BlackBerry redoubles iPhone challenge
'Cracks the uncrackable'
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CTIA Wireless As part of its ongoing effort to reinvent the BlackBerry as an iPhone-battling consumer-friendly handheld, Research in Motion has announced a bevy of new after hours services for its corporate email baby.
A year after his other half announced a new Facebook app for the BlackBerry, co-RIM CEO Jim Balsillie turned up at the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment trade show this morning to announce, yes, MySpace for the BlackBerry.
"We are very excited to announce a very special relationship with MySpace available on BlackBerry," Balsille said, during a long, rambling speech about how great his handheld is. "You now have this rich connection [to MySpace]. There's message notification. You can browse photos and share them. You've got status and mood on the go. You can view profiles, read messages, and post comments."
Certain people love this sort of thing. According to the co-CEO, Facebook is the fastest growing Blackberry app ever, with over 2.5m downloads since its launch at this same trade show last fall.
Balsille also unveiled a TiVo app that lets you schedule TV recordings from your BlackBerry, a Ticketmaster app that lets you buy concert and event tickets, a music app from internet radio outfit Slacker, and the BlackBerrization of search engine also-ran Microsoft Live Search.
These announcements came a day after RIM trumpeted three new BlackBerry models, including the first BlackBerry flip phone, due to reach the market this fall.
"I think we've cracked the code of the smartphone flip," Balsillie said this morning. "It was considered uncrackable before."
Yesterday, the company also announced that the BlackBerry has finally embraced AIM and ICQ instant messaging clients. That means the platform now supports all five of the major IM networks. ®
COMMENTS
@Norfolk Enchants Paris
"- they are still 'Look at me' devices to bolster egos or make up for inadequacies on other areas
-they are still over-hyped
- they are not as good as many other offerings"
Are you talking about the BlackBerry? That sounds more like the iPhone. The only other smartphone I like is the Treo (PalmOS, please!) and, oh yeah, it has the same BlackBerry keyboard.
Whats wrong with Canadians? I for one am happy that these fine devices aren't from the US, at least that means my BIS isn't stuck with draconian US rights to read all my e-mail thinking I'm "Terry Wrist".
@AC FaceBerry - the icon that appears on your main screen isn't the app itself; it just means your service books have been updated and now include the app. Clicking on it will direct you to the "download link". I'm not about to bloat my BB with that thing!
@only me
Dear Only Me,
All emails to a blackberry go via RIM's servers in Canada. As these are black boxes and transfer data between devices, thereby forming a proprietary network.
Even if this were not so :
- they are still 'Look at me' devices to bolster egos or make up for inadequacies on other areas
- they are still over-hyped
- they are not as good as many other offerings
- RIM sounds like a gay pasttime. Can we all vote to call Blackberry users 'RIMmers' from now?
- They are Canadian
So please stop waving your little blackberry about, pull up your zipper, and move on quietly.
Love Heart because you may not have got enough hugs as a child. So here's one for you. NB That is not an invitation to RIM me, just so you know.
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