New made-in-Canada BlackBerry app tops worldwide download charts

TORONTO, Aug. 4, 2009 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) The Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA) has developed BTSidekick, a free BlackBerry application designed to help business travelers find the things they need while on the move, including hotels, restaurants, banks, gas stations and coffee shops.

Since its release on July 16, BTSidekick has become one of the most downloaded applications from BlackBerry App World(TM) and remains as one of its top 25 downloads.

“Convenience is key when you are on the road and need to find a hotel or other businesses quickly and easily,” says CPSA president and CEO Harvey Copeman. “BTSidekick determines where you are, what’s nearby, and how to get it – all in one easy-to-use application.”

CPSA members can use BTSidekick to find local businesses and take advantage of special member-only discounts for hotel and car rentals. Savings are available for members at more than 10,000 hotels around the world, and car rentals such as Avis, Hertz, and Thrifty. Anyone can get a free 90-day membership to try out these savings with no obligation to join.

“BT Sidekick is a natural evolution of our CPSA travel program,” says Copeman. “We took a page out of Google’s playbook with ‘free’ as a business model, and we are offering the application free to anyone in the world who has a BlackBerry. We are confident that once people see the travel discounts, they will want to become CPSA members.”

CPSA is also considering “white labeling” opportunities for BTSidekick with companies and associations paying a license fee to make the application available to their customers or members.

“This is an all-in-one app that can be used anywhere in North America and several countries in Europe and Asia,” says CPSA’s IT head Aaron Pais. “We’re also planning to make BTSidekick an open application so programmers throughout the world can add innovative features and benefits.”

Find BTSidekick at BlackBerry App World(TM), or at www.BTSidekick.com. See it in action by visiting the BTSidekick Channel on YouTube at www.youtube.com/btsidekick.

About the Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA)

Founded in 1874, CPSA is a national association comprised of nearly 30,000 business travellers in the sales and marketing professions. Members enjoy special rates on hotels, car rentals, airport parking, insurance, and much more. Visit www.CPSA.com for more information.

SOURCE: Canadian Professional Sales Association