the region so shortly after it becomes available in the United States."
The UAE announced on Sunday that the key BlackBerry services — messenger, web browsing and email — will be suspended from October 11 because they "allow individuals to commit violations" that the country can not monitor.
Its Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said on Wednesday that the decision was final.
However, "we remain open to discussions in order that an acceptable, regulatory-compliant solution might be developed and applied," TRA director-general Mohammed al-Ghanem said in a statement.
In a play to compete with Apple’s hot-selling iPhone which is loaded with multimedia functions, the Torch model of the BlackBerry combines touch screen, a new keyboard, a locations service and applications.
The company, which has set a US launch date of August 12, said users will be able to browse the Internet using pinch to zoom, like on the iPhone, and the means "to communicate any way they want."
While the iPhone’s popularity has soared because of its games, social networking, video watching and applications, BlackBerry has until now remained a favorite for business people craving secure wireless communications.
