China Mobile and RIM yesterday announced plans to support TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE technologies on the BlackBerry® smartphone platform. China Mobile and RIM also announced plans to launch BlackBerry® Internet Service and BlackBerry smartphones for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and professional consumers.

Since the launch of the BlackBerry solution by China Mobile in 2006, China Mobile and RIM have been focused on successfully introducing the solution to enterprise customers in China.

The latest developments in the strategic relationship between the two companies will see China Mobile and RIM cooperating to drive continued growth in the enterprise business segment and to introduce BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry smartphones to the extensive SMB and professional consumer markets in China. In addition, China Mobile and RIM will collaborate on the development of BlackBerry smartphones that will support TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE technologies.

BlackBerry Internet Service is expected to be available from China Mobile in 2010. BlackBerry Internet Service together with BlackBerry smartphones will support a wide range of applications including access to social networking sites as well as email and instant messaging. BlackBerry Internet Service from China Mobile will also support customized content through services such as Mobile Market, FETION and other Web-based services.

Digital China Holdings Limited (Digital China) (Stock Code: 00861.HK) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) announced a distribution agreement for BlackBerry® smartphones in China at Dec 7th. This strategic business initiative will help RIM further expand its business in China by leveraging Digital China’s local expertise and nationwide distribution network.

Commenting on the partnership, Guo Wei, Chairman and CEO, Digital China, said, “As the leading IT service provider and distributor in China, Digital China has always believed in advanced and cutting-edge products that deliver value to Chinese customers. Through this collaboration, RIM will leverage Digital China’s proven professional services and nationwide coverage to reach more customers and to increase the visibility of the BlackBerry solution across the country.”

Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, Research In Motion, said, “We are delighted to reach a distribution agreement with Digital China. Business partnerships are an important aspect of RIM’s strategy and Digital China’s extensive knowledge and market presence will further expand the opportunity for RIM in China.”

According to the recent RIM's activities in China, we can believe that Chinese users will soon get Blackberry officially in hand.

Not far away from RIM introduced their next gen touch-screen phone, Storm2, RIM updated their official site again and announced the new Blod 9700 known as Onxy today.

Key features of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone include:

• Sleek design measuring 4.29" x 2.36" x 0.56" (109 mm x 60 mm x 14.1 mm) and weighing only 4.3 oz (122 grams)
• Sharp and dazzling 2.44” light-sensing display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi)
• Highly tactile full-QWERTY keyboard – with finely sculpted keys and chrome frets – for fast, accurate typing
• Innovative touch-sensitive trackpad that allows intuitive and responsive navigation 
  
• Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) with support for Wi-Fi calling via UMA where available
• 3.2 MP camera with variable zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording
• BlackBerry® OS 5.0, offering users email management and calendar enhancements* as well as a better browsing experience with faster JavaScript and CSS processing
• Built-in GPS for maps and other location-based applications, as well as photo geotagging
• Media player for videos, pictures and music (music play now extended up to 38 hours), plus support for BlackBerry® Desktop Manager for both PCs and Macs, and BlackBerry® Media Sync for easily syncing iTunes® and Windows Media® Player music with the smartphone**
• 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, dedicated volume controls, Lock and Mute keys seamlessly integrated across the top of the handset
• microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB cards today and is expected to support 32 GB cards when available; a 2GB card is included
• 256 MB of Flash memory
• Access to BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, IM and social networking, news, weather, productivity and more.
• Premium and easy-to-access phone features, background noise suppression technology and high quality speakerphone
• Bluetooth® (2.1) with support for Secure Simple Pairing, hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals
• Support for BlackBerry® Internet Service and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server
• Available in two versions to support various carrier 3G network frequency combinations:
  • UMTS/HSDPA 2100/1900/850/800 MHz and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM
  • UMTS/HSDPA 2100/1700/900 MHz and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM
• Removable, rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery that provides approximately 6 hours of talk time and 17 days of standby time in 3G mode

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone is expected to be available from carriers around the world beginning in November.

Another news is that the mysterious BlackBerry 9700 will ship on AT&T right in time for a nice Black Friday launch if testing goes smoothly. Let's wait and see!

RIM is doing pretty well even in the face of an economic downturn, it translates an 84% growth in profits in the past three years, a 77% growth in revenue, and a total return of 45%.

While we can see from the tables in another post, RIM's market share grows 41.6% since last year. Can we say that the RIM time has come?