RIM inks distro deal with Brightpoint

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has inked a distribution deal with Brightpoint that aims to extend BlackBerry's popularity outside of the North American market. Only one-third of RIM's customers are outside the U.S. and Canada and Apple is quickly making strides to court enterprise users all over the world with its iPhone handset. The deal is a big win for Brightpoint, which already has deals with HTC, Nokia and others. Brightpoint expects to handle 100 million devices this year, or about 8 percent of total devices shipped.

For more on the deal:
- read this report [1] from the WSJ (sub. req.)

Related:
RIM sues Motorola over patent licensing fees [2]