RIM acquires mobile app tool developer tinyHippos

Blackberry maker Research In Motion says it has bought Ontario-based startup tinyHippos Inc , creator of Ripple , a cross-platform mobile application development and testing tool.

The company was acquired for its "extensive experience in web and mobile widget/web development," Tyler Lessard, RIM's vice president of global alliances and developer relations, said on the developer's blog on Friday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition comes as RIM prepares to launch its Playbook tablet computer next month, entering an increasingly crowded market dominated by Apple's iPad and various devices running on Google's Android platform.

RIM has said it would offer support for Android apps on its tablet, potentially enabling it to carry more than 200,000 of the third-party software additions available on the platform.

RIM reported a higher-than-forecast fourth-quarter profit on Thursday but warned that its earnings would slip as it pumped money into the launch of the Playbook.

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Apple, Google, RIM neck-and-neck in smart phone market

Apple, Google, Research In Motion (RIM) are neck and neck in the cut-throat smart phone market in the US , according to a Nielsen survey Thursday.

While Apple and Google have their own individual operating systems to run their respective smart phones, Google's Android operating system (OS) supports the rest of the competition.

"When it comes to consumer market share by operating system, Android (29 percent ) appears to be pulling ahead of RIM Blackberry (27 percent) and Apple iOS (27 percent)," Nielsen said in its survey.

But the analysis shows "RIM and Apple to be the winners compared to other device makers since they are the only ones creating and selling smart phones with their respective operating systems."

According to the survey, HTC follows with 12 percent of consumer smartphone owners having an HTC Android device and 7 percent owning an HTC device running a Microsoft OS.

Only 10 percent of consumer smart phone owners had a Motorola Android device and one percent owned a Motorola device running a Microsoft OS, the survey said.

RIM says rivals will face same pressure from India

Research In Motion (RIM), looking to fend off rivals and assure wary Indian customers of its encrypted communications services, said its major competitors would face the same pressures over government security concerns.

The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, which has been grappling with the Indian government for years, said it appreciated New Delhi's security concerns and was willing to discuss industry-wide policy changes.

But it also warned that draconian measures would limit India's economic development, including its massive business outsourcing industry.

" RIM fully appreciates and supports the priority India rightly places on national security," the Canadian company said in a statement on Tuesday addressed to enterprise customers -- businesses, professionals and government agencies -- in the world's fastest growing mobile phone market.

The Indian government is fearful that encrypted BlackBerry services could be used to foster unrest or allow militants to organize or carry out attacks.

But RIM noted that, in numerous meetings, the Indian government has also shown it recognizes encryption is fundamental to attracting and maintaining international business.

Government rejects RIM offer, demands full BlackBerry access

India rejected on Monday Research In Motion's (RIM) offer to allow it only partial access to its BlackBerry data services as neighbouring Pakistan also moved to restrict the popular smartphone's services.

It was not immediately clear what the Indian government, which says it is driven by security concerns, would now do after the Canadian smartphone maker failed to fulfill demands to monitor encrypted corporate email by a Jan. 31 deadline. RIM had previously said was confident India would not ban its services.

Earlier this month, RIM said it had given India the means to access its Messenger service ahead of the deadline but reiterated that it could not give the authorities access to monitor secure corporate emails.

Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told a news conference the government still wanted access to emails.

"I think a decision will be taken today by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs)," Chidambaram added. RIM's India-based spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Last year, India demanded access to all BlackBerry services as part of efforts to fight militancy and security threats over the Internet and through telephone communications, demands echoed by several other countries that have also tried, sometimes successfully, to restrict the popular smartphone.

Apple, RIM, ZTE won in booming Q4 cellphone market

North American smartphone vendors Apple and RIM , along with low-cost Chinese producer ZTE , emerged as the biggest winners on the booming cellphone market in final quarter of 2010.

Research firm IDC estimated the global handset market grew last quarter 18 percent from a year ago, while Strategy Analytics said growth was at 16 percent.

"Mobile phone users are eager to swap out older devices for ones that handle data as well as voice, which is driving growth and replacement cycles," IDC analyst Kevin Restivo said in a statement on Friday.

The phone market has recovered from a slump in 2009 when the global economic slowdown dampened sales of the latest gadgets. Demand has surged for new smartphones like Apple's iPhone 4 and Samsung's Galaxy S.

Apple's sales of iPhones grew 86 percent from a year ago, while RIM sold 35 percent more Blackberrys than a year ago in its latest fiscal quarter to end-November.

RISE OF ZTE "The past year has been a highly disruptive period, as high-tier smartphone specialists and manufacturers of entry-level handsets with multiple SIM-card slots made gains at the expense of several established mega-vendors," said analyst Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.

Microsoft, RIM grow on app developers: Survey

Mobile software developers remain fixated on Apple and on Google's Android as the prime targets of their toil, but Microsoft and Research In Motion are making inroads as tablet offerings multiply.

The iPhone, which boasts more than 300,000 third-party applications, or apps, retains the attention of 92 percent of developers, according to a survey released on Tuesday by research firm IDC and app platform Appcelerator.

The survey of more than 2,200 developers found many expect to produce more apps for more platforms with more complexity.

"Cloud connectivity, location and social will define the experiences of most applications this year and going forward," said Appcelerator's Scott Schwarzhoff in an interview.

"Respondents said 'last year I was kicking the tyres, this year I really am ramping up my efforts'," he added.

Developer intent is a useful indicator of broader interest in a platform, as consumers are drawn to devices that can perform specific tasks such as checking news or stock prices, tracking how far you've run or finding nearby restaurants.

Apple's iPad tablet and Android phones -- which are made by a number of handset makers including HTC , Samsung and Motorola Mobility -- tied for the next biggest share of developer attention, with 87 percent saying they are very interested in each platform.

RIM gives India access to Messenger services

Blackberry maker Research in Motion said it has given Indian security agencies a key to enable access to its eponymous messenger and public email, but reiterated its inability to provide access to its corporate email services.

RIM has been involved in a three-year battle with Indian security agencies, which are demanding access to BlackBerry communications, citing national security threats.

The Canadian company, which was facing a January 31 deadline for the two services, however, denied that it had entered into any agreement with the Indian government regarding its enterprise email services, and said any suggestions that "it was somehow enabling, or planning to enable, access to data transmitted through BlackBerry Enterprise Services was both false and technologically infeasible".

ET had reported last week that RIM had provided encryption keys for its Messenger and Internet services, while adding the Canadian company had sought time till January 2013 to address security concerns associated with its corporate email services.

The Indian government is yet to take a call on RIM's stance on its corporate email services, which intelligence agencies fear could be used by terrorists, since these communications cannot be detected.

RIM reiterated that neither it nor wireless carriers on whose networks RIM's services are run have access to encryption keys to its corporate email services. "No changes can be made to the security architecture for BlackBerry Enterprise Server (corporate email) customers since, contrary to any rumors, the security architecture is the same around the world and RIM truly has no ability to provide its customers' encryption keys," the company said in its customer update.

RIM says gives India solution for Messenger access

BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion said on Thursday it had given a solution ahead of a Jan 31 target date that enables Indian wireless carriers lawful access to consumer services including the BlackBerry Messenger, but excluding access to corporate emails.

"We also wish to underscore, once again, that this enablement of lawful access does not extend to BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which is essentially an enterprise VPN solution," the company said in a customer update referring to its corporate email server.

India had threatened to shut off corporate email and instant messenger services on BlackBerry unless it gains access to them, in a campaign driven by fears that unmonitored communication puts the country's security at risk.

But RIM averted a potential ban last year and the Indian government said last October that RIM had set up an interim arrangement for lawful interception of BlackBerry Messenger services and assured a final solution by end-January.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

RIM announces 4G tablet, touts corporate interest

Corporate interest in Research in Motion's new tablet was "massive," the company said, as it announced plans to launch a 4G version of the device this summer with Sprint Nextel.

RIM for the first time on Wednesday provided a hands-on demonstration of the PlayBook, a seven-inch touchscreen tablet that will go head-to-head with Apple's iPad when the Wi-Fi-only version ships, likely in March.

"In large companies, they're talking deployment in the tens of thousands, right off the bat," said Jeff McDowell , senior vice president of enterprise and platform marketing for RIM.

He said corporations are viewing the PlayBook as a tool as essential to employees as a phone or a PC. "It's not something that they want to trickle in."

RIM's tablet is perhaps the most anticipated iPad rival in a sea of new competitors bent on challenging Apple and stealing a piece of a fast-growing market expected to top 50 million units next year.

McDowell said RIM decided to go with Sprint for its first high-speed wireless compatible tablet because it has most "ubiquitous 4G network at this point."

The choice of No. 3 U.S. mobile service Sprint as RIM's first carrier was an interesting one given that Sprint uses a high-speed wireless technology that is incompatible with networks being built by the top two U.S. mobile operators.

The PlayBook -- which sports a fast dual-core processor -- performed smoothly as it went through its paces, loading websites and applications quickly and playing Flash-based videos on the Internet with ease.

The PlayBook weighs less than one pound (400 grams) and is less than 10 millimeters thick, with a thin rubber coating.

Its software allows for multi-tasking and features a rotating "carousel" that shows all the programs that the device is running. A simple finger swipe up brings up the home screen, while a swipe out closes programs.

There has been plenty of debate in recent weeks about the PlayBook's battery life, a key point of competition in the tablet market. The 10-inch iPad boasts more than 10 hours of battery life.

McDowell said the PlayBook's battery will last as long or longer than other 7-inch tablets, although he declined to be more specific.

He said concerns about Flash programs draining battery life were "absurd generalizations." Apple has derided Flash as a battery hogging technology, and the iPad does not support the widely-used multimedia software.

TABLET WARS BEGIN

RIM is betting that its reputation for security and reliability will make the PlayBook a favorite in corporate IT departments.

But Apple CEO Steve Jobs has singled out the PlayBook for criticism, saying that seven-inch tablets will be "dead on arrival" when they hit the market.

McDowell said the PlayBook will launch with a library featuring "thousands" of apps available for download. When asked, he said RIM is looking at different screen sizes for the PlayBook, but declined to comment further.

The company has previously said it would sell the PlayBook for "under $500" but has not yet provided a specific price tag. The iPad starts at $499.

Analysts, on average, forecast RIM will sell fewer than 4 million PlayBooks in the 12 months after its launch.

Apple has sold more than 7 million iPads since launching the device in April and analysts predict that the company sold as many as 6 million in the December quarter.

RIM has plenty riding on the PlayBook. Once a darling of Wall Street, the company is having a hard time convincing investors that it is well-positioned to combat Apple and Google in the booming market for smartphones and tablets.

Shares in RIM spiked sharply in heavy volume in the last hour of Nasdaq trade to end the session 4.8 percent higher at $61.92. RIM's Toronto Stock Exchange-listed shares closed 4.4 percent higher at C$61.70.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

RIM offers interception solution using Cloud Computing

With the approaching deadline to offer complete solution for monitoring of its contents by January 31, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) has offered lawful interception in its security architecture through cloud computing from Indian operators.

Cloud computing is Internet-based service, whereby shared servers provide software and data to computers and other devices on demand.

RIM infrastructure is ready to receive and process through the cloud computing-based system, lawfully intercepted BlackBerry Messenger data from Indian service providers, the Canada-based firm said in a letter to the government.

Earlier, RIM had assured the Government that they will provide the 'final solution' for the lawful interception of BlackBerry Messenger services by January 31, 2011. The company has said that this was the understanding that they were to put in place the system by January 31.

According to sources in the know, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to validate the technology (cloud computing) being offered by RIM.

BlackBerry has over one million subscribers in India , which is one of the fastest growing markets in the world in terms of new subscriber additions.

The Canada-based company made it clear that its security systems are still cutting edge by saying, "RIM maintains a consistent global standard for lawful access requirements that does not include special deals for specific countries.

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us