Research In Motion, the developer of BlackBerry, will sell the popular e-mail phones in China by the end of this year through its distribution partner Alcatel Lucent, the companies said yesterday.

It marks RIM's official entry into the world's largest cell phone market, and China Mobile will be the service provider.

RIM has worked with China Mobile since last year on service issues but people can't yet buy BlackBerry phones in China.

The first model offered to Chinese customers in foreign enterprises will be the BlackBerry 8700. Availability for domestic enterprise customers in key markets is expected to begin later this year, Alcatel Lucent said in a statement.

TCL Communications, a major Chinese mobile phone manufacturer owning the brand Alcatel, will make the BlackBerry phones.

Canada-based RIM had its share estimate raised to US$150 from US$125 at UBS AG after announcing the plan. RIM's stock advanced 9.8 percent to US$124.53 on Tuesday.

"The BlackBerry platform offers robust and unmatched benefits for enterprise customers that wish to enhance mobile productivity and competitive advantage. We look forward to building on the early interest and momentum we are experiencing in China with both multinational and domestic corporations," Jim Balsillie, RIM's co-CEO, said in a statement.

Alcatel Lucent, which provides products to mobile carriers and enterprises, will help RIM to expand in China as both companies target enterprise users, according to Sandy Shen, an analyst at Gartner Inc.

"BlackBerry will grab market share in the high-end market and influence brands like Dopod, Nokia and Motorola in this segment," Shen said.

By the end of June, more than 670 enterprise clients, including Coca-Cola, Nokia, Standard Chartered, and 3,482 personal users, had subscribed to Shanghai Mobile's BlackBerry service since the service launched in May last year.

Shanghai Mobile charges users 398 yuan (US$52.58) to 598 yuan a month for the BlackBerry services, which allow users to access e-mail, the Internet, phone calls and corporate data.

(Shanghai Daily October 25, 2007)