Rogers Communications Inc, the owner of Canada's biggest wireless carrier, will start offering Research In Motion Ltd's new BlackBerry Bold on Thursday, the telecom firm said.

The Bold is RIM's most advanced smartphone to date and is the first BlackBerry to support high-speed HSDPA cellular networks. It comes with integrated GPS, Wi-Fi and a host of multimedia features.

RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie told Reuters in May that the smartphone, aimed at the company's base of business users, will cost between $300 and $400. AT&T will be its lead carrier in the United States.

A Rogers spokeswoman said pricing details were not immediately available.

The smartphone is expected to be available with carriers around the world by the end of this week, although AT&T has not disclosed when it will launch the device.

In part because the Bold is being launched with a large number of carriers around the world, its introduction is not simultaneous. For example, the smartphone is already available in Germany.

The Bold features the most vivid display ever on a BlackBerry, a 2-megapixel camera with video recording capability, and a media player for watching movies and managing music collections.

RIM shares eased 70 Canadian cents, or 0.5 percent, to finish at C$135.56 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. On the Nasdaq, they fell $1.79, or 1.4 percent, to close at C$127.01.

($1=$1.06 Canadian)

Source:Reuters