RIM may offer touchscreen BlackBerry
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Research In Motion  may bring  out a touchscreen version of its popular BlackBerry e-mail  device if customers want it, according to co-chief executive  Jim Balsillie, who expects to deliver new high-speed devices  soon.
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Blackberry nation might get turned on its side if RIM ever brings the angled keyboard described in a recent patent application to the market.
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(InfoWorld) - Research In Motion has finally announcedÂ the BlackBerry 8800, the multimedia business handset whose details RIM leaked following Apple's iPhone announcement, apparently to offset the company's sliding stock price. The 8800 is RIM's most developed effort to date to combine theÂ Pearl 8100'sÂ consumer-oriented features in a package similar to the business-oriented 8700. In practice that means features such as integrated GPS, a 2.4-inch color screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, a high-capacity battery, and trackball navigation in a case wider (and slightly thinner) than the Pearl and noticeably thinner than the 8700. The QWERTY keyboard is designed to improve upon the Pearl's use of a numeric keypad with SureType, but the keys are a bit more cramped than those of the 8700, initial reviewers said. There are said to be models available with or without a camera. The built-in GPS can be used with included navigation software for an extra monthly fee. It has voice-activated dialing, a speakerphone, Bluetooth 2.0, a media player, and a microSD memory card slot, with quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and Wi-Fi. So far, Orange, Vodafone, and T-Mobile have all announced rollout plans for the device in Europe, while AT&T has an exclusive launch deal in the U.S. RIM's Competition The handset may be an improvement over previous BlackBerry models, but RIM now has other kinds of competition to worry about, particularly in the user-interface department. The company is rumored to be working on a complete interface overhaul with the BlackBerry 9000 series, but in the meantime Microsoft has launched Windows Mobile 6, and touch-screen phones areÂ on the way from Apple, Samsung (the Ultra Smart F700, announced ahead of 3GSM), and LG (the KE850 Prada phone). There are also other handsets such asÂ Samsung's BlackJackÂ that fall into a similar price bracket to the 8800 but offer 3G networking, something lacking in RIM's models. Push e-mail and GPS are also no longer unusual in higher-end handsets. "This handset will be extremely appealing to mobile professionals who have demanding work and social lives," said Charmaine Eggberry, RIM EMEA vice president and managing director, in a statement.
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Columnist Craig Mathias expects that eventually there will be some kind of merger of technologies between the iPhone and the Blackberry that will incorporate the iPhone platform and the BlackBerry's push e-mail supported via a Web interface.
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While popular among financial-industry types, the BlackBerry is practically unknown to everyone else. RIM hopes to change that with its new model.
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(InfoWorld) - Rumors that Microsoft may purchase BlackBerry maker Research in Motion are likely just that because of RIM's high price tag, though there would be benefits for both parties if a deal were struck, analysts said Friday. Michelle Warren, a senior analyst for Info-Tech Research Group in Toronto, sent out a note Thursday on industry speculation that Microsoft is in discussions with RIM, observing that the deal would give Microsoft ammunition to compete in the consumer device market against Apple. It also would position them well to fight any wireless strategy from Google, which has been buying up dark cable networks and is expected to make a big move in wireless communications in the next year or two, she said. "I think this makes sense basically because Microsoft has to do something different to order increase market share in the overall IT market," Warren said in an interview Friday. "It has to do something disruptive and eye-catching, and this speaks to its marketing positioning and future expansion plans." Microsoft has achieved a fair amount of success with its latest mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6, and has identified the mobile device space as an important one for the company's growth and revenue diversification going forward. Buying RIM would counter its current weakness in developing hardware for its mobile OS, Warren said. RIM would gain Microsoft's brand power and also engineering expertise for one of BlackBerry's competitive differentiators. Business users find a BlackBerry's ability to communicate with Microsoft Exchange Server for mobile e-mail an attractive feature. Microsoft also makes this option available in Windows Mobile. Synching up with Microsoft would allow the company to enhance this capability faster and more efficiently, Warren said. Neither Microsoft nor RIM would comment Friday on the possibility of a deal. Despite the advantages of a Microsoft-RIM merger, the deal just doesn't make economic sense, other analysts said Friday. To them, it's not even a remote possibility Microsoft would pony up more than the $47 billion in market cap RIM currently has to buy the vendor. "I just don't see it," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft. He acknowledged he was surprised byÂ Microsoft's purchase of digital advertising services firm aQuantiveÂ for $6 billion and so also could be mistaken in the case of RIM. However, it isn't likely that Microsoft, for which the aQuantive deal was its largest to date, would shell out much more than a few billion to purchase a company. "A RIM deal would be larger by an order of magnitude," Rosoff said. "I just don't see Microsoft making that size of acquisition." He added that some kind of strategic alliance between the two, which currently compete head to head in the mobile OS space, would be more likely. "A multiyear partnership agreement, where some money might change hands but we'd never know how much," would make more sense, Rosoff said. Roger Kay, president of market intelligence firm Endpoint Technologies Associates, agreed that Microsoft likely won't make a purchase that large. He also noted that although Microsoft has become increasingly "more comfortable" with developing consumer hardware -- with products like the Xbox 360 gaming console and Zune digital media player on the market -- there could be thorny competitive issues with mobile device makers that license Windows Mobile if Microsoft begin making hardware for this market.
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Maker says use in cell phones would enhance keyboard experience.
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Executives who are longtime BlackBerry users will have to teach their right thumb some new tricks if they switch to a model introduced on Monday.
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Research in Motion (RIMM ) started a revolution five years ago when it rolled out the first BlackBerry wireless e-mail device. The BlackBerry keyboard seemed too small to be usable, until you tried it.
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Now head-to-head with Microsoft Mobile Workshop After dominating the enterprise mobile email space with the BlackBerry solution for so many years, RIM is no longer the only serious game in town. Despite a number of false starts, arch-rival Microsoft now appears to have closed the gap, at least in terms of forward looking commitment.â¦
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RIM's new multimedia BlackBerry set to compete with Apple iPhone and high-end handsets from Samsung and LG.
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It&#39;s now possible to enjoy all the benefits of a full featured QWERTY keyboard in a small wireless device, thanks to Research In Motion&#39;s (RIM) new patent-pending SureType keyboard.
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Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq:RIMM) (TSX:RIM) today introduced the innovative new BlackBerry 7100v(TM) for mobile professionals, further expanding choice for Vodafone&#39;s BlackBerry(R) customers.
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Nokia said on Tuesday that it plans to enhance its Series 80 line so that the mobile devices come preloaded with BlackBerry software from Research In Motion.
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Those business users who can't make the leap to Apple's iPhone may be happy to hear that Research in Montion has unveiled a new BlackBerry model that offers quad-band GSM support and Wi-Fi connectivity in the company's thinnest form factor yet.
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(InfoWorld) - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) announced record high subscriber growth and strong device shipments in its first quarter, a sign that some users aren't putting off smartphone purchases ahead of Friday's iPhone launch. In fact, RIM says theÂ hype around Apple's iPhoneÂ has helped its business by focusing attention on multi-function handsets. "I think [Apple] did us a great favor because they drove attention to the converged appliance base...we think the attention given to [the iPhone] and its impact on the dynamic has been overwhelmingly positive for us," said Jim Balsillie, co-CEO at RIM, in a conference call on Thursday. RIM signed up 1.2 million new BlackBerry subscribers in the three month quarter ending June 2, pushing its total to over 9 million accounts. RIM executives cited strong growth in India, in particular. Sales and net profit at the company both hit all time highs, with sales at US$1.08 billion, up 76.5 percent year-over-year, and net profit up 73.2 percent to $223.2 million. The company expects to break more records in its second quarter. RIM forecast that it will add 1.325 million to 1.375 million new subscribers in the quarter with the potential for sales to reach almost $1.4 million. "The momentum we are seeing in terms of product launches, carrier support in terms of product launches of BlackBerries, and subscriber additions is exceptional, and we believe it will continue on into the second half of the year," said Balsillie. Device shipments will also continue to soar. RIM expects to ship 3 million units in the second quarter, up from 2.4 million in the first quarter, due mainly to new products such as the BlackBerry Curve, as well as continued strength in older models such as the BlackBerry Pearl and 8800, RIM executives said. Â
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Apple's newly unveiled iPod Touch, which has no voice capability but offers a touch-screen user interface, could interest business users seeking a portable Web browser now that it offers Wi-Fi connectivity.