Please note: The IC EO and NIH Chief Information Officer (CIO) must approve all exceptions to procuring the HHS-standard PDA devices that use commercial wireless services. Exception requests must include documentation that supports the reason why the RIM Blackberry cannot fulfill the requirement. See Blackberry Acquisition Procedures and Purchasing Information.

NIH staff members are stongly encouraged to discuss their requirements with their IT support staff.

Hardware

• RIM Blackberry 8800 series

  The RIM Blackberry 8800 series has an advanced color screen, (about the same footprint as the 8700), with a much sharper resolution and a light sensing capability. Offering many of the features available with the 8700 series, the 8800 device offers Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities. The 8800 series uses EDGE technology run on a GPRS network and can be used internationally.

• RIM Blackberry 8700 series

  The RIM Blackberry 8700 series has an advanced color screen, larger than the 7200 series (about the same footprint as the 7700), with a much sharper resolution and a light sensing capability. The 8700 series device can be used even if a phone is not required; simply choose not to activate a voice plan (a phone number will be assigned to the device even without a voice plan). Making and receiving phone calls will be very expensive without a voice plan. The phone application can be removed from the device to ensure that telephone calls will not be placed or received. The 8700 series uses EDGE technology run on a GPRS network and can be used internationally

• RIM Blackberry 7700 series

  The RIM Blackberry 7700 series has a color screen, larger than the 7200 series, which makes web-based applications much easier to use. The 7200 series device can be used even if a phone is not required. Simply choose not to activate a voice plan (a phone number will be assigned to the device even without a voice plan). Making and receiving phone calls will be very expensive without a voice plan. The phone application can be removed from the device to ensure that telephone calls will not be placed or received. The 7700 series run on either a GPRS network (7730 from T-Mobile or the 7780 from Cingular), which can be used internationally, as well as CDMA2000 (7750 from either Sprint and Verizon), which cannot be used internationally. HHS does not currently have an agreement for Verizon Blackberry devices.

• RIM Blackberry 7500 series

  The RIM Blackberry 7500 series uses Nextel's iDEN network, which provides good coverage in the United States but cannot be used internationally. The 7520 includes bluetooth support and also provides a "push-to-talk" feature.

• RIM Blackberry 7200 series

  The RIM Blackberry 7200 series has a color screen which makes web-based applications much easier to use. The 7200 series device can be used even if a phone is not required. Simply choose not to activate a voice plan (a phone number will be assigned to the device even without a voice plan). Making and receiving phone calls will be very expensive without a voice plan. The phone application can be removed from the device to ensure that telephone calls will not be placed or received. The 7200 series run on either a GPRS network (7290 quad-band from T-Mobile or Cingular, 7230 tri-band from T-Mobile or the 7280 tri-band from Cingular), which can be used internationally, as well as CDMA2000 (7250 from Verizon), which cannot be used internationally.

• RIM Blackberry 7100 series

  The RIM Blackberry 7100 series features a form-factor that is more like a phone than a PDA. Models are available for Cingular (7100g) and T-Mobile (7100t). Both models feature Bluetooth support and can be used internationally.

• Cingular's GPRS/GSM network for the RIM 8800, 8700c, 7780, 7290 and 7280. See http://www.cingular.com/government/phones for Cingular information.

• Sprint's iDEN (formerly Nextel's) network for the RIM 7520 and 7510 does not provide coverage outside of the continental United States. Sprint plans to transition to a CDMA network for international coverage. See http://www.nextel.com/services/coverage/index.shtml for coverage.

• T-Mobile's GPRS network for the RIM 7730, 7290 and 7230. See http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/ for a map of T-Mobile's GPRS coverage.

• Verizon's CDMA2000 network. See http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/broadband/index.jsp for a map of Verizon coverage (including the CDMA2000 Express network, which is different that its standard CDMA coverage).

Networks

• GRPS. The General Radio Packet Services networks are offered in the United Stated by AT&T and T-Mobile. This network standard is also widely available in Europe and Asia, although coverage depends on roaming agreements.

• The CDMA2000 network is the sucessor to the CDMA networks that have been built extensively over the past several years. CDMA2000 will provide a significant increase in bandwidth for data (such as email and web browsing).

• The iDEN network features the "Push-to-talk" technology that has been widely adopted by many first reponse organizations. See http://nextel.com/cgi-bin/localMarketMap.cgi?zip=20892 for a DC Metro coverage map.

• Mobitex network currently offers a very wide range of coverage (see http://www.mobitex.org/). If an area is not already covered then it will not be in the future; the Mobitex network will no longer function after October 2006.