BlackBerry Bold 9900 & Curve 9360 Get MasterCard PayPass Certification

RIM announced this morning that the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360 are now the “World’s First SIM-Based Smartphones to Receive MasterCard PayPass Handset Certification.” That is not to shabby for RIM since these devices are freshly launched. France Telecom Orange is the first carrier to benefit from the certification and plans to use the NFC features for contactless payments.

Check out the quotes below from Orange, RIM, & MasterCard:

"We are happy to offer the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360 as part of the Orange range of mobile NFC devices. We are committed to actively marketing NFC devices, and these new smartphones will help accelerate the adoption of mobile NFC services secured by an Orange SIM, including mobile payments," said Vincent Barnaud, Director of Contactless Services at France Telecom – Orange. "We have a strong partnership with RIM, and look forward to working together on more NFC initiatives in the future."

Andrew Bocking, Vice President, Handheld Software Product Management at RIM said, "NFC technology is making smartphones even smarter and the MasterCard certification is a significant step forward in helping transform the way we use mobile devices for payments. We are working proactively with our carrier partners, banks, retailers and other industry players and we are excited to push the boundaries of how NFC can enable new mobile experiences for BlackBerry smartphone users around the world."

"MasterCard is proud to be the first to certify these popular BlackBerry smartphones for mobile payments, and offer consumers another simple, easy, safe and convenient way to pay. In card payments, MasterCard has long been a leader in the testing and certification of products – for the benefit of customers, issuers, merchants and acquirers. We are delighted to extend this leadership role into the mobile payments arena and applaud RIM’s efforts to usher in the next phase of NFC adoption by delivering compliant devices to the market," said Mung Ki Woo, Group Executive, Mobile at MasterCard Worldwide. "The availability of NFC on popular BlackBerry smartphones is an important milestone for the mobile contactless payments business."

"We are happy to offer the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360 as part of the Orange range of mobile NFC devices. We are committed to actively marketing NFC devices, and these new smartphones will help accelerate the adoption of mobile NFC services secured by an Orange SIM, including mobile payments," said Vincent Barnaud, Director of Contactless Services at France Telecom – Orange. "We have a strong partnership with RIM, and look forward to working together on more NFC initiatives in the future."

Andrew Bocking, Vice President, Handheld Software Product Management at RIM said, "NFC technology is making smartphones even smarter and the MasterCard certification is a significant step forward in helping transform the way we use mobile devices for payments. We are working proactively with our carrier partners, banks, retailers and other industry players and we are excited to push the boundaries of how NFC can enable new mobile experiences for BlackBerry smartphone users around the world."

"MasterCard is proud to be the first to certify these popular BlackBerry smartphones for mobile payments, and offer consumers another simple, easy, safe and convenient way to pay. In card payments, MasterCard has long been a leader in the testing and certification of products – for the benefit of customers, issuers, merchants and acquirers. We are delighted to extend this leadership role into the mobile payments arena and applaud RIM’s efforts to usher in the next phase of NFC adoption by delivering compliant devices to the market," said Mung Ki Woo, Group Executive, Mobile at MasterCard Worldwide. "The availability of NFC on popular BlackBerry smartphones is an important milestone for the mobile contactless payments business."

 

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360 Are World’s First SIM-Based Smartphones to Receive MasterCard PayPass Handset Certification

- Carriers globally will now have access to the first NFC smartphones certified as MasterCard PayPass(TM) approved devices
- France Telecom – Orange amongst first to benefit from MasterCard certification awarded to RIM

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Oct. 26, 2011) – Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced the BlackBerry(R) Bold(TM) 9900 and BlackBerry(R) Curve(TM) 9360 smartphones are the first SIM-based NFC smartphones to be certified by MasterCard Worldwide as PayPass-approved devices.

The certification was granted on the basis of the BlackBerry(R) smartphones meeting the functionality, interoperability and security requirements of MasterCard. With this certification, any MasterCard PayPass-issuing bank globally will be able to deploy MasterCard PayPass-enabled accounts to the SIM card of these smartphones.

The ecosystem to allow customers to take advantage of the certified BlackBerry smartphones for NFC payments is already growing. France Telecom – Orange believes that mobile NFC has the potential to enable a new revolution in mobile by further connecting people’s mobile digital world with the physical world around them. France Telecom – Orange is the first operator worldwide to have commercial NFC launches in two countries, UK and France, with trials in several European markets.

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Orange y RIM lanzan el smartphone BlackBerry Curve 9360 con el nuevo sistema operativo BlackBerry 7 y tecnología NFC integrada

Orange España esta vez se adelanta al resto de operadores lanzado el smartphone BlackBerry Curve 9360. No os dejéis engañar por el nombre, que aunque sea de la serie Curve las características del mismo son excelentes, vaya nada que ver con la Curve 8520 y mucho más que ver con la Curve 8900, merece la pena comparar con otros dispositivos de RIM para saber con detalle los mismos y diferencias, lo podéis hacer desde http://us.blackberry.com/smartphones/compare/. Me atrevería a decir que también es digno sustituto de los actuales usuarios de 9700/9780, que sin querer la pantalla táctil de la Bold 9900 y su mayor tamaño, quieren un dispositivo con la misma dimensión que los de la serie 97, pero incorporando BlackBerry 7, NFC, cámara de 5 Mpx con Flash y la misma resolución de pantalla de 480×360 pixels.

Os adjunto la nota de prensa recibida de su lanzamiento:

Madrid, 24 de octubre de 2011 – Orange y Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) lanzan el nuevo smartphone BlackBerry^® Curve™ 9360 con el sistema operativo BlackBerry^® 7, la última adquisición de la conocida serie de smartphones BlackBerry^® Curve™.

Este nuevo modelo de la familia de los smartphones BlackBerry Curve se caracteriza por su atractivo diseño: fino, con un grosor de tan sólo 11mm, y ergonómico, gracias a su cómodo e icónico teclado y a su trackpad óptico, que permiten teclear con rapidez y precisión, así como la navegación y uso con una sola mano.

Además de su renovado diseño, el nuevo smartphone incluye altas prestaciones como conectividad móvilHSDPA/HSUPA, GPS y Wi-Fi^®, así como una cámara de 5MP con flash y grabación en vídeo. Para un almacenamiento adicional de contenidos multimedia, su ranura microSD/SDHC soporta tarjetas de memoria de hasta 32 GB. Incluye como novedad tecnología NFC (Near Field Communications), integrada una nueva tecnología que ofrece un sinfín de capacidades, como emparejar accesorios o leer etiquetas SmartPoster con un sencillo toque en el dispositivo.

BlackBerry Curve 9360 es el primer Smartphone de la familia BlackBerry Curve en incorporar el nuevo sistema operativo BlackBerry 7, que presenta un navegador de última generación mejorado, que combinado con las novedades en hardware de este nuevo modelo, ofrece a los usuarios una experiencia de navegación web más fluida y bastante más rápida además de un rendimiento HTML5 optimizado para óptimas experiencias de juego y vídeo.

El nuevo smartphone BlackBerry Curve 9360 estará disponible para nuevos clientes autónomos y empresas de Orange asociado a las tarifas Habla y Navega, que desde sólo 19 €/mes permite disfrutar de una tarifa plana de voz, tráfico ilimitado de correo BlackBerry y navegación por Internet. También estará disponible para clientes actuales a través de todos los programas de renove para autónomos y empresas.

Orange and T-Mobile UK release the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Torch 9860

 

As you may have noticed from my BlackBerry Buyer's Guide that T-Mobile and Orange had yet to release a BlackBerry 7 device, leaving our CrackBerry users on those networks out to dry. Today however, that has changed as both T-Mobile and Orange have pulled a double-whammy and released both the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and the Torch 9860.

On Orange the Bold 9900 is available free from £41 a month on a 24-month contract and T-Mobile has it free from £40.85 per month on a 24-month contract. With the Torch 9860 you can get the Bold 9900 free from £36 a month on a 24-month contract on Orange and £35.74 a month on a 24-month contract from T-Mobile.

T-Mobile and Orange can now rejoice that they can finally get their hands on some BlackBerry 7 devices. It's not surprising to see both networks release the devices at the same time since they merged a few years back, to create Everything Everywhere, but still trade under their own names. The merge means that customers on each network can roam on the other network without being charged.

More information/purchase from Orange

More information/purchase from T-Mobile 

Official OS 7.0.0.400 for the BlackBerry Curve 9360 now available from Orange Spain

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 seems to be picking up traction as it hits more carriers across the globe, and today we have a shiny new OS to keep things running smoothly. OS 7.0.0.400 is now available for the Curve 9360 from Orange Spain. Reports are good on this one so far, so if you have a Curve 9360 then get to downloading and fire this one up. If you do install, be sure to hit the forums and let us know your findings. As always, use caution when installing any OS on your device.

Download OS 7.0.0.400 for the Curve 9360

Discuss more in the forums

Official OS 7.0.0.400 for the BlackBerry Curve 9360 from Orange France

The BlackBerry Curve 9360 has yet to show its face stateside but that has not stopped rollouts elsewhere. The latest we have seen is from Orange France who just put out an official OS 7.0.0.400 for the BlackBerry Curve 9360. We have no idea what is new in this version but supposedly it includes some new native app updates like BlackBerry Maps.

Download OS 7.0.0.400 from BlackBerry.com

Thanks JD for sending this one in via ZonaBlackBerry via BBNews.pl

Warning: This OS will not install on any other BlackBerry besides the one mentioned above. Don’t forget to delete the vendor.xml file located in c:program files>common files>research in motion>apploader to install it on a different carriers device. If you do not know how to upgrade your BlackBerry OS please start by reading this step by step guide.

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BlackBerry PlayBook disponible con Orange y Yoigo

Pues silenciosamente ha hecho acto de aparición la tableta BlackBerry PlayBook en los catálogos de Orange y Yoigo, antes estaba solo disponible con Vodafone para empresas y autónomos. Nos enteramos gracias la aviso de @victorendrino , que comenta y envía una foto de lo que ha visto en un catálogo de The Phone House de Ofertas de verano.

Los precios van asociados a la contratación de una tarifa de datos, Internet Para Llevar IPL25 o IPL8 en el caso de Yoigo y la Internet Everywhere IE39 o IE 23 en el caso de Orange. Aunque creo que dichos contratos son para todo el público, no como sucede con Vodafone que su oferta se centró exclusivamente para autónomos y empresas.

Phones 4 U and Carphone Warehouse add Orange and O2 to their pre-order list

Phones 4 U and Carphone Warehouse have had the BlackBerry Bold 9900 available for pre-order for a while now but only via the Vodafone network. Since Vodafone themselves now have the Bold 9900 available on pre-order7, CPW and Phones 4 U have now added Orange and O2 UK to their list of networks the device can be purchased on.

Phones 4 U has a delivery date of August 24th. While Carphone Warehouse gives us an expected delivery date of August 18th, though forum users have reported that some Carphone Warehouse stores seem to have their dummy displays up already.

On a separate note, I spoke to a Vodafone customer service representative earlier today and they said the Bold 9900 would be delivered on August 15th if pre-order through their website or over the phone. Vodafone store availability should be the same but going on what usually happens, it seems some stores will get priority over other stores.

Discuss more in the forums

Pre-order from Carphone Warehouse

Pre-order from Phones 4 U

Pre-order from Vodafone UK