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Posts Tagged ‘ RIM ’

RIM Focuses on Future with BlackBerry 10

By Fei on May 3, 2012

By Tony Bradley
May 3, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO – RIM president and CEO Thorsten Heins seemed upbeat and optimistic giving his first ever BlackBerry World keynote this morning. While some–myself included–have questioned whether or not RIM has a future at all, RIM demonstrated throughout the keynote that it believes the future is bright, and it’s called BlackBerry 10.
Heins began the BlackBerry World keynote by highlighting smartphone usage statistics. According to the data shared by RIM, the 77 million BlackBerry users around the globe are more engaged with social networking, and interact more from their BlackBerry devices than the averages for smartphones in general.

After the introductory pleasantries, Heins unveiled the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device. It’s a buttonless slab–bigger than your typical smartphone, but smaller than a PlayBook, which is on the lower end of size for the tablet market. I’d say the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device was a 5-inch device, roughly the size of the original Dell Streak, or the Samsung Galaxy Note.

As the name implies, the device is loaded with an early Alpha build of the BlackBerry 10 platform. Attendees of the BlackBerry Jam developer conference that coincides with BlackBerry World will each be given a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device to work with.

The world has been waiting for the new and improved BlackBerry platform, and the accompanying devices for some time. Heins explained, “We’re taking our time to make sure we get this right.”

Makes sense. Microsoft seemed to come quite late to the game with Windows Phone, but it is a solid, innovative platform that was worth the wait. It’s much better for RIM to take its time and get it right than to rush to market with a half-baked platform just to get something on the shelf. RIM already tried that–it’scalled the PlayBook.
RIM demonstrated some of the features and capabilities of BlackBerry 10 during the keynote. It looks fairly impressive. BlackBerry 10 uses a swiped pane interface that reminds me of the Facebook or Twitter apps on the iPad. RIM also showed off an innovative predictive typing capability, and a camera app that captures a segment of time rather than a specific moment–giving you the ability to move back and forth over a few seconds of time to find the best photo.

Heins summed it up with, “It’s all about making BlackBerry people more agile.”

Does BlackBerry 10 look like the Holy Grail that will return BlackBerry to its former glory, and rightful place of dominance atop the smartphone market? In a word, no. That ship has sailed.

But, perhaps the better question is “Does BlackBerry 10 look capable and innovative enough to excite users and keep BlackBerry in the game?” Yes, I think so.

Assuming BlackBerry 10 is delivered on time, and that the real-world hardware and software deliver an experience close to what RIM demonstrated on stage, it seems to me that RIM will regain some of its lost relevance and keep its place among the top three or four mobile platforms rather than fading into oblivion.

Apple beats RIM in its own back yard

By Fei on March 26, 2012

By Ben Camm-Jones
March 26, 2012

LONDON – Research in Motion (RIM) is facing the ignominy of a home defeat to Apple, with the iPhone now outselling BlackBerrys in Canada.

Figures from market research firm IDC, reported by Bloomberg, show that the Ontario-based smartphone maker sold 2.08 million handsets in Canada in 2011, compared to 2.85 million sales of Apple’s iPhone.
RIM has always done well in its home market compared to Apple – in 2008, BlackBerrys outsold the iPhone by five-to-one. In 2010, RIM was some half a million units ahead of Apple.

RIM does still have some markets where it is well ahead of Apple, though, such as the Middle East – where conservative values lead younsters to seek ways of contacting members of the opposite sex secretively such as the BlackBerry Messenger service – and Latin America.

RIM’s success in the past was down to the company’s relationship with mobile network operators, which in turn pushed BlackBerry handsets to their customers, as well as big businesses, who would issue the devices to employees.

However, the growing trend of BYOD (bring your own device) in the workplace has helped Apple, with many employees opting for iPhones due to the wide choice of apps on offer then using them as handsets for work as well.

Meanwhile, RIM is on the lookout for an iOS app developer, job listings posted on LinkedIn recently revealed. According to the company this is to help with the development of its BlackBerry Mobile Fusion platform, which is designed to help business manage a wide variety of mobile devices including BlackBerrys, iPhones and Android devices.
“In order for BlackBerry Mobile Fusion to perform advanced management functions for iOS devices, RIM will develop an on device client to be included as part of the overall solution,” a RIM spokesman told AllThingsD.

RIM recalls about 1,000 PlayBook tablets

By Fei on May 17, 2011

By Matt Hamblen
May 17, 2011

FRAMINGHAM – Research in Motion said it has recalled an estimated 1,000 PlayBook tablets, indicating a small number had reached customers who were unable to properly load software at setup.

Engadget first reported that the group of faulty PlayBooks had been shipped to Staples Inc., but that report could not be confirmed. RIM’s recall statement appeared in several published reports but RIM could not be reached for further details.

RIM said most of the problem devices were still in warehouses or stores and hadn’t reached customers. RIM said it will replace the affected devices and told customers who had received one to contact RIM for assistance.

The 7-in. PlayBook has not been perceived as a device that would outsell the iPad or iPad 2 tablets, but is expected to draw greater interest from corporate IT and business users of BlackBerry smartphones .

Still, the PlayBook got lukewarm reviews when introduced April 19, partly because it doesn’t have natively installed email, requiring users to rely on Web email or a Bluetooth tether to a BlackBerry smartphone already connected to corporate email through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. RIM was also generally criticized for taking so long to launch the tablet, first unveiling it last fall.

Late last month, RIM warned its first quarter results would be lower than expected and said smartphone launches would be later than expected. Its stock has dropped in recent weeks. First quarter results are due out June 16.

Microsoft, RIM take on Google in mobile search

By Fei on May 5, 2011

By Matt Hamblen
May 5, 2011

FRAMINGHAM – Microsoft’s investment in putting its Bing search and maps in BlackBerry mobile devices by the fall holiday season pits Research in Motion and Microsoft against Google in a massive scramble for mobile search customers.

Like Microsoft’s recent billion-dollar-plus investment in Nokia, analysts speculated that Microsoft is probably paying RIM “boatloads” for the partnership deal, although Microsoft would not reveal any terms.

The announcement Tuesday that Microsoft is “going to invest uniquely in the BlackBerry platform ” came from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in a surprise keynote appearance at BlackBerry World in Orlando, Fla.

Immediately, several analysts noted the importance of the move, given the growth in smartphones and the use of mobile search in advertising and location-based purchasing.

“This shows that the battle for mobile search is on,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner and a Computerworld columnist, in an email.

“Ballmer’s presence at BlackBerry World is a great example of the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Gartenberg said. ” Google indeed is the enemy in this case.”

Ballmer said that Bing would become the default search provider in the browser and maps on BlackBerry devices, adding, “I’ve never been more excited about where our future is going.”

The news was such a surprise that analysts attending BlackBerry World said that RIM officials couldn’t immediately explain any of the details to them.

A Microsoft spokeswoman clarified in an email to Computerworld that Microsoft and RIM announced a partnership to “make Bing the preferred search and maps provider on all new BlackBerry devices … starting this holiday season.” She said Bing will be the search default for the BlackBerry browser and the default search and maps provider on new RIM devices that are “presented to mobile operators in the U.S. and select international markets.”

Asked to clarify the difference between being the “default” and “preferred” provider of Bing, the Microsoft spokeswoman said that Bing would be the default search and maps provider on new RIM devices when they are presented to carriers, but noted that “the carrier can change the default,” which means Bing is still preferred by RIM but carrier customers will also have other choices for mobile search.

Kevin Burden, an analyst at ABI Research, said that while Bing will be the preferred search engine on BlackBerry devices, Bing will not be the only search and mapping tool available on those phones. “The companies are saying they will put more emphasis on Bing and that it works better … than Google,” Burden said.

In a blog posted later Tuesday, Microsoft’s Bing Director Matt Dahlin noted that Bing is already shipping as the default search and map application for the recently released BlackBerry PlayBook. “Together we’ll also market and promote the strength of our joint offerings as ‘Making better decisions with Bing on BlackBerry,’” he said.

Dahlin also said there will be a “convergence of search, commerce, social and location-centric searches where Bing will provide the intelligence and the organizing layer in the cloud that connects a user’s intent with action, helping people be more productive.”

Deciding to work together against Google makes sense for both RIM and Microsoft, analysts said.

“RIM doesn’t really want Google as the default search and mapping tool, since RIM competes so heavily with Android, also made by Google,” said Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates.

Meanwhile, “Microsoft has the potential to make lots of money with Bing search and services, so it’s a win for Microsoft and takes revenues that Google would have had. So both companies get something out of this and both are poking at Google with this partnership.”

Gold noted that Microsoft already has a partnership with RIM on cloud-based hosting services through RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server and with office productivity software.

“Even though Microsoft has Windows Phone 7 [an operating system for smartphones that Nokia and others will deploy], the potential revenue implications for Bing are actually far greater than WP7,” Gold added.

Burden said that the partnership with RIM is “almost like a kind of safety net for Microsoft since what happens if Windows Phone doesn’t take off? The safety net is to make sure you have a mobile play and that Microsoft isn’t shut out completely.” Rather than relying just on the Windows Phone OS, Microsoft “realizes that one of their best plays is to be an enabler or technology,” Burden added.

Burden and Gartenberg wondered how much Microsoft paid RIM to be its preferred search and maps provider, given that Microsoft paid more than $1 billon to provide the operating system to Nokia, a fact acknowledged by Nokia officials in February.

Microsoft wouldn’t discuss any terms of the alliance.

Burden concluded: “To be the preferred provider for BlackBerry didn’t come for free. I don’t know what the number is, but it is certainly not free.”

The BlackBerry PlayBook is RIM’s Tablet

By Fei on September 29, 2010

By Jared Newman
September 29, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Research In Motion’s tablet is not the BlackPad, but the BlackBerry Playbook, a 7-inch rival to Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.

Information on the Blackberry PlayBook is coming in from multiple reports at RIM’s developer conference. Crackberry has a video and specs. Intomobile’s live blog is also reporting on the hardware and software.

Here’s what we know so far about RIM’s tablet:

-The hardware measures 0.38 inches thick, and has a 7-inch touch screen.
-It has a 1 GHz dual-core processor with symmetrical multiprocessing capabilities, and 1 GB of RAM

-HD cameras are on the front and rear of the device

-It supports HDMI and USB connections, and 1080p video

-It connects directly to Blackberry Enterprise server

-The OS is confirmed to be built by QNX, which RIM acquired last spring.

-The software supports HTML5 and Flash 10.1 with hardware-accelerated video.

-There will be multitasking.

-The promo video refers to the Blackberry Playbook as an “enterprise ready, professional tablet,” but also describes it as “app rocking.”

-According to IntoMobile, RIM says the PlayBook will be “an amazing gaming platform.”

-Thank goodness it’s not called the “BlackPad.”

A PlayBook page will go up on Blackberry’s Website, but for now it just redirects to a page on the Blackberry Torch.

We’ll have more information as it becomes available.

Why Android is Bad for Business

By Fei on September 14, 2010

By Tony Bradley

September 14, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – The news seems to be all Android, all the time these days, and various analysts have recently revealed predictions that Android will soon be the leading mobile platform. Despite the popularity of the Android platform, though, there are some critical elements of Android that make it unsuitable for business use.

Just in the past couple of weeks data has emerged that Android is quickly gaining on Apple’s iOS in terms of mobile Web usage, and analysts have predicted that Android will leapfrog RIM and Symbian to become the dominant mobile platform globally by 2014. But, IT admins might have a slightly different view of the Android platform.
Open Source

Some cite Android’s open source roots as an advantage. However, while open source platforms and applications have many theoretical benefits and advantages, they haven’t been able to make much of a dent in the business world.

To be fair, open source software has managed to achieve some credibility, but a quick look at market share numbers will show you that even after decades of availability and countless assertions of its technical superiority, Linux has less than one percent of the operating system market, while Microsoft Windows enjoys greater than 90 percent. After only three years, Apple’s iOS mobile platform already leapfrogged the venerable Linux in market share.

Businesses want software vendors they can work with–and point fingers at. Many companies have close relationships with the hardware and software vendors they work with, and those relationships enable more efficient and effective operation. When an issue arises, the IT department knows who to call to address and resolve it as quickly as possible. With open source, the question of “who you gonna call?” gets murky.

Too Much Diversity

Android is a capable platform and it deserves the praise it receives. But, the primary key to the success of the Android platform has been volume, and that volume is achieved through the diverse array of Android-based devices available.

The fact that you can choose from a wide variety of smartphone form factors, and select any of the major wireless carriers creates a pool of potential Android users that is significantly larger than say the subset of customers who prefer the iPhone form factor and happen to be AT&T customers. It doesn’t hurt that there are frequently buy-one-get-one-free deals, or that many Android smartphones are available from Amazon for one penny.

That is great for consumers, and for the Android platform, but it is a potential nightmare for IT admins trying to manage a mobile infrastructure. One user might have a Motorola Droid 2 with Android 2.2 and the Motorola application platform, while the next has a Samsung Fascinate with Android 2.1 and the TouchWiz UI, and another has a Motorola Devour with Android 1.6 and MotoBlur.

The different hardware form factors have unique capabilities, the different Android platforms deliver unique features and functions, and the proprietary interfaces create scenarios unique to the specific device, and the IT admin has to be familiar with them all and find a way to manage and maintain them all. When a new release of Android comes along, the ability to embrace or deploy it is limited by which Android smartphones will even receive the update, and the scattered timing of the releases depending on the vendor and model.

Somewhere in the Middle

Before the zealots jump in and make this an Android v. iOS debate, the iPhone is not an ideal smartphone platform for business either. Apple takes closed source to a draconian extreme with its dummy proof “walled garden” approach, and the singular iPhone 4 (or dual if you also consider the iPhone 3GS a separate device) smartphone form factor may not be for everyone.

However, RIM has been able to dominate mobile business communications with a proprietary platform, focused on delivering tools IT admins need to monitor and manage devices remotely, and with a diverse collection of BlackBerry handsets. When Windows Phone 7 launches this fall, Microsoft should be in a similar position to deliver a smartphone platform that lies somewhere between too open and diverse, and not open and diverse enough.

All hope is not lost for Android as a business tool, though. For companies that can get past the open source issue, Android offers a powerful mobile platform and is worth consideration. IT admins can remove some of the complexity and make it more manageable by offering a single Android smartphone, or at least narrowing the options to a designated list of supported Android smartphones.

Android Goes from Underdog to Top Dog: Watch Out Apple

By Fei on September 13, 2010

By Jeff Bertolucci

September 13, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – Here’s more evidence of Android‘s meteoritic rise to the top. According to market researcher Gartner, Google’s fledgling open-source mobile operating system, barely a blip on the wireless radar a year ago, will grab the No. 2 spot in global market share by the end of 2010. Even more stunning is Gartner’s prediction that Android will rival Symbian as the world’s top mobile OS by 2014.

Certainly, Android phone manufacturers (and fans) will welcome Gartner’s four-year forecast, which doesn’t offer today’s leading mobile OS vendors, Research In Motion (RIM) and Nokia, much to celebrate.

A Black Eye for BlackBerry

BlackBerry-maker RIM takes the hardest punch. RIM, which owned almost 20 percent of the global mobile market in 2009, will see that share nearly halved to 11.7 percent by 2014, Gartner predicts. And Nokia, which sells millions of Symbian-based phones (particularly in developing countries like India) won’t be thrilled by the forecast either. Symbian, which owned nearly 47 percent of the global market in 2009, will plummet to around 30 percent four years from now.

For Android, however, the news is grand. Not only will it nudge RIM out of second place by the end of 2010, but it also run head-to-head with Symbian within four years-each with a 30 percent share. (Gartner gives Symbian the slight edge, however.)

Open Source Rules

The mobile market will favor open-source operating systems (i.e., Android and Symbian) over single-source platforms such as Apple’s iOS and RIM’s BlackBerry OS. While mobile sales for Apple and RIM will continue to rise, they won’t be high enough to boost the platforms’ global shares. Apple, for instance, will have about 15 percent of the market by 2014, a half-point drop from today, says the forecast.

Gartner is the second research firm this week to predict a rosy future for Android. IDC also forecasts that Android will rise to second place by 2014, although it expects Symbian to retain a comfortable lead–33 percent to Android’s 25 percent.

The Wildcard: Windows Phone

One notable difference between the Gartner and IDC forecasts concerns Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform. Gartner predicts Windows Phone will be an also-ran in four years with a meager 4-percent share, while IDC gives Microsoft’s OS a healthy 9.8 percent of the market-just a point behind iOS, in fact.

The disparity is strong indication that no one really knows how mobile customers will respond to Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s new OS slated to debut on several third-party handsets within weeks.

Blackberry Loses More Ground To Apple and Android

By Fei on September 3, 2010

By Barbara E. Hernandez

September 3, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – In a continuing trend, more businesses are shifting loyalties from Blackberry to iPhones and Android devices as the relative newcomers make inroads into the corporate world. Three-quarters of the 200 businesses surveyed in the United States and the U.K in the study reported that their employees are choosing other than Blackberry, Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. reported to Bloomberg. The number was 83 percent for U.S. companies.
The biggest drop comes as bankers, lawyers and government workers – Blackberry’s once-loyal clientele – abandon the phones for other brands on the market.

Several studies on smartphones have predicted the trend, including Nielsen Co. which said that new subscribers for Blackberry dropped and more than half of Blackberry users planned to switch to an iPhone or Android phone. Last month a study by the NPD Group also reported that in 2010′s second quarter, Android phones rose to 33 percent of the market and Research in Motion’s Blackberry dropped to 28 percent. The Apple iPhone was 22 percent of the smartphone market.

One of the latest products, the Blackberry Torch 9800, was deemed adequate but hardly competitive with recent Android devices and the iPhone. With a sluggish browser, a small and low-resolution touchscreen and a cramped keyboard, the phone may only appeal to previous Blackberry users and loyalists. Some are calling RIM’s latest smartphones consolation prizes for executives who wish they could have an iPhone. Others are comparing RIM to IBM because it cornered the market for several years but seemed to stop reinventing itself or innovating.

The business world has spoken loudly and clearly, they want more from RIM and if it expects to stay relevant the company needs to comply. The next few years will tell us if RIM is still able to compete and innovate in the quicksilver mobile arena.

RIM Following in Palm’s Footsteps

By Fei on August 9, 2010

By Tony Bradley
August 9, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – RIM revealed the BlackBerry Torch 9800 this week with much fanfare, but with mixed reviews and a lukewarm reception. The launch of the BlackBerry Torch seems déjà vu–reminiscent of the hype and reception of the Palm Pre which ultimately turned out to be Palm’s swan song.

The Torch is supposed to catapult the aging BlackBerry product line to the forefront–enabling RIM to compete head to head with cutting edge smartphones. RIM set out to embrace the best of what the iPhone-generation has to offer while maintaining core BlackBerry features–such as the signature physical keyboard–to breathe new life into the stagnant BlackBerry brand and give businesses and users a reason to stick with the respected–yet waning–smartphone leader.

RIM’s next-generation smartphone is better suited to compete against the first-generation iPhone, though, than current smartphones like the iPhone 4 and Droid X. The processor, display, memory, and app market for the BlackBerry Torch are all abysmally inferior to what Apple and Google have to offer.

Based on the initial reaction and early reviews for the BlackBerry Torch, it seems like the device offers little real competition for the current generation of smartphones. However, the BlackBerry Torch could still be a success by some measures because the captive audience of business professionals locked into the BlackBerry culture will embrace the inferior device because it is still better than the other devices RIM has to offer.

Combined with the struggles RIM is facing over security and privacy issues with the governments of India, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, and the snub of the European Commission–selecting the Apple iPhone and HTC smartphones over the RIM BlackBerry platform for its employees–the future of RIM doesn’t look very bright.
It seems like it’s only a matter of time until RIM follows in Palm’s footsteps and ends up on the auction block. Apple and Google already have superior smartphone and tablet platforms, but there is a struggling smartphone competitor out there uniquely suited to take advantage of a RIM purchase: Microsoft.

Microsoft could be like the New York Yankees of smartphones–spending money to make up for a lack of in-house talent and buy its way to the top. Purchasing RIM and incorporating–or cannibalizing–its intellectual property could enable Microsoft to leapfrog competing smartphone platforms like iPhone and Android.

Initial reviews of Windows Phone 7 suggest that Microsoft will soon have a more compelling smartphone platform to offer even without purchasing RIM. But, if Microsoft could successfully merge Windows Phone 7 into the established corporate culture built around the RIM BlackBerry platform, it could finally have the dominant presence it rightfully should have in the business smartphone arena.
There were about eleven months between the launch of the Palm Pre–heralded as an “iPhone killer”–and the sale of the company to HP. Where will RIM be this time next year?

Which Smartphone Should I Get?

By Fei on August 6, 2010

By Elsa Wenzel
August 6, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – It’s time to ditch my battered BlackBerry 9000. Whether the successor should be a newer BlackBerry, an iPhone, an Android handset, or something else entirely is up in the air. Is it worth waiting for something that’s not out yet, like the Windows 7 phone?

My wish list for a new phone includes reliability, a speedy Web browser, lots of options for apps, a decent camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS. Easy access to Gmail and Google Docs would be great.

Many shiny, new handsets beckon, but I don’t want to take a leap of faith or greed without advice. Which smartphone should it be? (You can help by voting at the end of this post.)

iPhone 4

The legendary loyalty of iPhone users doesn’t stop with all-night lines outside of Apple stores prior to the launch of a new handset. Despite the “antennagate” debacle and complaints of a bad proximity sensor, surveys show that most owners remain satisfied with their iPhones. (Yet, maybe the surveys spoke too soon.)

The slim iPhone 4 for AT&T has a 3.5-inch display with the best resolution available on any phone. Multitasking and cut-and-paste functions make this 1GHz, 802.11n model more work-ready than its predecessor–even if multitasking isn’t up to snuff. The 5-megapixel camera and HD video, plus the FaceTime videophone app, add to the appeal.
With more than 200,000 iOS apps available, the iPhone has the largest marketplace of mobile downloads. These include practical tools for work as well as less useful ones for play. The apps easy to discover and a snap to download and buy, and organizing them has improved with the introduction of Folders.

Among the drawbacks to the iPhone are the touchscreen-only keyboard, which can lead to a minefield of typos, especially when larger fingers are tapping. The lack of Flash support is more annoying on the iPad than the phone, but irksome nonetheless.

Also, do I really want a smartphone that drops calls if held a certain way, or that requires wearing a funky case to function properly? It’s hard to stomach the chairman and CEO of a company address a product flaw by pointing fingers at rival companies, and offering customers little but a Band-Aid workaround and a short, 30-day return window.

Droid X

Unlike with Apple’s iOS, you can choose from among many phones that run the Android operating system. Among these, the sold-out Motorola Droid X for Verizon is perhaps the most appealing.

Comparisons abound between the competing handsets from Apple and Motorola. A speedy, 1GHz processor and HD video are among their shared selling points. Yet, the Droid X comes with a 16GB microSD card, while the iPhone lacks expandability. The Droid X‘s call quality attracts better ratings than that of the iPhone 4, it’s supposed to offer an hour longer of talking time, and it’s got an 8-megapixel camera. Its 4.3-inch display dwarfs that of the iPhone 4.

Flash support will come later with Android 2.2 and more business-friendly features. In addition, the Droid X can serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot. However, I’ve heard users complain about limited battery life and new Motoblur software.

There’s no push-button keyboard on the Droid X, but Swype for Android lets you “type” by dragging your finger across the screen from one letter to the next. This is faster than touchscreen “tapping”, even if it leads to hilarious typos.

While the Android apps marketplace is smaller than the iPhone app store, it’s bound to grow, especially because Google App Inventor‘s interface makes it easier for budding developers to build apps.

Unfortunately, rogue apps are reportedly leaving Android phones dangerously hackable. Do you really want to integrate your professional and private life on a device that’s prone to invasion? Then again, recent headlines about Android security threats have been overblown.

BlackBerry Torch 9800

Maybe the best replacement for a BlackBerry is another BlackBerry. RIM had fallen behind on the “wow” factor in the smartphone market, but its new handset blends next-generation features found in Android devices and the iPhone. The 1GHz BlackBerry Torch 9800 slider combines a QWERTY button keyboard and a large touchscreen display,a nd it has 802.11n Wi-Fi. The BlackBerry 6 operating system includes the WebKit browser with tabs for online multitasking, as well as remote data-wiping options in case of theft or loss.

Unfortunately, BlackBerry App World is a disappointment, not just because it’s clunky to find and buy apps, but because, in general, their volume and quality pales next to the options for Android and iOS. Despite the other bells and whistles on a new BlackBerry handset, it’s hard to imagine RIM catching up in the apps arena anytime soon.

And, although BlackBerry remains the best choice for those whose companies lean on its mobile infrastructure, that’s not the case with my job.
Carriers

Since I have an AT&T account with a legacy, all-you-can-eat data plan, I’m not tempted to switch carriers and get nasty surprises on the next bill. But if AT&T doesn’t supply the best phone for me, would another carrier’s plan be affordable? Could it even cost less than the $130 I shell out each month? That’s what I paid in the last billing cycle to talk for 841 minutes, send 523 text messages, and receive 481 texts. I also sent or received 11 MMS messages, and Internet data usage reached 17.74 MB.

The Choice

Of course, these aren’t the only options for a BlackBerry 9000 replacement. Maybe the Microsoft Windows Phone 7, upon release, will look more alluring than in its recent iPhone-mimicking preview. Could Palm’s WebOS even see a resurgence?

Then again, since I don’t use my mobile phone often for calls, maybe a better investment is a hybrid tablet-phone. As a phone, the Dell Streak is a bit clunky–still more portable than Gordon Gekko’s Motorola DynaTAC–but it might do the job.

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