Mumbai, September 18, 2008: Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular service providers today announced the launch of the BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM). The BlackBerry® Bold™ delivers outstanding performance, powerful communications and multimedia applications giving Vodafone customers an exceptional mobile experience. The BlackBerry Bold is also the first BlackBerry® smartphone to support high-speed HSDPA networks around the world, making it a “must have” for business professionals and power users who aspire to strike the work life balance with style.

Crafted from premium materials inside and out, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone features a stunning HVGA LCD colour display and precision QWERTY keyboard, surrounded by a lustrous black exterior with satin chrome finished frame and stylish leatherette backplate, making it one of the most distinctive smartphones available in the world.

In addition, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with integrated Wi-Fi® and built-in GPS, and it is supported by a wide range of business and lifestyle applications that can enhance corporate productivity as well as personal entertainment. Together with its next-generation mobile processor and fast network access, the BlackBerry Bold also offers users a high speed web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction.

The BlackBerry Bold lets customers edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go® software suite, making it easier than ever to stay connected and productive while on the go.

“India is a thriving and important market for Research In Motion and we are very excited to be building on our strong relationship with Vodafone to introduce this best-in-class smartphone to our mutual customers. The BlackBerry Bold smartphone enhances communications and empowers business professionals to make the most of their time wherever they go, and it does so with elegance and style,” said Mr. Jim Balsillie, co-CEO, Research In Motion.

“The launch of the new BlackBerry Bold smartphone in India reiterates our commitment towards the customer experience. The BlackBerry Bold will enable our customers to stay connected efficiently with their professional and personal lives,” said Mr. Harit Nagpal, Director - Marketing and New Business.

Vodafone Essar
Priced at Rs. 34,990/-, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is expected to be available by the end of September, 2008 at select Vodafone Stores across the country.

Key features of the BlackBerry Bold smartphone from Vodafone India include:

• An elegant design measuring 114mm x 66mm x 15mm and weighing approximately 136 grams
• Tri-band HSDPA and quad-band EDGE support for global roaming*
• Stunning HVGA (480x320 resolution at 217 ppi) color display with integrated lens that provides eye-popping definition and clarity
• Enhanced, HTML browser that delivers high performance web browsing with desktop-style depiction
• Enterprise-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g)
• Built-in GPS with support for location based applications and services including geotagging; comes with BlackBerry® Maps preinstalled
• 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as a convenient externally accessible microSD/SDHC memory card slot** for up to 16GB of additional storage
• A removable/rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery
• DataViz® Documents To Go® preinstalled, enabling customers to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the smartphone
• 2 megapixel camera with digital zoom, built-in flash and video recording
• Advanced media player for viewing pictures, listening to music and watching videos; support for High Speed USB 2.0 enables quick file transfers between a PC and the smartphone
• BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software, which includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry®, a powerful media manager application that allows users to easily manage media files on their computer and transfer them to the smartphone; the BlackBerry Bold also comes with the new BlackBerry® Media Sync application for customers that want a simple way to sync their iTunes® digital music collections with the smartphone***
• Instant messaging with BlackBerry® Messenger, Google® Talk, Windows Live Messenger™ and Yahoo!® Messenger
• Support for the Facebook® for BlackBerry® Smartphones application, which enables fast, streamlined and optimized mobile access to the popular Facebook social utility
• Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, enhanced noise cancellation to offset background noise, a low-distortion speakerphone, and Bluetooth® (2.0) support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
• BlackBerry® Internet Service support that allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts
• BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support for enterprise deployments, enabling advanced security and IT administration within IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® environments

* Check with service provider for roaming services
** MicroSD/SDHC memory cards are available today in configurations of up to 8GB and the BlackBerry Bold is expected to support upcoming 16GB mircoSD/SDHC cards
** *Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies

About Vodafone Essar Limited
Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations in 17 circles covering over 86% of India’s mobile customer base, with over 50.95 million customers*. Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has been named the ‘Most Respected Telecom Company’, the ‘Best Mobile Service in the country’ and the ‘Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year’.

Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications company. It now has operations in 25 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 269 million customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market.

Essar Global Limited (EGL) is a diversified business group spanning the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping & Logistics, and Projects. EGL has an enterprise value of approximately USD 50 billion (INR 200,000 crore) and employs 30,000 people worldwide. The Company has operations and investments in India, Canada, USA, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and South East Asia.

*Figures from Cellular Operators Association of India, July 31, 2008

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

Media Contact:

Vodafone Essar
Daylon D’Cruz
Genesis Burson Marsteller
+91 98202 11064
daylon.dcruz@bm.com

Research In Motion
Satchit Gayakwad
PR Manager
Research In Motion, India
0 – 9892579925
sgayakwad@rim.com

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The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.