India’s Intelligence Bureau has rejected a new proposal from RIM, where they would help the IB to decrypt data sent from a BlackBerry to a non-BlackBerry device. The IB rejected the proposal on the grounds that it “leaks the information regarding the person whose information is being intercepted.” This is still completely separate from the main issue, BlackBerry-to-BlackBerry emails, which the Department of Telecom wants to solve by having RIM move some servers to India. The DoT reportedly said in a letter — likely a response to the letter from the Canadian government, though it isn’t clear — that RIM’s response to the request for a server move was “encouraging” and they have asked for conditions under which the move would be made.
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Onset Technology offers METAmessage, which goes “beyond email” to deliver a number of smartphone solutions for enterprises and governments. For emergencies, managers or team leaders can quickly send a message to everyone under them, with a custom alert to make sure it’s seen, and get a list of who has read it and when. The software also offers advanced paging features such as customizable notifications and the ability to send from a web browser, and IT features which integrate with BES and allow managers to patch, update, and deploy software quickly and easily. Finally, their professional features allows individuals to customize email alerts to cut through the clutter, request email read receipts, access document storage, and more.
DDH Software is celebrating 10 years of HanDBase, their mobile database software, with the Applet of the Year contest. To enter, simply create a custom applet using their software and send it in, and they’ll reward the best new applet with a HanDBase Runtime license. The license will allow the user to turn the applet into a standalone commercial application. You don’t need to purchase the software to enter, either, as a fully-featured 30 day trial is available on their website. You can check out their gallery for an idea of what kind of apps you can make, or take a peek at our review if you want a few tips on starting out.
The Boy Genius Report has the first pictures of a new clamshell form factor BlackBerry, codename Kickstart. Up until now we had heard only the vaguest allusions to a clamshell phone from RIM, but the BGR’s picture gallery looks pretty legit. The phone uses a SureType keypad and sports both an internal and external LCD, as well as a trackball and camera, although camera specs weren’t mentioned. BGR says RIM will be releasing it before the end of the year. They also say they’ve known about it for a while, but were waiting on proof before they went public with the info. It certainly looks like they found it.
Blogger Judy Mottl has written about the BlackBerry obsession in Canada, which has gotten so bad that the Deputy Minister for Citizenship and Immigration Canada ministry had banned their use between 7 PM and 7 AM. He also banned their use during meetings, a growing concern amongst many professions. Now a company called DDB Canada has taken it one step further. Calling it a “personal digital assistant pandemic,” CEO Frank Palmer has issued a very creative ban on using BlackBerrys during meetings. Anyone caught is issued a yellow card by a fellow employee. If they’re caught again, and are already carrying a yellow card, they’re given a red card and they have to pay their own monthly bill. Quite a deterrent, especially considering the data plan pricing up north.
Well, this is certainly interesting. Canadian unions are now asking for additional pay for employees with company-provided BlackBerrys, due to what boils down to 24/7 availability. We already knew that BlackBerry overuse has increased the average hours worked per week from 47 hours to 71, so the request certainly carries some merit. The Canadian government has said it’s willing to talk about the issue, but Carleton University professor Linda Duxbury warns that people might get more than they bargained for. If companies are paying for the BlackBerry use, she argues, they might send more off-the-clock or after-hours emails or work orders, resulting in even more hours worked per week. It’s a complex issue, and one worth keeping an eye on.
Infinite Peripherals offers a number of hardware solutions for enterprise companies. There’s a printer cradle you can slot your BlackBerry into and print directly from it, plus all manner of SmartCard readers and barcode scanners. They also offer accessories like leather holsters with belt clips and carrying cases. Most of their products are for the older 7000-series BlackBerrys, so hopefully we’ll see some support for newer models at WES.
The guys at SimulScribe have changed their name to PhoneTag and added a new feature to their software, which we reviewed a few months ago. The new feature lets you upload your contact list to their website for use in their voicemail transcription app. When the message is transcribed, it will come to you from the email address of the person who recorded it, allowing for a quick email reply. It will also append the user’s name to the subject and spell it correctly in the transcription — so if you know a Tracey, a Tracie, and a Tracy, you’re in luck.
They note that the name change might cause some issues with users’ spam folders, and if you’re one of the few affected you can call them at 1-800-788-0916 or email them.
Actsoft makes the Comet line of software for a variety of different GPS needs. Comet Tracker uses GPS to track worker locations, record hours, store task info, and send out jobs, while Comet Mobile Worker expands the functionality of Tracker for even more uses. They also have a version of Comet Tracker for vehicles, allowing business to monitor their fleet of trucks. It monitors oil pressure, engine temperature, battery level and more, and can shut down the engine or notify the driver and dispatcher if a fault occurs. If it notices a low battery level while the engine is off, it will also shut down all electrical systems to save battery life. They should have some cool demos to show us at WES.
Zumobi is a really neat new widget application that aims to change the mobile web experience with the use of something they call Tiles. You can pick 16 Tiles from a list of hundreds, some of which are built by business while others are user-designed. The tiles range from showing your favorite blogs, to giving you weather conditions, to branded ones that let you watch or listen to clips from TV shows, to all manner of other things. The interface is very slick — check out the demo — and the software is free to boot. The only downside is that they don’t yet offer BlackBerry compatibility, but they’ll be releasing a public beta of the software at WES.
