Belgian company arrowUp announced today the launch of its eID PKI (electronic Identity Card Public Key Infrastructure) application for BlackBerry. The application enables quick checks to be conducted of Belgium citizens’ eID on BlackBerry smartphones connected to a BlackBerry Smart Card Reader using Bluetooth.
Jean De Coster, Sales Manager, arrowUp comments: “This application is unique and has been exclusively developed for the BlackBerry platform. In Europe there is no comparable application available and as a leading company in the field of e-Identification, we are extremely pleased to offer this application with the BlackBerry solution.”
arrowUp’s eID application is intended for government and medical organizations, as well as insurance and security companies. Interested organizations can learn more at http://eid.arrowup.be/arrowup/en/arrowup/.
Potentially big news coming via the Globe and Mail this morning regarding RIM’s braintrust. Canadian regulators are seeking a record penalty as high as C$100 million from Co-CEO’s Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie for their role in a stock option accounting controversy dating back to 1996. For those that don’t remember, this is the same scandal that led to Balsillie stepping down as RIM Chairman.
In 2007, a special committee of RIM’s board investigated the back-dating issue, and determined the company had backdated more than 40 per cent of stock options granted to employees since 1996. It also concluded that 12 of the 16 option grants made to Mr. Balsillie and Mr. Lazaridis between 1996 and 2006, to acquire a total of two million shares, were priced using an incorrect date.
Reached last night at his home, Balsillie declined to comment on what he described as “rumours,” the paper reported. Neither Lazaridis nor his lawyer could be reached. A spokeswoman for the OSC said: “We can’t comment on enforcement cases.”
The Ontario Securities Commision is apparently pushing for Balsillie to pay the bulk of any penalty and relinquish his seat on RIM’s board of directors for a period of time. If the full $100-million penalty were approved, it would rank as the largest penalty paid by individuals to the OSC.
Orange Romania and Research In Motion today launched the BlackBerry Curve 8900. In addition to exceptional phone, email, messaging, organizer, web browser and multimedia applications, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone features global connectivity support, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, a next generation 512Mhz processor and a stunning hi-resolution display.
”We believe that in 2009 this new BlackBerry smartphone will play a significant role in the smartphone market in Romania. Customers will easily recognize the optimal combination of price, design, functionality and services. Orange smartphone sales have grown by 20% in 2008 comparing to 2007 and we are positive that launching smarpthones such as the BlackBerry Curve 8900, which combines industry leading email and Internet access services with rich multimedia capabilities, will greatly appeal to our customers,” stated Razvan Sturza, Product Manager Orange Romania.
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is available in all Orange shops and partners’ stores in Romania. Prices range from 229 EUR to 329 EUR depending on the BlackBerry tariff plan chosen.
Good friend Ronen over at BerryReview is reporting that Fido will be launching its muchrumored BlackBerry service on February 4th. Apparently Fido will offer only BIS and no BES service, with their first BlackBerry being the BlackBerry Pearl 8100. Here’s the rumored price points:
BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Pricing
* $400 MTM / No Contract
* $350 on a 2 Year
* $25 on a 3 year w/ Voice + Data (no minimum monthly total cost required).
Fido BIS Data Plans
* $15 – Unlimited Personal Email + IM (BBM, WM, Yahoo, AIM etc…).
* $25 – 500MB BIS Data
* $30 – 1GB BIS Data
* $60 – 3GB BIS Data
Two more important items of note: BlackBerry data will be available to Fido customers without contract and tethering will be allowed. It will be interesting to see what kind of numbers and demographic Fido will attract with their offering. I’m thinking university students that want a cheap BlackBerry Pearl but no contract.
BlackBerry themes are great because they allow you to both spice up your BlackBerry and add a personal touch. But unless you have a few themes to rotate through, staring at the same background each day can be just as boring. Bplay has introduced a new theme to cure your BlackBerry ennui: Solar Slideshow.
Solar Slideshow is a BlackBerry theme featuring 9 different background wallpapers for each planet in our solar system (we’ll give Pluto the benefit of the doubt). Each planet will stay in your background for 30 minutes before rotating to the next – consider it an intrastellar voyage for your BlackBerry!
To download Solar Slideshow for you BlackBerry, click the link below. Make sure to say hi to Major Tom for us.
When I posted yesterday that it seemed like RIM was nearing a point in their pursuit of Certicom where they’d have to cut their loses and quit, I didn’t realize they were standing on it (maybe I know more about hostile takeovers than I previously thought).
After mulling over options to appeal Monday’s Ontario Superior Court order granting Certicom’s request for an injunction, RIM in the end decided to withdraw their CDN $66 million hostile takeover bid, saying the ruling had left them no option.
Monday’s Ontario Superior Court order granting Certicom’s request for an injunction meant the conditions of the offer made in December could no longer be met, RIM said in a statement.
While this is obviously a fairly public black eye for RIM, I wonder if they’re better off in the long run failing to acquire Certicom. Whatever value the company has in technology or personnel, it would have been a logistical nightmare trying to integrate a company that had fought tooth and nail to remain independent.
Belgian company arrowUp announced today the launch of its eID PKI (electronic Identity Card Public Key Infrastructure) application for BlackBerry. The application enables quick checks to be conducted of Belgium citizens’ eID on BlackBerry smartphones connected to a BlackBerry Smart Card Reader using Bluetooth.
Good friend Ronen over at BerryReview is reporting that Fido will be launching its 
When I posted yesterday that it seemed like RIM was nearing a point in their pursuit of Certicom where they’d have to 
