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Chinese Telecom Company Launches 'RedBerry'

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the friends-in-your-corner dept.

Ubergrendle writes "The Globe&Mail is reporting that Chinese telecom company China Unicom Ltd. is launching a new wireless device unapologetically named 'Redberry'. This comes in the wake of an almost 2 year regulatory delay blocking the introduction of RIM's Blackberries to mainland China. Certainly this delay was convenient to China Unicom, if not deliberately staged to allow for domestic competition."

4 of 287 comments (clear)

  1. Why is blackberry so unique? by jimmyhat3939 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    What I don't understand is the pervasiveness of the Blackberry product for email. Email is an extremely simple application for a client to do, requiring just a simple TCP/IP stack and the ability to do either POP3 or IMAP. I believe that most cellphones now have some email capability built into them. Also, there exist plenty of WAP web-based email platforms out there.

    That leaves just the mini-keyboard interface as the big deal in the space. Personally, I'm not all that impressed by that as an input mechanism. But, if people like it, why isn't it copied all over the place? Is the concept of a little QWERTY keyboard seriously patented? Also, what about all those other ideas like having two letters assigned to each keyboard button and then having the phone sort it out based on what it thinks you're probably trying to type? Or something like a chording keyboard (though that would require learning)?

    So anyway, what's the big deal with Blackberry in particular. Why is this stuff so hard/interesting/compelling?

    --
    Free Conference Call -- No Spam, High Quality
    1. Re:Why is blackberry so unique? by oGMo · · Score: 4, Insightful
      So anyway, what's the big deal with Blackberry in particular. Why is this stuff so hard/interesting/compelling?

      Don't look for a "killer feature", because there's not a specific killer feature. In fact, each of the Blackberry's features alone is pretty mediocre. This may be hard to understand, but it happens sometimes.

      The trick is that, taken as a whole, it has just the right amount of everything to make it a "killer device". Email works well enough. Web works well enough. Calendar is decent. Everything integrates with Exchange. The phone interface is really nice, and the address book is good and can do directory lookups. Companies can run their own internal servers and keep the devices behind the company firewall (big difference between general cell phones). The screen is big enough to read and the full keyboard (or half keyboard with uncannily good predictive text for the more phone-like models) is a must. Connectivity is constant wherever you have cell coverage. For a regular work day, this addresses just about everything.

      Finally, you can charge it, and it'll remain connected and on the data network at all times for days before you have to recharge it. And it charges over USB. It will even work offline (i.e. no cell/data network). I can't remember the last time I actually turned mine off, though I have turned off wireless to save battery or switched off work email.

      There are other neat features, as well, like the holster functionality. (Unlike any cell phone I've seen, when it's in the holster it will be silent/vibrate, and when it's out it will ring. Nice for never worrying if your phone will embarrass you in a meeting.)

      These features taken as a whole, without being loaded down by stuff like cameras and other useless trinkets, make it a very useful device. No, nothing is particularly outstanding. But it's the right combination of ingredients.

      --

      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

  2. that doesn't seem very sporting of 'em by vykor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hm. Is there a reason why the United States is just letting the Chinese practice their blatantly economic-nationalist trade policy, all the while sitting under the pretenses of free trade? How that particular "regulatory tangle" not constituting a barrier to free trade? Where are the retaliatory sanctions?

    1. Re:that doesn't seem very sporting of 'em by grumpyman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Talking about "sitting under the pretenses of free trade", Canada and US has actually signed something called free-trade agreement, yet Canada keep iron-fisted by the US government in so many fronts - softwood lumber, wheat, beef... For one moment if you think China is the only country practising 'blatantly economic-nationalist trade policy', think again.