RIM

BlackBerry Flips Out

Bernie — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:30:16 -0400

RIM formally introduced its first flip, or clamshell, BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 was formally unveiled at the CTIA I.T. tradeshow, taking place this week in San Francisco. “The quad-band EDGE based BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone presents a sophisticated look with a sleek design and a chrome-finished frame surrounding its smooth, luminescent face. Packed with an abundance of powerful features, it weighs only 3.6 ounces and measures approximately 3.9” x 1.9” x 0.7”,” said RIM in a company statement. The new flip phone has all of the BlackBerry functions smartphone users have come to love, including:

SureType QWERTY keyboard
Bluetooth 2.0
BlackBerry Media Sync
High Speed USB 2.0
Wi-Fi with support for UMA
Compatible with BlackBerry Internet Service, BlackBerry Unite!, BlackBerry Professional Software and BlackBerry Enterprise Server

The phone is scheduled for release this fall. Flip phone designs haven’t really worked too well for the smartphone crowd. But RIM is making an aggressive push into the consumer market, and this new design is aimed squarely there.

New Treo 850 Looks to Take on RIM/Apple

Bernie — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:15:19 -0400

The new Treo 850 or Treo Pro is the slickest looking Treo to date. Engadget has the scoop with photos to boot. From a design point of view, this new Palm is heads and tales better than the tired looking traditional Treo. It resembles the new Blackberry Bold, with traces of an iPhone. Lord knows Palm could use a smartphone hit. They’ve been trampled by RIM and Apple lately. The Treo 850 is believed to be a Windows Mobile device and will offer Wi-Fi and a 400 MHz processor with 100 MB of RAM. I’ve always had a sweet spot for Palm, being one of the first on “my block” with a Treo 600. I traded it up to the Treo 700, but got a little tired of it and moved on to the HTC/Sprint Mogul. Now I’m getting a little tired of that, and this new Treo 850 looks enticing. Let’s hope it’s more than just looks, for my and Palm’s sake.

RIM Makes Bold Step Towards iPhone

Bernie — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:35:36 -0400

RIM introduced its answer to the iPhone’s move into the enterprise space in a Bold way. The Bold is RIM’s first 3G phone. The Bold hopes to stem the pending iPhone enterprise tide, by introducing similar features and a new style and design. It sets up what will be an interesting and pitched battle for RIM’s historical base – enterprise wireless customers. The new Bold will be exclusive to AT&T for a short while in North America and will offer tri-band HSDPA high-speed access, integrated GPS, Wi-Fi access, a faster processor, and 1 GB of onboard memory. The Bold is expected to launch sometime this Summer.

The Bold also attempts to provide an alternative to the iPhone’s rich multimedia heritage. Some key multimedia features include:

on-the-go web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction
a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, built-in flash and 5x digital zoom
a media player which can display pictures and slideshows quickly and play movies in full screen mode
audio can be played over the handset’s dual speakers in stereo sound, and when using wired headphones or external speakers, the media player gives the user an equalizer with 11 preset filters
includes the Roxio Media Manager for BlackBerry as well as Roxio Photosuite 9 LE, which makes it easy to enhance pictures
synchronization of iTunes digital music collections through the new BlackBerry Media Sync application

In addition to Apple’s move on the enterprise sector, they are also rumored to be close to launching a 3G iPhone soon. Early indications are that the Bold will provide some competitive cover for RIM against the iPhone, especially considering their embedded customer base and superior email functionality. But Apple has the touchscreen, marketing prowess, cool factor, and an almost cult like following. Add 3G capability to that mix, and the iPhone will certainly be a contender to fear. Stay tuned.

AT&T and RIM Partner for SMB Blackberry Solutions

Bernie — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:42:37 -0400

AT&T and RIM have announced the availability of the BlackBerry Professional Suite platform for small and medium business customers. Previously available to enterprise customers only, the BlackBerry Professional Suite offers an integrated wireless communications, collaboration, and security suite of applications for BlackBerry users. The small business version provides support for up to 30 users. It enables wireless access to e-mail, calendar, contacts, business data and Internet access. RIM announced the launch of the BlackBerry Professional Suite targeting small business back in November 2007.

RIM Targeting Small Business With New Plans

Bernie — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:17:38 -0500

Research in Motion, the producer of the venerable BlackBerry mobile device, announced the launch of BlackBerry Professional Software (BPS), targeting small and medium business. BPS aims to deliver much of the same functionality of the widely deployed BlackBerry Enterprise platform, but is priced at $499 for a 5 user license and $849 for a 10 user license. The new small business focused product set is available immediately.

Enough With the iPhone Already – AT&T To Launch Dual Mode Blackberry

Bernie — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:15:48 -0400

RIM announced the launch of a dual mode Blackberry, which will operate on both GSM and Wi-Fi networks. The new Blackberry 8820 will launch on the AT&T network. It didn’t take long for RIM to get this new device to market. We reported about the FCC approval of the Blackberry WI-Fi device on July 9th. The new 8820 Blackberry also supports unlicensed mobile access (UMA) technology, which allows for seamless roaming between GSM and Wi-Fi. Although AT&T’s plan for UMA are somewhat unclear at this point. AT&T is expected to bring the 8820 to market later this summer.