RIM throws up the white flag; acknowledges iOS in the enterprise space.

Today Research In Motion has pretty much said if we can’t beat them, lets profit of them. They have launched a new enterprise mobile device management tool called BlackBerry MobileFusion.  With this tool IT managers can manage BlackBerry smartphones and  the little used BlackBerry PlayBook. The software will also be able to manage tablets and smartphones running Android and iOS. So a IT manager will be able to do the following to your iDevice should you have it on the company network.

• Activate and configure devices and profiles over the air
• Enable access to enterprise Mail, Calendar and PIM
• Administer users and groups, natively and directory based
• Establish corporate IT Policies and Security
• Manage lost devices – Password Reset, Device Lock, Device Wipe
• Deploy internally-developed apps
• Define (and enforce) public applications as mandatory or optional
• Provides Rooting & Jailbreak Detection
• Prevent apps from accessing corporate mail accounts

Blackberry says “IT managers need to accommodate individually purchased units that come into the enterprise, whether by a sales rep deciding to expense the latest handset, a doctor bringing in their personal phone for hospital work, or a field worker getting whatever’s available on special as a replacement unit.”

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion server software is  a free download and  Client Access Licenses are included free for 60 days at the moment as well too. This will give IT managers a chance to try it out before a full roll out.

RIM Blackberry 10: iPhone iOS clone?

 

Research in Motion has already confirmed that BlackBerry 10 smartphones won’t be shipping until late this year. This will not help them if they are trying to get into the good graces of Smartphone buyers.  CrackBerry showed a preview of what’s to come. They will have home screen widgets. They also have  iOS-styled folders and integrated video calling.

The new BlackBerry 10 widgets look like they were cut and paste from Windows and Android. The new folder icon shows you a preview of the applications inside and a dedicated video chat button. The BlackBerry 10 OS looks like it is years ahead of  RIM’s current OS but will it be enough to get people to buy a Blackberry? I think the answer to that is no. It is way too late in the game right now. They would have to do something that is a game changer. BGR reported that the BlackBerry London will be the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone to market. It  is scheduled for a late September release but realistically it’s looking more like  October.

Apple iPad just keeps eating Blackberrys

 

Apple’s iPad pretty much owns the tablet mar­ket. It’s competitors really can not compare. Sorry competitors I have more bad news. iPad’s enterprise market share is growing. One wonders does more tablets mean less windows machines?

Good Tech­nol­o­gy a enter­prise mobile ser­vices ven­dor reports that Apple’s iPad account­ed for 96% of tablets acti­vat­ed at the com­pa­nies that use the com­pa­ny’s ser­vices. The iPhone accounted for 53% of new phone activations. That is a very big percentage. It comes out to be about 71% of  mobile enter­prise devices  iOS. That does not sound very good for Blackberry, Android  and Windows device.

BlackBerry has been going downhill for awhile now. It’s new low being, dethrone as top smart phone in the Enterprise workspace

BlackBerry has been going downhill for some time now. The two headed CEO leadership just keeps saying everything is alright. We are still “King of the World” like they can’t see what everyone else sees. The near death of a once untouchable market leader. The service interruption might have been the last straw that pushed users and businesses over the edge. The timing could not have been better for other phone manufacturers looking to take a bite out of the enterprise space.

The release of iPhone’s are always a big deal for everyone this time around. Many Telecom, IT and just people who are forced to carry a BlackBerry thought long and hard this time around about making the switch. It seem to have worked. According to a report by iPass you might see an iPhone around the office more than you see a BlackBerry. Truth be told I see more and more of them everyday in the office. Most people where I an issued BlackBerry and a person iPhone on their hips gunslinger style. What the Mobile Workforce Report from research firm iPass is saying is that people are now actually being issued iPhones instead of a Blackberry.

The report states 45% of the enterprise workforce carries an iPhone, up from 31.1% last year. BlackBerry market share has only 32% Android’s market share doubled year over year to surpass Symbian. I tend to take Android numbers with a grain of salt since everyone and their mother makes a phone for the platform. Nevertheless they have 21% share of the enterprise smartphone market. So they soon as next year could pass BlackBerry as well since only 2.3% of workers have plans to buy a BlackBerry next year.

The iPass study also shows that found a number of other compelling tidbits: 40% of mobile workers would feel disoriented if they didn’t have a smartphone for a week. I feel that way if missing my iPhone for an hour. The iPass study was based on a survey of more than 2,300 workers around the world. Feel free to read the report at iPass. Note that it is a PDF.

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis Gives a public apology for ongoing World Wide BlackBerry outage

Lazaridis said “We’ve let many of you down. You expect better from us. And I expect better from us. We are working around the clock to fix this.” RIM had thought the issue was resolved late Monday. They were wrong the service interruptions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa led to a back log of data. This is what the current issue is. The main core switch failure issue has been taken care of but all that back log of emails and text have to catch up. It’s like a clogged drain of data right now for RIM.

Lazaridis said said that “normal BlackBerry service levels” in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa where it all started are back to normal. The co-chief warned that RIM is not out of the woods yet. That is correct it is going to take a while for all that data to get back to normal. There are a lot of companies and most of the US government use RIM daily. Productivity should be at a all time high. People can go old school and hands on. Make phone calls, remember that, a voice not a text?   This is not a good time for this to happen. The iPhone 4S comes out Friday. I look for a lot of people to jump ship on the failing company. Unfortunately Enterprise do not have that luxury.

Blackberry: Black & Blue year continues. Service out for 3rd day

BlackBerry users across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and even some areas in South America are still without access to the Wen or messaging services for the third consecutive day. BlackBerry had said the issues were resolved following one day of service interruptions to millions of users.

Research In Motion confirmed earlier that a bug on a Blackberry server was responsible for the issues they have had.  There were millions offline on Monday. Than on Tuesday that the interruption continued. The bug that is the caused a core switch failure is still not fixed. RIM now says the outage has caused a large backlog of data that must be cleared before service can return to normal. No firm timeline has been issued.

 

RIM says on the support website: Service update

Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested. As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to many of you and we will continue to keep you informed.

BGR publishes open letter about RIM. Less than 24 hours later plans to spit Co-CEO role. Coincidence I think not!

 

 

RIM seems to have listen to the Open Letter that was published on BGR. RIM said it would consider splitting its Chief Executive and Chairman roles. That partnership has worked well for RIM. According to RIM, they ship 100 phones  per minute. While very success overseas is great, in the United States RIM is perceived as “old school.” It’s the phone your father was forced to use for work. It at one time was the very definition of a smartphone. The times have since changed but RIM along with other one time innovation leaders seem to be stuck in a rut.

Why is RIM doing this change ahead of its annual shareholder meeting next month? Simple, RIM has been under a lot criticism from shareholders about Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis who both share CEO roles. Now keep in mind that RIM is only forming a committee to study the CEO and board roles. That means nothing might happen other than hope it’s enough to get the monkey of their backs for a little bit.

RIM and NEI Investments Announce Withdrawal of Shareholder Proposal; RIM Committee to Review Matter Raised by Proposal

Waterloo, ON -

Research In Motion Limited (“RIM”) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) and Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. (“NEI Investments”) announced today that, following discussions between them, NEI Investments has decided to withdraw its proposal that was to be considered at the RIM Annual General Meeting. The proposal asked that RIM’s Board of Directors adopt a policy that divides the role of Chair and CEO, and that RIM have an independent Chair.  The parties have agreed that RIM’s Board will establish a Committee of independent directors whose mandate will generally be to (i) study the appropriate balance between an independent lead director or chair with full and exclusive authority customarily held by such an office holder, (ii) determine the business necessity for RIM’s Co-CEOS to have significant Board level titles to assist their selling and other responsibilities with certain large customers in overseas markets, and (iii)  propose and provide a rationale for a recommended governance structure for RIM, which will include clarifications of the Co-CEOs and Chair roles, as well as the Board’s mandate. The Committee will consult with NEI Investments in developing the specific terms of reference for this mandate and before it issues its report by January 31, 2012. The Board will publicly respond to the recommendations of the Committee within 30 days.

As a result, the proposal will no longer be presented at the Annual General Meeting and no vote will be taken on the proposal at the meeting. RIM and NEI Investments are pleased to have reached an agreement on this matter, and these important issues of corporate governance will receive further consideration at the RIM Board level.

BlackBerry Messenger will finally be on Android & iDevices

BGR is reporting that  Research In Motion (RIM) is bring BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to Android and  iDevices.  When? We have no idea. Sometime this year is a pretty forgiving time frame. According to BGR’s sources, RIM has not yet come up pricing but it might be free. I do not think it will be free. They would have to charge for it. Just a reasonable one time fee. It would not be a smart move to charge a monthly fee for it. Less they want to give Apple a 30% cut each month.

RIM will offer stripped down versions of the BBM experience found on BlackBerry devices.  That means they would not be able to share photos, location, or videos. So it will be just text. Which all I want anyway. If you want to full deal of everything BBM has to offer you would have to get  a BlackBerry device.

UberTwitter (now known as UberSocial) is back up

It’s back! I know that there were a whole lot of people going through a rough time this weekend. You can all go back to your beloved UberTwitter if you have not done so already. Twidroid and UberTwitter are back online.  UberTwitter is now named UberSocial

Pay Starbucks via iPhone

Just enter your Starbucks Card number and your iPhone becomes your Starbucks Card. You can register your card, check your balance and track the Stars you earn toward free beverages through My Starbucks Rewards.

You can pay for your drink using the Starbucks Card Mobile app.  Enter your card number and your device will display a barcode you can use as your Starbucks Card to make purchases. It’s fast. It’s easy. And it’s a revolution in mobile payment. Mobile Pay is available at more than 7,500 Starbucks stores, including all Target Starbucks stores, in the United States. To find a store, use our Store Locator and select the Mobile Payment filter.
Real world Note** Cashiers will have no idea why you are handing them a phone. You may need to explain this to them.

Download here for iphone/iPad: Starbucks

Download for Blackberry Tour, Curve or Storm :  Text GO to 70845.