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Late to the BlackBerry bandwagon, Sprint today finally started selling a Research In Motion (RIM) handheld -- the BlackBerry 7750 -- on its Nationwide PCS Network. Sprint is the second U.S CDMA carrier, after Verizon Wireless, to offer 7750, which is virtually identical to the BlackBerry 7780, reviewed by SmartPhoneToday a few months ago (see Review: RIM Ups Ante with BlackBerry 7780).

As North America's second largest CDMA vendor, Sprint can use its considerable resources to support RIM's surprisingly rapid rise in the mobile world. It should also help Sprint win customers who, in ever increasing numbers, find the allure of a BlackBerry-based data access and e-mail too compelling to pass up.

Sprint Business Solutions VP Tim Donahue said "BlackBerry is a powerful and popular solution for business customers, and its availability on the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network allows Sprint to offer an unmatched suite of wireless e-mail options and serve the needs of business customers regardless of size, security requirements, management control needs or compatibility issues."

Why BlackBerry? Why Now?
Over the past several months some of the most important news out of Research In Motion (RIM) resulted from the company's aggressive licensing strategy (see RIM Bolsters Bottom Line by Licensing). For instance, a growing number of mobile device companies, platform providers, and wireless carriers, such as Motorola, PalmSource, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Siemens AG, T-Mobile, 02 and Samsung, have signed on to offer RIM's "push" based e-mail on their own hardware.

With all this talk of licensing, it wouldn't have come as a surprise to find out that RIM may have been mulling plans to exit the mobile device business for software-based technology solutions. However, the recent release of a revamped BlackBerry smartphone for the consumer with a revolutionary new keypad (see RIM Makes Bid for Consumers with 7100t), a seemingly never-ending slew of standard BlackBerry handhelds for numerous world markets, and now the Sprint deal paint a very different picture.

In fact, research firm Gartner reported last week that the only companies to sell more handhelds than RIM last quarter were mobile giants palmOne and Hewlett-Packard. The BlackBerry vendor saw its market share jump from only 4.9 percent last year to 19.8 percent this year, a remarkable leap forward.

BlackBerry 7750

Like all BlackBerries, the 7750 integrates e-mail, voice calling, Internet browsing and a QWERTY thumb-keyboard. The new Java-based wireless handheld has 14 MB or Flash memory and 2 MB of RAM, a high-resolution (240 x 160 pixel) backlit display that supports 65,536 colors, a thumb keyboard that is also backlit, an integrated earpiece and microphone, as well as a hands-free headset.

It weighs 5 ounces and measures 4.76 x 3.03 x 0.71 inches. The BlackBerry's removable/rechargeable Lithium delivers 198 minutes talk and 8 days worth of standby power.