China Unicom (CHU), one of the two major mobile service providers in China, has launched its own Redberry push email service.
By applying for this Redberry service, users of China Unicom's CDMA mobile phones will be able to automatically receive emails via their mobile phones without logging into their inbox.
Analysts quoted in local media believe that this service will bring much growth for China Unicom so long as it can solve a persistent connection problem with the email service providers.
Last month, Research in Motion (RIMM) began discussions with China Mobile (CHA) about launching a BlackBerry service in the mainland market.
Katie Lee, a spokesperson for RIM, told Hong Kong media that the company is quite interested in the mainland market and is negotiating and testing the service with China Mobile. However, there is not a definite date for the formal launch of the service.
At present, RIM runs BlackBerry services in several areas of Asia, including Hong Kong.