Does BlackBerry (RIM) Needs A Reboot To Avoid "RIM RIP"?

BlackBerry RIM  Reboot http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I came across this fine article on Deccan Herald about RIM need to reboot itself to avoid RIM RIP. We all have seen where the Smartphone Market Share is going. Big players like NOKIA and RIM took places behind new stars Google Android and Apple iPhone. The article discusses the success of Google Android platform and Apple iPhone against Blackberry phones.
Deccan Herald is a newspaper in India, where Nokia and Blackberry dominates the cell phone market. Perhaps those rumors of low cost iPhone coupled with popular Android phones with low price points might change all that soon.
Still you can see the Blackberry affinity in the article and it might reflect the thoughts of general public. It praises BlackBerry 9900 and at the same time scolds RIM for not giving NFC or such things as front facing camera, which are standard parts of most Android phones and is expected with iPhone 5.
I guess RIM got to listen to it's customers and avoid RIM RIP and keep the competition up against the Android, Apple and Nokia (Nokia needs some waking up too!)
Deccan Herald

Alec Saunders Of Calliflower Fame Takes A Bite Out Of Blackberry Development Apple!

Alec Saunders Joins RIM http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Alec Saunders, CEO and the co-founder of Iotum / Calliflower has Joined RIM as Vice President, Developer Relations for all of RIM. Mobilize me conference had him going to the heart of the matter, developers mindset, that largely affects the Blackberry development. He says that he will change the current conditions that affect BlackBerry development and developers, and I whole heartedly believe him.
I really hope all the best for him in this daunting task. You can read a nice interview on Blackberry developer blog. And you can read his own blog post about the matter. If you are a tech evangelist, he is looking for some, follow the above link to the blog post to get more information.

LodSys Targets More Android Developers, Adds A BlackBerry Developer As Well.

LodSys targets more Android Developers, http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Likes of LodSys, known as NPE, non practicing entity or more commonly as a patent troll has sent out more notices to Android developers and this time have added a BlackBerry developer as well. Perhaps they thought with all the trouble RIM is in, they might not jump in like Apple and Google did to defend their developers. Even Novel went against LodSys.

But even the Google's invalidation request or Lodsys patent reexamination request and Apple's intervention on bealf of it's developers against LodSys are yet to bring any results. To be fair, Apple has done more for it's developers than Google. We have not come across any such information, if Google answered any of the developers questions regarding LodSys letters.

But there are people who want to help, EFF, Electronic Frontier Foundation is going to hold a LodSysed BootCamp, to explain to all those developers, how deep the waters they are in and how not to drawn.

Patent Trolls suck but one need to follow the law! We are thinking of instead of developing apps, go patent some stupid things and sue everyone or sell those patents!

Read more about the letters at FOSS Patents who says that he is going to write less about troll like LodSys and concentrate on how big boys play!

LodSys Targets More Android Developers, Adds A BlackBerry Developer As Well.

LodSys targets more Android Developers, http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Likes of LodSys, known as NPE, non practicing entity or more commonly as a patent troll has sent out more notices to Android developers and this time have added a BlackBerry developer as well. Perhaps they thought with all the trouble RIM is in, they might not jump in like Apple and Google did to defend their developers. Even Novel went against LodSys.

But even the Google's invalidation request or Lodsys patent reexamination request and Apple's intervention on bealf of it's developers against LodSys are yet to bring any results. To be fair, Apple has done more for it's developers than Google. We have not come across any such information, if Google answered any of the developers questions regarding LodSys letters.

But there are people who want to help, EFF, Electronic Frontier Foundation is going to hold a LodSysed BootCamp, to explain to all those developers, how deep the waters they are in and how not to drawn.

Patent Trolls suck but one need to follow the law! We are thinking of instead of developing apps, go patent some stupid things and sue everyone or sell those patents!

Read more about the letters at FOSS Patents who says that he is going to write less about troll like LodSys and concentrate on how big boys play!

Android Leads iOS, RIM and Nokia In Mobile OS Sales! : Gartner

Android Leads iOS, RIM and Nokia http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

If you wonder why Apple is suing everyone and anyone with Android alliance, this might be one of the reasons. Gartner published that the Google’s mobile OS, Android now accounts for 43.4% of all smartphone sales, up from 17.2% Q2 2010. Apple reached 18.2% of the smartphone share, up from 14.1% at the same time last year.

Together Android and iOS accounts for 62% of the Smartphone market share, which was only a 31% a year earlier.

Nokia's Symbian OS share is now at 22.1%, taking a big slide, down from 40.9% a year earlier. RIM did not fare well either, RIM's share of smartphone market droped to 12% in Q2, from 19% one year ago.

Microsoft was below the radar with 1.6% of the smartphone market share.

Gartner also told us that the worldwide sales of mobile devices grew 16.5% from this time last year, to reach 428.7 million units. Smartphones sales were up 74% year-over-year and accounted for 25% of the overall sales in Q2 2011, up from 17% in Q2 2010

Gartner News

iPhone Passes Blackberry In Smarphone Marketshare, But Android Is Still Way Ahead Of Both Of Them

Smarphone Marketshare http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Comscore has released the latest report on US Smartphone Market share and Android (36.4%) is way ahead of second in line iPhone (26%). But iPhone has surpassed the Blackberry (25.7%) in terms of  active user base. I guess the rise of the Android is still strong.
As Platforms only Android and iOS gained in the last quarter, but 5.7% growth of Android base well exceeded that of iOS giving Google more than 10.4% lead over Apple. 

On the hardware front, Samsung LG and Motorola lead the bunch and fourth place Apple (8.3%) is way behind the third place Motorola (15.6%) and has a way to go. RIM is 0.1 percent behind Apple.
Comscore

Of 234 million Americans ages 13 and older who used mobile devices, Comscore found, 74.6 million . owned smartphones, at the end of April,  up 13% from the three-month period ending in January 2011.

RIM Brings Out BlackBerry Playbook For $499, Plans To Compete WIth iPad2

BlackBerry Playbook http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The 7' tablet from RIM, Blackberry Playbook the iPad Challenger, that Steve Jobs went so low to chide will be released on April 19th for $400 and has a bunch of carrier and retail shelves lined up to market it to the masses. The 16GB edition with WiFi ($499) will be available from stores such as Bestbuy and matches the Apples iPad 2 pricing and most other things except the 9.7" screen. There might be people who would like the smaller size. Other sizes, 32GB ($599), 64GB($699) also match Apple's lineup.

“The BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing tablet that is already being widely praised as a multi-tasking powerhouse with an uncompromised web experience and an ultra-portable design,” said Mike Lazaridis, President & Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “Given the high level of customer interest in the BlackBerry PlayBook, we are particularly pleased to be working with such an amazing lineup of retail partners.”

The BestBuy USA and Canada will carry the device and will begin accepting orders as of today. In addition, AT&T, Office Depot, RadioShack, Staples, Sprint and Verizon will also carry the device.

BlackBerry PlayBook Specifications

7" 1024x600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (425g) and 5.1” x 7.6” x 0.4” (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
1 GHz dual-core processor
BlackBerry® Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
Support for high resolution video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
1080p HDMI output
Dual 1080p HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture (3MP front and 5MP rear)
1 GB RAM memory
Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
GPS, Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), 6-Axis Motion Sensor (Gyroscope), Digital Compass (Magnetometer)
Stereo speakers and stereo microphones
Wi-Fi® (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support

Sorry Jobs, they did not supply sand paper with it as you wanted. Well, you can't have everything you want!
Via RIM

Android Continue to Lead iOS In Mobile Ad Share, Owns 51% : Millennial

Android Continue to Lead http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

According to Millennial Media’s monthly mobile report for the third month in a row, Android continued to lead iOS as the largest Smartphone OS on the Millennial network with over half 51% of all U.S. mobile ad impression share, which accounted to be about 21 billion each. Millennial ads reach 90.3 million users monthly in the U.S. and is the third largest mobile advertiser bihind AdMob and iAD. You can read about our report on the same subject on February Millennial Monthly Mix

In the ad network Apple's iOS has 27% share and Blackberry (RIM) found a chunk of 14& which is actually higher than previous month.

From the Millennial Monthly Mix;

• Samsung grew 50% month-over-month to reclaim the number two position on the Top 15 Manufacturers ranking. The Samsung Galaxy Tablet made its debut as a Top 30 Mobile Device – the first Android Connected Device to make our ranking. Samsung also had three new Smartphones enter the Top 30 Mobile Devices ranking in February: the Samsung Fascinate, the Samsung Forte, and the Samsung Captivate.
• The Verizon iPhone launch had on impact on overall iPhone impressions on our network. In the first two weeks the device launched, it represented 4.5% of all U.S. iPhone impressions.
• Android continued to lead iOS as the largest Smartphone OS on our network for the third consecutive month, with a 51% impression share in February.
• According to eMarketer, Apple was the clear leader in tablet device sales, with more than 10 million Apple iPads sold in 2010. Apple is predicted to remain the market leader over the next two years, selling an estimated 50 million devices by 2012. This year, Android and Microsoft tablet sales are both expected to grow more than 400%. More than 32 million Android tablets are predicted to be sold by 2012.

Millennial Blog via Techcrunch

Android Winning Over iOS In Many A Fronts, Subscribers, Ad Impressions!

Android Winning http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Looks like the Apple's iPhone ans RIM's Blackberry are losing to Android in number of subscribers and Ad impressions.
The Comscore published data showing that Android is leading and both RIM and Apple are falling behind. Android surged pass iPhone (iOS) previously in the number of subscribers but this is the first time Android took the helm from RIM,  The data from October 2010 to January 2011 indicated that 65.8 million people in the U.S. owned a smartphone, which itself up by 8% from the previous period.
As of January 2011, with 31.2% market share; RIM ranked second with 30.4% market share, with Apple following with 24.7% share. Microsoft had a 8% market share, with Palm taking 3.2% share.

As with number of smartphones increasing, so are the ad impressions. In this front too, Android is gliding past iOS in style. According to a report by Inmobi Android is way ahead with 37% of ad impressions verses Apple's iPhone only showing 23% of the share. According to Inmobi, Android surged ahead with 17% increase since last October and Apple actually dropped 1.3%. But keep in mind these figures are from Inmobi network only and does not include other ad networks or Apple's own iADs. Either way still Android is gaining on all fronts.
Via Techcrunch

Android Leads iOS in Ad Impressions, Millennial Madia.

Top 10 Countries By Mobile Ad Impressions.

Android Leads iOS in Ad Impressions http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
According to the company's monthly report, Android seems to be very impressive and leads that pack. Almost twice as much as the next contender, iOS. (Android has 54% and iOS 28% in the networks Ad impressions). Millenial is the third largest mobile ad network behind Google's AD MOB and Apple's iADs.

But Apple lead the connected device category and device manufacturer category. But at the rate companies like HTC and Samsung are rising, in no time Android will over take Apple in all fronts, at least it points that way.
Here are some facts from the Millennial monthly report (Available to download)

• Last month we continued to see increased platform and manufacturer diversity – emphasizing the importance of advertising across all platforms. While Android continues to lead iOS as the largest Smartphone OS on our network, iOS outpaced all other operating systems in ad requests with a 47% increase month-over-month.
  
• HTC grew 36% in January to claim the number two position in the Top 15 Manufacturers ranking. This growth is tied to the significant number of HTC devices represented in the Top 30 Mobile Device ranking.
  
• Apple, the leading device manufacturer on our network, represented 26% of the Top 15 Manufacturers impression share in January, a 24% increase month-over-month. Apple iPod Touch reclaimed the number two position on the Top 30 Mobile Devices ranking in January.
  
• Wi-Fi impressions experienced a 21% month-over-month increase. The increase in impression share of Connected Devices month-over-month contributed to the increase in Wi-Fi impressions.
  
• Symbian impressions grew significantly in January, increasing 24% month-over-month.

Millennial blog via Techcrunch

RIM Will Filter Porn On Blackberry, At Least For Indonesia.

RIM Will Filter Porn On Blackberry, http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
According to Reuters, RIM will filter porn on Blackberry to meet the laws of Indonesia. In addition, they also have asked for a local Blackberry server, just like many other countries seeking to access encrypted data on Blackberry servers.
"Research In Motion confirms that it shares Minister Tifatul Sembirings sense of urgency on this matter and it is fully committed to working with Indonesias carriers to put in place a prompt, compliant filtering solution for Blackberry subscribers in Indonesia as soon as possible," RIM said in a statement.
RIM has about 2 million Blackberry users in Indonesia.

Android (OHA) Becomes The Top Mobile OS In The USA.

#Android Becomes The Top #MobileOS In The USA. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
According to a report by Canalys, a research firm worldwide smartphone market grew in Q3 2010 by 95% over the same quarter a year ago. The total number of smartphones shipped reached 80.9 million units (of that 20.9 million units were shipped in the USA). Smart phone market share is a very interesting piece of data to investigate and share. Last May the data were much different;

BlackBerry leads the pack with 36% of market share of  smartphones with Android following closely with 28% and iPhone chugging along at 21% for the 2010 sales.

In the beginning of this month we saw the change in Smart Phone Market. Rise of the Android was already happening.

Read more: http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/2010/05/smartphone-marketshare-blackberry.html#ixzz1440CIJ9F

The worldwide smart phone market share is still being led by Nokia at 33% of the market (The margin has been dropping for a while now) and APPLE (17%) jumped ahead of RIM (15%).  The report did not say who owns the balance 35% of the world wide smart phone market share but I think majority must be held by OHA, the Android group.
The world largest smart phone market, USA has some interesting data to share. In US, Apple toppled RIM from the top spot with 26.2% and RIM had 24.2%. Even though RIM introduced the new Torch, it had only half a quarter on the shelves. It will be interesting to see what happens at the end of the fourth quarter.
With all these companies fighting for the top spot, Smart phones based on Android is over taking them all. In the US, OHA, (Open Hand Set Alliance) cornered a hefty 43.6%. A share, very difficult to steal from. I am sure forth quarter with 4G playing in the wireless air waves, Android will continue to grow.

BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad Challenger.

#BlackBerry #PlayBook, #iPad Challenger. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
A few days ago, RIM announced their new tablet, The PlayBook at the BlackBerry Developer Conference. The tablet will run QNX, one of our favorite embedded OS of the day.QNX is a part of RIM now. The QNX will bring full OpenGL and POSIX support alongside web standards such as HTML5 and developer will have all these via RIM's WebWorks SDK.

RIM says that the tablet is suitable for large corporations as well as an army of one.;

“RIM set out to engineer the best professional-grade tablet in the industry with cutting-edge hardware features and one of the world's most robust and flexible operating systems,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “The BlackBerry PlayBook solidly hits the mark with industry leading power, true multitasking, uncompromised web browsing and high performance multimedia.”

The PlayBook will sport a 7-inch, 1024 x 600, capacitive multitouch display, a Cortex A9-based, dual-core 1GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, and dual cameras, a front-facing 3 megapixel camera and a 5 megapixel camera in the rear. People at engadget has noticed 16Gb and 32Gb models so I guess that will come in the form of some add on storage. The PlayBook connects to outside world via, HDMI, micro USB, 802.11a b/g/n Wireless, Bluetooth. It has 1080P video and yes Video Conferencing is a part of the plan and it supports Flash. As much as it is an iPad Challenger, it will also challenge the likes of Samsung Galaxy Tab.
RIM also announced that the tablet will be pre loaded with KOBO, a global eReading service, giving the PlayBook instant access to 2.2 million books.

“We are thrilled to be extending our extensive relationship with RIM into the tablet space,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo.  “Readers will love the elegant design, crisp display and portable size and weight of the BlackBerry PlayBook, which is perfectly suited for long reading sessions.  I am also excited by the possibilities of the BlackBerry Tablet OS, which will allow us to bring today’s bestsellers and classics, as well as other rich content, to BlackBerry PlayBook users.”

here are the specs;

• 7-inch LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
• BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
• Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
• Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
• HDMI video output
• Wi-Fi - 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
• Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
• Ultra thin and portable:
• Measures 5.1"x7.6"x0.4" (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
• Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
• RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

RIM via Engadget 

Android 2.2, (Froyo) Will Have Full Adobe Flash Support

Android 2.2 And Adobe Flash http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like Android is bent on going places where Apple will not or cannot go. According to Andy Robin, Andoid 2.2, code-named Froyo, for frozen yogurt, will have complete Flash support.
On Monday the companies announced the availability of betas of  Adobe AIR and Adobe Flash for Android. I am sure every self respecting mobile developer would have signed up for the SDKs.
Speaking with NY Times Mr. Robin indicated that, Android stand to gain on all proprietary systems like iPhone and RIM.

“It’s a numbers game. When you have multiple O.E.M.’s building multiple products in multiple product categories, it’s just a matter of time” before sales of Android phones exceed the sales of  proprietary systems like Apple’s and R.I.M.’s

He also was happy about Google's openness regarding the flagship mobile platform, Android and the development tools;

“We use the same tools we expect our third-party developers to,” Mr. Rubin said. “We have an SDK we give to developers. and when we write our Gmail app, we use the same SDK. A lot of guys have private APIs. We don’t. That’s on policy and on technology. If there’s a secret API to hook into billing system we open up that billing system to third parties. If there’s a secret API to allow application multitasking, we open it up. There are no secret APIs. That is important to highlight for Android sake. Open is open and we live by our own implementations.”

 Android 2.2 is code name, Froyo, for Frozen Yogurt is keeping up the tradition with former codenames like Cupcake, Donut and Eclair.

Read more at NY Times

BlackBerry OS 6.0 Coming Soon

BlackBerry OS 6.0 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
RIM has released a video about the upcoming BlackBerry OS 6.0.


According to the video and the write up at BGR, the BalckBerry OS 6.0 seem to depart from what we have seen on BlackBerries for years. here are some changes we could expect;

• Start Page: A new design with customizable icons that could be placed the way you like. The icons will be gathered on screens based on their tasks.
• Browser: Multitouch, new favorites and tabs. Basically it behaves like browsers on iPhone and Android.
• Media player: Is very iPhone-like.
• Multitouch: Will be enabled across multitude of apps..

You can read more at BGR, via Gizmodo

Blackberry Desktop Manager For Mac Has Been Leaked!

Blackberry Desktop Manager For Mac, BBDM

After what it seems like after decades, RIM has finally  steped up to the plate and has developped a desktop application for Blackberry running on Macs.
There may have been people who stayed away from Blackberries, just because of this reason. Just like to pc companion, the BlackBerry Desktop manager for Mac lets you sync your iTunes playlists, contacts, tasks, apps and more.
According to Blackberry  the software will be availble in September but meanwhile, unofficial copies could be downloaded from;

• Download BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac (from megaupload)>>
• Download BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac (from rapidshare) >>
• Download BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac (from sendspace) >>

CrackBerry

BlackBerry Storm 2 Gets WiFi!

Blackberry Storm 2 WiFi
A German Blog is reporting that Blackberry Storm 2 (codename odin; model 9550/9520/9900?)has WiFi capabilities, and has published photos to prove it.
According benezblog, the Blackberry Storm 2 in the image(s) has;

• Is branded as BlackBerry 9520
  
• has OS 5.0.0.138
  
• has WiFi (!)

But the latest out of RIM has OS 5.1 and branded as model 9990. The phone in question is a Vodaphone version and the US carrier Sprint might not have WiFi option but I guess Sprint will not make any more mistakes like iPhone decision. Benezblog has more photos which are of higher resolution.

Benezblog

Tags: blackberry storm 2, BlackBerry 9520, BlackBerry 9990, vodaphone, Sprint, RIM

RIM Files For A Patent On Hybrid TouchScreen

hybrid capacitive resistive touchscreen
RIM has filed for hybrid capacitive resistive touchscreen display. There have been arguments over which screen is better and many people had louded their favorite screens. I personally like capacitive touch screens.
But if the RIM get s the patent, there will be no need for arguments, at least for blackberry users.
USPTO via engadget via Unwired View

Tags: hybrid capacitive resistive touchscreen, RIM

Etisalat Of UAE Sends "Interceptor" Spyware As An BlackBerry Firmware Upgrade

BlackBerry Spyware In UAE

BlackBerry users of UAE may have downloaded spyware disguised as BlackBerry Update that secretly read and stored text messages and e-mails. These messages were sent to an unknown server. Research In Motion has confirmed the incidence and offered a solution.

The carrier, Etisalat, a cellular service company is based in the United Arab Emirates, UAE. It offered the firmware upgrade to BlackBerry subscribers on July 8 that it would improve the device's performance and a must for continued service. There were many complains after the upgrade that drained battery life of the device.

RIM said the program appears to have been designed and developed from SS8, a Milpitas, Calif., software company specializing in "lawful intercept and surveillance solutions."

The program, named "Interceptor," reported the BlackBerrys' behaviour back to an unknown server.

"Recently, certain Etisalat customers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may have received an SMS message from Etisalat inviting the customer to click on a link and download a software application provided by Etisalat on to their BlackBerry Handheld. The Etisalat software application, named “Registration”, was described by Etisalat as a BlackBerry software upgrade designed to improve performance. Etisalat’s “Registration” software application is not in fact a RIM-authorized software upgrade and was not developed, tested, promoted, distributed or authorized in any way by RIM.

........

Independent sources have concluded that Etisalat’s “Registration” software application is not actually designed to improve performance of a BlackBerry Handheld, but rather to send received messages back to a central server.

RIM has developed this App Remover software (“Software”) to enable affected customers to remove Etisalat’s “Registration” software application."

You can read the complete message and get the RIM APP Remover from RIM Site.

OttawaCitizen

Tags: BlackBerry, RIM, Blackberry Spyware, Etisalat, SS8, "lawful intercept and surveillance solutions", Interceptor, RIM APP Remover

BlackBerry Tour, Latest Smartphone By RIM

BlackBerry Tour (model 9630)

New 3G World Phone Keeps You Connected on High-Speed CDMA Networks in North America and UMTS/HSPA Networks Abroad

Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the BlackBerry® Tour™ – a powerful new 3G BlackBerry® smartphone for CDMA customers in North America. The new BlackBerry Tour smartphone offers state-of-the-art communications and multimedia capabilities with outstanding mobile performance and consummate styling. It is a feature-packed and highly refined world phone that keeps you connected and lets you tour the world in style.

"BlackBerry continues to be the top selling smartphone brand in North America and we are proud to add this powerful new 3G world phone to our successful product portfolio,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “With its striking design and exceptional performance, the new BlackBerry Tour will offer a compelling choice for the growing number of wireless customers looking to upgrade their existing cell phone to a smartphone.”

The BlackBerry Tour smartphone allows customers to stay seamlessly connected - across town and around the world. It supports high-speed 3G EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America, as well as 3G UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad.

The BlackBerry Tour smartphone also provides the industry’s leading mobile solution for email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and social networking together with built-in GPS and advanced multimedia capabilities, enabling customers to make the most of both their personal and professional time.

The BlackBerry Tour features a chic black finish with chrome highlights surrounding its sleek design (112mm x 62mm x 14.2mm and 130g). It includes a large, highly tactile, full-QWERTY keyboard with chrome frets and finely sculpted keys for fast and precise typing. In addition, the large (2.44"), bright display (480 x 360 resolution at 245 ppi) delivers the highest resolution available on a BlackBerry smartphone, presenting pictures, web pages and videos with incredible clarity.

Other key features of the BlackBerry Tour smartphone include:

• 3.2 MP camera with flash, variable zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording*
• Full HTML web browser, including support for streaming audio and video (RTSP)
• Advanced media player for videos, pictures and music, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for the Bluetooth® Stereo Audio Profile (A2DP/AVCRP)
• 256MB Flash memory
• Expandable memory via hot swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot, supporting cards of up to 16 GB today and expected to support next generation 32GB cards when available
• Built-in GPS with support for geotagging, BlackBerry® Maps and other location based applications and services
• BlackBerry® Media Sync allows customers to quickly and easily synch music from iTunes® and Windows Media Player with the smartphone**
• Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, enhanced background noise cancellation, a low-distortion speakerphone, and Bluetooth (2.0) support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
• Preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go®, allowing users to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
• Easy mobile access to Facebook®, MySpace and Flickr®, as well as popular instant messaging services including BlackBerry® Messenger, Yahoo!® IM, AIM®, Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger™
• Support for BlackBerry App World™, featuring a broad and growing catalog of third-party mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include travel, productivity, entertainment, games, social networking & sharing, news & weather, and more
• BlackBerry® Internet Service allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts
• BlackBerry® Enterprise Server provides advanced security and IT administration features within IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® environments
• Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery for 5 hours of talk time and 14 days of standby time

The BlackBerry Tour smartphone (model number: 9630) is expected to be available this summer from carriers in North America.

For more information visit www.blackberry.com/tour

* Video recording requires microSD card, which may be sold separately
** Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies

The BlackBerry Tour smartphone (model number: 9630) is expected to be available this summer from carriers in North America.

Tags: BlackBerry Tour, RIM, geotagging, DataViz, Documents to Go, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, BlackBerry App World, BlackBerry Enterprise Server