The company behind those nifty Blackberry mobile PDA devices you all seem to email me from these days (remind me why I haven't got one - oh yes, no one's given me one), Research In Motion, has announced it will be moving more into the consumer market with the launch of Pearl, its first phone to come with a camera and music player.
The move recognises how important music and video download services are to the long term strategies of the mobile firms, and RIM hope it will help them move out of the business market they have come to dominate, offering a more mainstream audience the kind of email and personal organiser services offered by the Blackberry, but also the more consumer friendly media download and consumption facilities.
The Pearl device, which will be launched initially by T Mobile in the US, but which RIM say will be taken up by a number of mobile networks around the world, comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, a video and music player and a slot to add extra storage space.
Confirming that the new product would launch next month, RIM COO Larry Conlee told reporters this week: "It really is our attempt to take Blackberry out of the boardroom. That's a big opportunity for Blackberry".