RIM goes back to Intel for BlackBerry

As previously reported, the long-awaited BlackBerry 8700c, which was code-named Electron, will use Intel's PXA901 cellular processor, code-named Hermon. The device will also come with 64MB of flash memory and 16MB of SRAM (static random access memory).

RIM's BlackBerry devices and messaging service combine to provide people with always-on wireless access to email and corporate data on portable devices.

Cingular Wireless will start shipping the device to customers starting on 21 November. It will cost $299 with a two-year plan. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications and BellSouth, will be the only wireless carrier offering the device in the US for a "period of months", RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said.

"We're not going into details - and you can expect to see other launches around the world in the not-too-distant future," Balsillie said.

The device will send and receive voice and data using EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) wireless networks. EDGE is a mobile network standard that lets users connect to the internet and send and receive data faster than traditional networks but slower than the more recent third-generation (3G) wireless standards.

This isn't RIM's first time using Intel chips. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company used 386 chips - the same type Intel sold into the PC market in the early 1990s - in its BlackBerry 950 and 957 handheld devices.

Intel already sells its XScale chips in the handheld market but they tend to be versions of older processors that provide lower levels of performance.

Balsillie said consumers will notice higher speeds than previous devices because of both the network and the new Intel chip.

The launch of the new BlackBerry comes as rivals - including Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia and Palm - step up their wireless email product lines in a bid for a share of the fast-growing corporate market.

Michael Singer writes for CNET News.com. Reuters contributed to this report.