A New Crop of Gadgets
Challenge the BlackBerry

Motorola, Nokia, Palm
Plan Sleek, Speedy Devices;
Progress on Attachments

It's war on the BlackBerry.

For years, competitors have tried to crack the dominance of that little wireless email gadget that seems to be lurking in pockets, brief cases and handbags of busy professionals everywhere. So far, its maker, Research In Motion Ltd., or RIM, has managed to fend off most rivals by focusing on security, reliability, good battery life and other basic functions. But competitors are redoubling their efforts to challenge the Blackberry, introducing an array of devices with beefed-up features.

In the next few months, Nokia Corp., Palm Inc. and Motorola Inc. are planning to launch new or updated wireless email gadgets. Other big electronics makers, such as Samsung Electronics Co., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Siemens AG, also have strengthened wireless email in their latest products. Cingular Wireless LLC this week started selling H-P's new iPAQ hw6500 series Mobile Messenger for $399.99 with a two-year contract.

Two of the many wireless email challengers: Motorola Q (left) and Nokia E61 (right).

RIM is firing back with a new BlackBerry that addresses some of the long-held gripes of BlackBerry users. The company says the new 8700c model it announced yesterday for Cingular's high-speed wireless network will provide faster Web browsing and speed up attachment viewing. It will be available Nov. 21 at a cost of $299.99 with a two-year service contract.

Some of the new products may pose a bigger threat to the BlackBerry than previous versions that often didn't stack up, some industry analysts say. Compared with the BlackBerry, many past wireless-email devices were clumsier at sending and receiving corporate email.

The current competition isn't likely to spark a price war. Few comparable wireless email devices are priced below the BlackBerry. Lower prices or free offers are available, depending on the service-contract terms. Monthly service charges for unlimited wireless email often cost about $50.

As much as any single device, the BlackBerry has unchained people from their desks, allowing them greater flexibility and mobility in their professional lives. But it has also come to embody the 24-hour workday, as people are known to obsessively check them just before falling to sleep and first thing in the morning (as well as during dinner, while on the phone, and during the kids' soccer games).

The stakes are particularly high right now for RIM's rivals, who want to keep the BlackBerry from remaining the brand to beat for years to come. "Everybody in the business is trying to be the BlackBerry killer," says Clint Wheelock, vice president of wireless research with NPD Group, a research firm in New York.

Competitors argue their hardware offers greater choice for email systems that run on their products. But some rivals appear to be hedging their bets. Several versions of new products from competitors are compatible with the BlackBerry email system, under RIM's so-called BlackBerry Connect licensing program.

BlackBerry 8700c

Palm has long been RIM's most successful rival, with strong sales of the Treo. The Treo currently uses only the Palm operating system, but Palm recently made a deal to offer a version with Microsoft's wireless operating system.

Motorola is stressing the look and thinness of its new device, the Motorola Q, which is less than half an inch thick. It evolved from Motorola's equally thin Razr cellphone. The Q uses Microsoft Corp.'s latest mobile operating system. Motorola hasn't announced pricing.

RIM's competitors "just get better as a result of past mistakes," such as poor radio performance for transmitting messages on some models, says John Jackson, an analyst for Yankee Group, a Boston-based research firm. While some previous Motorola wireless email devices didn't catch on, he says Motorola's Q model has both functionality and style.

Cellphone giant Nokia has its "first serious entry" into the wireless email market with its E series, due out world-wide in the first quarter, says Mr. Wheelock of NPD. The E61, like Motorola's Q, has a BlackBerry-type layout with a thumb-based QWERTY keyboard. It will be priced in the $500 range globally, Nokia says, but rebates or discounts could lower the price.

According to NPD Group, Treo and BlackBerry are running about even in consumer sales, with more than 300,000 of each sold per quarter in the U.S., while other comparable products are well behind.

Treo with Windows Mobile

Verizon offers a BlackBerry 7290 for $249.99 with a two-year contract, while the Treo 650 sells for $399.99 with a two-year contract. Other new devices are pricier. Verizon offers the Samsung i730, which features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, for $599.99 with a two-year contract.

Monthly service charges must fall sharply from their current level of around $50 range in order for wireless email to become a mass-market product, says Ken Dulaney of Gartner. Both Nextel and Verizon have unlimited BlackBerry email plans for $49.99, and T-Mobile has an unlimited plan for $39.98.

Some less-expensive, limited-use service plans are available. Cingular, for example, advertises various plans ranging from $19.99 for five megabytes of data per month to $44.99 for unlimited data. Limited-use plans are usually avoided by most users, since the numerous emails most people receive quickly use up such plans' allowable amounts. A five-megabyte plan, for instance, might allow only about 30 emails per month.

Carriers increasingly are offering alternative wireless email technology and services, in addition to BlackBerry, from RIM competitors such as Good Technology Inc., Seven Networks Inc., Intellisync Corp., and Visto Inc.

Service providers often sell cellphones and email devices below cost to increase sales, making the difference back from monthly service charges. In a recent regulatory filing, RIM said it expects average BlackBerry prices "to decline over the longer term" due to the lower-cost 7100 phonelike models, future models "and increased competition in the industry."

RIM's current legal battle could complicate its plans to fend off its rivals. RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is fighting a patent-infringement suit by Virginia patent firm NTP Inc., which is seeking an injunction on U.S. BlackBerry sales and service from District Court in Virginia. The injunction would prevent RIM from selling its popular BlackBerry wireless email product and service in the U.S., the company's biggest market.

Many observers say an actual BlackBerry shutdown is unlikely. James Balsillie, RIM chairman and co-chief executive officer, says that even if RIM loses the case, the company has alternative technology to keep BlackBerrys running. RIM in March had agreed to pay NTP $450 million to settle the dispute, but the pact later broke down over an undisclosed disagreement.

Write to Mark Heinzl at mark.heinzl@wsj.com