Turkcell, Turkey's largest carrier, has released the BlackBerry Bold 9900 for its customers and new buyers. For customers who are post paid subscribers to Turkcell, they can buy the device with two contract options: either for 12 months with monthly payments of 153 TL (82 USD) or 24 months with monthly payments of 90 TL (48 USD). Customers who opt for the contract also receive the full BIS packages from Turkcell. For those who wish to get the device without a contract, they can purchase it from Turkcell Communication Centres for 1700 TL (916 USD).
As of now Turkcell officials state no other new line BlackBerries will come to Turkey through Turkcell. However the official promotion of the BlackBerry PlayBook was made at Movenpick Hotel Istanbul by RIM and the device is expected to hit shelves next month. As of now there are 450.000 BlackBerry users in Turkey out of a population of 75 million, and 49 million who use mobile phones. RIM and the Turkish government came face to face when the Institution of Information Technologies threatened RIM with the of banning BlackBerry Service in Turkey when RIM denied providing the institution with the crypto codes protecting the privacy of the users. The issue was dropped when the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned the institution that many high level Turkish diplomats would be able to communicate securely if the service is banned.
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