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Blackberry Competitor Announced
conq wrote to mention a BusinessWeek article reporting that NTP has licensed its wireless email patent to a new Blackberry competitor. Essentially, they're creating a competitor to Blackberry out of whole cloth, and bolstering their case against the popular handheld device maker. From the article: "The deal comes amid dwindling options for RIM, seller of the popular BlackBerry e-mail paging service. NTP four years ago successfully sued RIM for infringing on NTP's wireless e-mail patents. After a tentative $450 million settlement fell apart in June, RIM has battled back through court appeals, holding out hope that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) will strike down NTP's patents." This has not been a good month for RIM.
Bullet Points with a Passion:
* NTP licensed their patents to an existing player named Visto. They also gained a stake in them as a result.
* This is the same Visto that sued Microsoft today for patent infringement with their Windows Mobile 5.0 software and it's ability to send/receive e-mail.
* This "new" competitor has been in business since 1996. I've been personally aware of their e-mail solution for the last couple years.
On a side note, the company NTP signed a licensing agreement with, Visto, also filed a lawsuit against Microsoft yesterday claiming infringement on the three of the patents they hold. Alas, I have submitted the story and awaiting for approval, but it appears that NTP also acquired a stake in Visto. Interestingly enough, it seems the Visto claims are somewhat similar to the NTP v. RIM, but that could just be the media talking again. It is possible the patents in question actually deal with another part of the wireless e-mail chain and that the media is just getting confused amongst the technology again.
"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb."
"A patent cannot be obtained upon a mere idea or suggestion. The patent is granted upon the new machine, manufacture, etc., as has been said, and not upon the idea or suggestion of the new machine. A complete description of the actual machine or other subject matter for which a patent is sought is required."
i ndex.html#whatpat
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/
I don't know. I rather like my 7100t. Perhaps it is because I'm comparing it to the crap cellphones everyone else has, but it seems pretty nice to me.
:(, it is a bit clunky with the USB cable attached.
A few points:
1. No connector conspiracy. Uses bog standard USB to charge and the headphone jack is the most generic one available.
2. Integrated browser seems to work reasonably well, although it's kinda slow
3. The address book could use some UI tweaks, but it's loads better than most address books on phones that I've seen.
4. The text input works reasonably well. Occasionally it gets tripped up on a word (and I usually know what words it's going to have trouble with, so this isn't as bad as it could be), but it is a bit awkward to go back and edit stuff. Still, it's the fastest text input I've seen this side of the full size Blackberries. Blows regular cell phone (multi-tap) text input out of the water.
5. No MP3 support, no camera. The lack of a camera is a big plus for me, I work in places where you can bring a cell phone in, but not a camera. The lack of MP3 support isn't an issue for me either because I own an iPod.
6. The phone is largely unrestricted as to what you can load onto it. There's no rediculous charge to load ringtones or backgrounds. You can either load these from your computer or just over the network (any picture you load in the browser can be set as your background).
7. You can use the phone as a modem--although not over the Bluetooth.
8. Battery life is pretty reasonable. I've had it for 7 months now and the battery still lasts for 4-5 days without being turned off. Playing games on the phone drains the battery faster (can only play for 5-8 hours or so before the battery is dead). I've never killed the battery with talking, but I'm not a big talker.
9. The screen is gorgous. Among the best screens available in cell phones. It's a great when paired with the web browser, but it's also good for reading emails if you set the font size small and have good eyes.
10. The included belt clip is a bit disappointing. The cell phone will fall out if you move too vigoriously, and sometimes it falls out when I'm sitting in low riding cars. It will also scratch the screen if you're working in an environment where there is sand or other abrasives in the air.
Overall I'm very happy with the phone. It seems to hit the sweet spot between performance and functionality IMHO and the integrated email works like a charm. I'm going to be sad if RIM is forced to close down due to some stupid submarine patent.
I read the internet for the articles.
NTP has a case as long as at least one claim of one patent is infringed upon. The moment that the USPTO strikes them down definitively, their case ceases to be. Therefore, NTP wants to force a judgement/settlement as soon as possible, while RIM obviously wants to await the final verdict from the USPTO.
I agree with you that "IP firms" such as NTP are absolutely bollocks, as is the system that allows this to happen (over and over again).
Okay... I'll do the stupid things first, then you shy people follow.
[Zappa]
Visto doesn't have a messaging device like the BlackBerry.
It is a direct competitor to RIM only in conjunction with a wireless device manufacturer.
I have had my 7290 for about two months now, and it is by far the most useful PDA or phone I have ever had, by miles... You think it's only useful for sending mail, and no good as a PDA? I will venture to guess you were not using a Blackberry + BES + Exchange server. Writing myself a task or note, having it sync with the Exchange server is the most useful thing ever. Having full on Exchange Contacts, Tasks, Mail, Calendar, etc., a QWERTY keyboard, an extremely well thought out interface... what more do you need in a PDA? I dont even need to sync it with my laptop, ever, because I use BES. It's all done over the air, in about 2 seconds. I leave my laptop at work now over night, since I have full access to my mail server and all its goodies, plus SSH through the Idokorro SSH/telnet client, on my Blackberry. Help me understand why this is not a good PDA?
I worked six months as a TechSup Engineer for the largest Exchange hosting company in the US/World and I learned a lot about handhelds and who uses them for what.
We supported ActiveSync, OMA, Good and BES. Not mention IMAP, OWA, etc. By far, the BB/BES piece was the most broken. Now, I left the co. just as BES Server 4.0 SP2 was rolling, so it may be better now, but we got easily 4-to-1 gripes for BB/BES over Good and or Activesync. The most common, but not the only problem? Over and over and over - wireless synchronization with the server would just break.
No, not because we did not know what we were doing, either. The company I worked for was a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and they consulted with us for their development and QA of Exchange Server (especially) as a hosted service. We had great access to information and support at M$.
We would spend hours diagnosing BB h/w, Exchange server, BES Server, wireless networks, etc. Sometimes wiping handhelds, sometimes deleting and recreating accounts on BES (and losing useful message status info), sometime replacing the BB, etc. It was often a mystery as to what went wrong and which of the several things we tried might have actually been the fix. Sometimes, it would just fix itself, if you struggled long enough.
And then there's the cost. Of course, most BB owners seem to be mucky-mucks that aren't paying out of their pockets in the first place. Their BB is paid for by you and me... err, their company/gov't... who gets their money from you and me. If you run your own BES server, there's a very substantial licensing cost. Then there's the "Blackberry Enterprise" mail service that most WSPs hit you for.
Then there is the Treo650. Except for the unconscionably small amount of usuable RAM, it seems to be a great device. More apps, an interface and form factor most people seem to prefer, etc.
The Pocket PCs seemed to be a really strong product too. Especially with expansion slot/card options. Add free ActiveSync built into Exchange Server and no extra charge from your WSP and you're in nice shape.
I don't own any of them, but when I go to buy, it will NOT be a BB.
In Nature, stupidity is a capital offense. In human society, too many get off with less than a warning.