RIM and Microsoft have announced a deal that will officially bring Windows Live Services -- specifically Hotmail and Messenger -- to Blackberry handsets. Has hell frozen over? We wouldn't know. What we do know is the two companies have been rivals in the mobile industry up until now, but they both gain significantly from agreement.
Microsoft is no stranger to the idea of playing in a competitor's sandbox (remember Office for Mac?). By making Windows Live Messenger and Hotmail more accessible on the Crackberry, the company further pushes its communications services towards mass standardization especially in the business world. RIM also benefits from the agreement in the same way Apple benefits from Office for Mac: an OS is only as good as the software on it.
Messenger on Blackberry should retain most of its functions. It looks like users will be able to do the usual: IM, set status, pull up buddy lists, save conversations, use emoticons, and even send and receive files. While it looks like users can join group chats, creating group chats seems to be absent from the feature list.
If you are a Google Docs user you are going to be happy to know that Google Docs Mobile was recently released. Accessing your online Google Docs has gotten easier but don't get your hopes up yet, there are some restrictions.
There were some hints in September about the new mobile service when users came across a working web address for the service. Google Docs Mobile is still in its early stages and it's far from perfect. For instance, only iPhone and Blackberry devices are officially supported. And you can only view documents. You can't edit them. You can either open spreadsheets as an HTML document or you can download an XLS version.
Presentations are said to be viewable on the iPhone. Other devices may work with the mobile version, but Google has said that the more advanced a phone's browsing capability is, the more seamlessly it will work with the Mobile Docs site. As for the interface, it's basically a stripped down version of the online site offering not much more than plain text with no formatting.
A trend that has been flowing with Google has been the development of proper mobile applications, as with Gmail, and Gmail Apps for your domain. We wonder how long it will take for a Google Docs mobile application to get off the ground?
The software will include email, phone, calendar, address book, tasks, memos, browser, instant messenger, and other applications developed to run on BlackBerries. Since the application will work like any other third-party Windows Mobile program, showing up on your screen as an icon you click to launch the suite, you'll be able to flip back and forth between the Windows Mobile calendar/email etc and the Blackberry suite.
The new program will enable push email on Windows Mobile devices (something you can already get for free through emoze), and allow companies to deploy software that will run either on BlackBerry or Windows Mobile devices. You'll also have a more input methods than on a traditional BlackBerry, with support for QWERTY keyboards, 5-way navigation buttons, or stylus support.
Blackberry owners could soon be dancing in the streets over RIM's new developer API which, for the first time, enables those propeller-headed software engineers to do neat stuff like embed multimedia content, support common formats like Mp3, WMA and AAC, and access the camera available in newer models.
In addition, there's also a sweet new maps API which will allow applications to draw a route or show an address with minimal fuss.
Windows Mobile has been kicking some Blackberry-behind of late, but this could give some new life to the family of devices. Frankly, when you think of the first devices RIM brought to the party -- a line of greenscreen pagers with thumbwheels -- they've come pretty far. I wouldn't count this puppy out just yet.
I'm not a fan of DRM, and that's certainly no secret. I find myself in more powerful anti-DRM company all the time. Today I'm joined in my distaste by Jim Balsillie, chairman and co-chief executive of Blackberry maker Research In Motion who says the entertainment industry is "holding up development" in the wireless sector with its relentless quest to sell you another copy of everything for each new device you buy protect its content.
Balsillie told a roomful of analysts and investors yesterday in Toronto, "I think [DRM is] just going to break down with the normal proliferation of the Internet," adding, "It's going to be tough. I think [content providers] are going to have to shift their business models. But they will go down swinging."
Balsillie also thinks the Blackberry is poised to become quite the stud among the newly developing mobile phone + mp3 player market. While I don't agree that RIM is in great position to take over a large chunk of mobile music market share, I do share one belief I'm sure hangs heavy in Balsillie's mind; Until DRM dies a quick ugly death and is mourned appropriately by the entertainment business, RIM's not going to stand much of a chance as a music player manufacturer.
Opera software released a new version of its mobile browser, Opera Mini, on Tuesday for use on Palm and RIM handhelds. This new version has "the Google" search engine as default. Since launching earlier this year, Opera Mini has received much fanfare and thanks from mobile users for bringing a fast and much better mobile browser to the marketplace. This new version enhances on image rendering and speed performance by condensing web pages, and decreasing the data size that is transferred. Not only is Opera free to download and use, but they have a contest running right now where Operaheads can win a free Palm Treo or Blackberry for coming up with a sales pitch to explain why Opera Mini would improve your on-the-go lifestyle. The deadline for the contest is November 30th.
RIM announces BlackBerry software for Windows Mobile
Blackberry owners could soon be dancing in the streets over 
