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Blackberry Future Uncertain
Dave White writes "Research In Motion and NTP have failed to reach a settlement in the Blackberry case. It looks like the door has been opened for NTP to be granted an injunction blocking the sales of Blackberry wireless messaging devices in the US. The New York Times (free registration yadda yadda) has the scoop on this interesting development."
http://bugmenot.com/view.php?url=nytimes.com
Who needs logins now?
part of the problem is, RIM got the patent office to reexamine 8 of NTP's patents regarding the technology, and so far the PTO has come out with rejections on each proceeding they've done.
this adds a layer of complication to the infringement case, as no doubt some part of the deal rested on the outcome of those proceedings.
The company I work at recently yanked all blackberry devices and replaced them with Treo 600 and treo 650's.
the fact that you dont need any "special" software to access email and has the capability of viewing doc and excel attachments was the death spike for the blackberry here at this company.
and honestly, the treo's have much better sounding audio for phone calls than even the latest blackberry's did.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
instead of "yadda yadda" each time you link to NYT. Like this:& q=ntp+rim
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8
According to this court document, the infrigments concern:
- Claims 15, 32, 34 of #5,436,960
- Claim 8 of #5,625,670
- Claim 199 of #5,819,172
- Claims 28, 248, 309, 313, 317 of #6,067,451
- Claims 40, 150, 278, 653, 654 of #6,317,592
These patents can be found here:5,436,960
5,625,670
5,819,172
6,067,451
6,317,592
These patents look to me like they would cover just about every PDA and cell phone on the planet today. Is RIM a target because of their popularity?
I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
* An OS you can install things into
What kind of things can't you install on the BlackBerry OS? Just about any Java app I have run across has been able to be installed.
* Camera (not useful for everyone, I know)
* Movie camera (ditto)
Part of the reason some reporters like it is that it doesn't have a camera and therefore can be taken into courtrooms when they are not allowing cameraphones into the courtroom.
* Real web browser that does some Javascript and SSL
The BlackBerry browser supports some Javascript, SSL, and WTL.
* MP3 Player (you'd be surprised at the number of Wall Street types who don't have an iPod and use their phone instead)
I still havn't thought of a use for an MP3 player on a phone for me, so I'm going to leave this.
* Bluetooth (though the newer BBs have this too)
I will admit that this Bluetooth is just for voice, and if I recall correctly, the Treo is Data also.
* Hotsync with more than just Exchange!
UHHHHH....have you even seen the list of supported PIM applications for the BlackBerry? Just as extensive as any of the Palms...because it's made by the same company that makes the sync software for the Palm. Outlook, Outlook Express, Act!, Notes, GroupWise, ASCII (csv), Netscape, and Lotus Organizer.
Or are you speaking of servers? How about itegration with Exchange, GroupWise, and Domino? All three major platforms for business communication (not counting POP servers). And that's FULL integration with those, not just getting email from them. But if you just wanna do POP into the mailbox, that's supported by the web client...so is Outlook Web Access, iNotes, POP, IMAP, AOL, Hotmail, etc.
* Wireless hotsync!
This is also available, but granted, it does take a BlackBerry Enterprise Server running 4.0 software and the BlackBerry has to be on OS 4.0
* SD card slot
I'm glad it doesn't have an SD slot. It would be too easy to pull the SD card out of a BlackBerry and therefore steal all my information. Which brings up the point of security...and how the BlackBerry was built with secuity in mind.
* Software to open Office documents
Word doc's...check. Excell spreadsheets...check. jpg, gif, png, tiff...check. PDF's...check. HTML...check. TXT...check. What kind of office documents are you talking?
* More games than you can shake a stick at
There are lots of games for the BlackBerry, and probably any game for a cell phone can be installed over the air onto a BlackBerry...as long as it's a midlet game. But there are also a couple of game only developer sites for the BlackBerry. But then again, this is a business tool, not a gameboy.
* VNC, SSH, SMS, MMS, IM
SMS...check. MMS...check. IM...Check (and more being added). SSH...with the right software...check. VNC...Not sure, but I believe there is a VNC viewer available.
* VPN Clients! (Mergic, for instance)
Not really needed on the BlakcBerry...cause you are able to browse your intranet on the BlackBerry with just the regular BlackBerry browser.
Sometimes, it's good to do some research first.
The thing that the BlackBerry does, and does better than anyone...secure email integration. I'd like to see someone sniff one of my emails out of the air. Native 3DES encryption, and AES encryption coming available. Let's not forget the nice S/MIME encryption that is available for Enterprise users.
What else would you like me to educate you on about the BlackBerry?
And just so that no one thinks differently, I am not saying the BlackBerry is better than the Treo (aside from a secuity standpoint)...I think they both have their market. I just don't want anyone thinking that because this guy didn't do his research, they shouldn't either.
Zro . two
"I come from Canada...they say I'm slow....eh?"