RIM have announced a new software app intended to allow home users the same push-email as business subscribers have; called “Unite Server”, the program installs on an always-on PC at the user’s home and is accessed by the BlackBerry handset rather than RIM’s own servers.  Unite Server acts both as the push-email gateway and as a local storage point for messages; it can also manage music, video and images that are sent to the BlackBerry.

The service will be offered first in Spain via a deal with the Telefonica network, with subscribers choosing a special BlackBerry Unite plan; the roll-out continues in Europe over the following months, with Germany next in line.  No prices have been announced, so it’s difficult to say how this might compare to packages using RIM’s own network.  However, I would imagine that, after the BlackBerry outage earlier this week, business customers might be looking at Unite as potential same-platform redundancy should the RIM system go down again.

The news comes as RIM announces a deal with Alcatel-Lucent that will enable pre-paid plans for push-email.  Users will have regular alerts indicating how much credit the have left, and be able to choose between topping up their plan and continuing access to the service, or letting it lapse.

[via Electronista]