I’ve already posted RIM’s official announcement for BBM Music along with some preview screenshots of the app but if that wasn’t enough for you, we have another bit about the new music service for BlackBerry Messenger. Ronen over at BerryReview was able to get hold of Nick Pastiopoulos, Senior Product Manager for BBM Music, and conducted an interview. While some of the info is already covered in the announcement from this morning, it’s still good to get an individual perspective on the app and service from the person who spearheaded the project.

Check out the full interview below!

SEE THE INTERVIEW!

I’m sure by now many of you have heard about Facebook’s new and official Facebook Messenger app for mobile. A bunch of news and tech sites have mentioned this app, some saying Facebook is taking on BlackBerry Messenger with its release. I respectfully disagree. While it may seem like it would be a good popularity battle, there are a few good reasons why Facebook Messenger is not a threat to BBM. Here are mine:

• Facebook didn’t launch their Messenger app with a BlackBerry version, just a version for iPhone and Android.
• Many of the features and options in Facebook Messenger are already available in Facebook for BlackBerry including messaging and instant messaging.
• Compared to the Facebook for BlackBerry app, Facebook Messenger is quite limited.
• BlackBerry Messenger has many more features related to location, messaging, groups, photo sharing and more.
• Thanks to the BBM Social Platform, even more capabilities and options are now available in BBM, something Facebook will most likely never offer.
• If one has a BlackBerry smartphone they will undoubtedly choose BBM and Facebook for BlackBerry because of its Super App capabilities, something that isn’t offered on other platforms and if it is, they’re not as good.
• You won’t annoy friends with text messages if they don’t have the Facebook Messenger app.
• Even though Broadcast Messages are annoying at times, it doesn’t look like the Facebook Messenger app offers such a feature.
• Facebook Messenger doesn’t automatically show what you’re listening to if you love music and want the world to know.

Those are just a few of my reasons which I think are pretty solid . I can go on but I’d rather hear from all of you. Do you think Facebook Messenger poses a threat to BlackBerry Messenger? Sound off in the comments!

via Facebook, The Telegraph

While some sites continue to unreasonably bash RIM and spread obviously fictitious rumors, CIO’s Al Sacco has done the BlackBerry community a solid by providing seven reasons why not to lose faith in RIM. Al thinks many critics are underestimating them which I have to agree with. He is fair with his article and provides facts with some opinion, not rumors without sources, names, links, etc.

I think RIM and its BlackBerry customers still have grounds to remain positive and upbeat. What follows is a quick list of reasons why I still keep a BlackBerry in my pocket–and why I don’t see that changing any time soon.

1. Love that BlackBerry QWERTY Keyboard
2. BlackBerry Battery Life Can’t be Beat
3. BlackBerry Enterprise Security and Manageability
4. BlackBerry Messenger and BBM Social
5. Future is Bright for BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet
6. Seven New Handhelds in 2011, Promise of QNX-Based BlackBerrys
7. BlackBerry Data Compression

Check out the full article here at CIO and let me know what you think in the comments!

If you follow my personal Twitter profile you will have noticed that I commented on an article by Galen Gruman over at InfoWorld. I basically said he’s biased in his articles and needs to do his research. He published an article called “RIM BlackBerry PlayBook: Unfinished, unusable” so I did what any BlackBerry fan would do, I jumped on him about it. Still no reply but I’m sure he got the point. According to his Twitter profile, he seems to be an Apple fanboy anyway.

Ok, now to the point of this post. Al Sacco over at CIO noticed how wrong some websites and bloggers (like Gruman) were and decided to publish an article where he attempts to clear up confusion about the PlayBook-to-BlackBerry smartphone tethering “requirement”. Simply put, you DO NOT need a BlackBerry smartphone to effectively use the BlackBerry PlayBook. I’d be doing an injustice to both the BlackBerry and non-BlackBerry community if I did not mention Al’s article because a lot of sites are spreading false and unsupported information on the PlayBook. As Al put it, “endless confusion and misinformation regarding PlayBook e-mail spread throughout the Internet like a stomach bug in a daycare center”.

Just to be clear, to access your BlackBerry emails, contacts and calendars, you obviously do need to have a BlackBerry smartphone connected via BlackBerry Bridge. That does not mean non-BlackBerry smartphone owners can’t access the same things, they just need to do it through the PlayBook’s browser until a native option is available (which is in the works). That being said, head on over to CIO to read Al’s article and be sure to share it with anyone spreading misinformation about the PlayBook!

It’s been a while since I referred to an article posted by Al Sacco (aka @ASacco) over at CIO. While this article was posted earlier this month, I figured it’s still worth a mention for those looking for a good comparison of the Apple iPad 2 and RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Since this article was posted a few weeks ago it might not be updated with the latest available info but it’s a good starting point if you’re just looking for a comparison of the two tablets with the enterprise in mind. Here’s what Al compares in his article:

1. iPad 2 v BlackBerry PlayBook Security
2. Apple iPad 2 v BlackBerry PlayBook Size
3. Apple iPad 2 v PlayBook Connectivity and Availability
4. Apple iPad 2 v BlackBerry PlayBook Pricing
5. Apple iPad 2 v BlackBerry PlayBook RAM
6. Apple iPad 2 v PlayBook Camera and Video Conferencing
7. Apple iPad 2 v BlackBerry PlayBook Durability

Overall the BlackBerry PlayBook seems to hold its own against the first generation iPad as a competitive device. For full details be sure to read the full article at CIO.

A few days ago I mentioned having read some articles that expressed negativity towards RIM and BlackBerry smartphones saying things like they can’t compete, their era is over, etc. It’s very refreshing to see another site put up an article where they defend RIM and even say Apple should be worried, something I’ve said for a while now. In their article, eWeek offers 10 reasons why Apple should be worried about BlackBerry 6, RIM’s upcoming and biggest upgrade to the platform’s operating system:

1. RIM is finally ready to play
   For a while, RIM didn’t seem all that prepared to take on Apple and Google in the mobile market. The company’s BlackBerry devices looked obsolete, and its software worked poorly when compared to iOS. But with BlackBerry 6, all that has changed. The software includes several new features, including social and multimedia integration, that make it a far more viable alternative to anything Apple offers. And given the size of its installed base, that could be a major issue for Apple as it attempts to steal BlackBerry owners away from RIM.
2. It’s what the enterprise has waited for
   The enterprise has been the main benefactor of RIM’s BlackBerry for years. Companies that have wanted more functionality and productivity have opted for BlackBerry devices over anything else. But in recent years, those companies realized that BlackBerry OS is becoming obsolete. And they have started looking elsewhere for their mobile needs. With BlackBerry 6, RIM can finally bring those customers back. The software includes the same level of functionality for enterprise users, but adds some streamlined menus and other features to make it more usable. That alone should make enterprise users happy.
3. Familiar—to a point
   The best aspect of BlackBerry OS throughout the years is that it has remained familiar. Similar to Windows, which has kept its basic functionality throughout the years, RIM’s BlackBerry OS resembles the same look and feel that customers have been working with all these years. BlackBerry 6 will follow that pattern with the same gridlike arrangement and a familiar menu design. But it will also move forward with fresh ideas, thanks to some new graphics built into the software that most users won’t be familiar with at first. There won’t be drastic differences, but they will be noticeable. And for the most part, they will only help users get more out of the software. READ THE REST!

Earlier this month I mentioned that BlackBerry, Gmail & Skype might be banned in India and more recently that the UAE wants access to encrypted info. I expressed my own concerns about RIM allowing access to encrypted info on their servers to intelligence agencies of India, but they’ve decided to “comply” with India’s demands and plan to allow them access.

“Makers of BlackBerry have assured the ministry of home affairs that the issue of monitoring will be sorted out soon. I am sure we will soon be on the same page and our concerns will be addressed,” special secretary (internal security) in home ministry U K Bansal told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organised by FICCI here.

The government has already warned RIM that if it does not comply with the formats that can allow monitoring of emails and SMSes to address security concerns, it will have to close down operations in the country.

Bansal said the department of telecommunication was the nodal authority which made policy and it was working to address the issue raised by the home ministry.

BlackBerry’s server is based in Canada where the encryption level is very high and extremely difficult to crack. Any message going through the Canadian server is encrypted and, therefore, cannot be accessed by intelligence agencies in India.

I can’t help but laugh at that last bit where India complained that RIM’s encryption level was difficult to crack. Military level encryption that’s difficult to crack and track…you don’t say? Personally I don’t think RIM should have complied (slippery slope) but I guess they’re confident they can allow access without jeopardizing total security. What do you think?

via Times Of India

Over the last few days I’ve read articles from bloggers and analysts where they talk of RIM BlackBerry smartphones supposedly being doomed because of their competition, Apple iPhone and Google Android. I was happy when I got an email about a Newsweek article where Mike Lazaridis, inventor of the BlackBerry, basically says they’re just getting started and he sees more growth opportunities.

It kind of amazed me that many were already writing RIM off saying Apple and Google are far enough ahead that they were doomed, but what they seem to have forgotten, as the article says, Mike Lazaridis “virtually invented the smart-phone market”.  It’s not easy overtaking a company like RIM and I highly doubt it will happen.

And as far as rumors that RIM might jump into the tablet game, Lazaridis will only say, “The jury is still out.” For now, his plan to remain relevant is simple: refine the device that made him a visionary. De La Vergne says the smart-phone field, globally speaking, is certainly ripe, with his company estimating it will grow to 500 million units sold by 2012. That’s the kind of figure Lazaridis likes to get behind. “This period [for RIM] is about making the Blackberry better, and making the experience more compelling,” he says. What he’s referring to is the upcoming Blackberry 6 platform as well as a new look for some Blackberry devices. But will that be enough to reinvent a company that was born of reinvention? He seems to think so. “Just think about how big the smart-phone market really is for companies that have targeted this space,” he says. “For a business [like Blackberry] this is really an excellent situation.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, RIM’s original focus was the business sector. That doesn’t mean they can’t do well with consumers and as many BlackBerry addicts have proven, they already have. For RIM, now it’s just a matter of adding the looks and some more power to an already awesome device. I think RIM’s biggest step and defense against competitors will be BlackBerry 6 and devices like the Bold 9800 slider but it definitely won’t be their last.

via Newsweek