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The "real" wireless BlackBerry - may arrive in Europe after all

It's a bit like Railtrack launching its own trains. RIM won't launch the "real" BlackBerry in Europe: so Transcomm is going to produce its own version, the TWM-3, and blow a "Raspberry" to BlackBerry

The original BlackBerry, a wireless device which is the favourite toy of so many American executives, isn't the same thing as the one Research In Motion (RIM) launched in Europe; and which is being sold through Cellnet and its parent, mmo2. Rather, it's a simple two-way pager which clips to a belt. And in America, it runs on the Mobitex packet data wireless network, not on the GSM band; but RIM never launched a Mobitex device outside America, because it couldn't.

The gap may be filled by the Mobitex operator, Transcomm, which will launch its own GrapeVine service in May, with its own "two-way messager" device, the TWM-3 - providing universal wireless email over POP3 to mobile workers in niche markets.

GrapeVine services will probably cost between £20 and £25 a month, and the TWM-3 will probably cost £250 odd, coming down to £150 over time. If it sounds useful, don't wait for someone to advertise it. You'll have to hunt for it, because Transcomm won't be spending money marketing it. "We think we'll do it by viral marketing to our existing niche markets," predicted Transcomm CEO Andrew Fitton; "for example, it might work very well for transport people as a way of doing proof of delivery."

The GrapeVine device will be launched in May. See Why Transcomm is competing with its biggest wireless customer, RIM for full details.