Research in Motion, in collaboration with Porsche Design, launched its latest BlackBerry smartphone Porsche Design P’9981.

The exterior is made up of a forged stainless steel frame and the rear is covered with hand-wrapped leather. It also boasts of a laser cut QWERTY keyboard.

The P’9981 comes fully functional with 8 GB of hard-drive memory, a 1.2 GHz processor, as well as Dual-Band Wi-Fi capabilities and offering 720p HD video.

The recently announced BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the latest handset to receive the golden touch from luxury brand Amosu Couture.

The handset features a 24 carat gold bezel and can be customized to include Swarovski crystals, diamonds or personalized engraving.

There is also an option to purchase a handmade leather, python or crocodile case to match the phone.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion just announced its iPad rival at its developers conference in San Francisco.

The PlayBook is aimed at business customers, co-chief executive Michael Lazaridis said during a speech at the conference.

The device is 9.7 millimetres thick and features a seven-inch touch screen. That’s smaller than the iPad’s 9.7-inch display.

It can run both HTML 5 and Flash 10.1 and has a one gigahertz dual-core processor with one gigabyte of RAM.

InterContinental is to become the first chain in the industry to pilot technology that allows guests to open their guestroom with a smartphone.

The group will roll out the technology, designed by OpenWays, to two US Holiday Inn properties, gathering feedback from the first guests to use the system.

Travelers staying at the Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago O’Hare Rosemont and the Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown will have the option to enroll in the program prior to their check-in date.

A decision to suspend key BlackBerry smartphone services that were deemed noncompliant with the laws of the United Arab Emirates is “final”.

“The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s (TRA) decision to suspend certain Blackberry services from October 11th is final,” WAM quoted a statement by TRA director-general Mohammed al-Ghanem as saying.

“We remain open to discussions in order that an acceptable, regulatory-compliant solution might be developed and applied,” WAM quoted him as saying.

Monocle has teamed up with BlackBerry to produce 100 unique Bold 9700 handsets.

Each device comes pre-loaded with Monocle’s 25/25 travel guides to the best business cities in the world and will also include specially design wallpapers.

They have 16GB cards and are also supplied with battery, charging pod, world charger, media player headset, USB and gift packaging.