Research In Motion (RIM) aims to offer a Japanese-language version of its popular BlackBerry device in the first half of 2007, a Reuters report said.
The Reuters report said RIM aims to expand its Blackberry lineup in Japan after it begins selling its first English-language model with Japan's biggest mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo.
The model, aimed mainly at business users, displays Japanese characters but does not allow their input, the Reuters report said.
'We're working to have a solution for entering Japanese fonts in the first two quarters of next year,' RIM president and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis told a press conference in Tokyo.
He also said users will be able to connect previous models of BlackBerry and update with the new software for free.
DoCoMo has received 1,400 orders for the new BlackBerry, mostly from foreign companies in Japan, the report said.
The company said it may market the Japanese-language model to individual consumers.
Ontario-based RIM has more than 6 million business customers in the world using its BlackBerry, which they use to check company email, browse the Internet and make calls, the report further said.