Coming shortly behind Ukraine’s release, RIM is set to launch its products in Russia. Security concerns from the KGB’s successor, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, effectively stalled earlier deployment, but a compromise has been reached to everyone’s satisfaction. The FSB wanted the encryption codes that RIM uses for its communications, so it’s a little iffy on where they found middle ground. It’s only a little over a thousand BlackBerry 8700s crossing the border, and there’s only a year-long allowance for the devices, so any Russkies looking to get in on the action will have to be quick to act. Check out your closest MTS or Vimpelkom outlet sometime in the first quarter of 2008.
Tag: AsiaPage 4 of 5
BlackBerry coming to Russia in Q1 2008
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We just got wind that a whole bunch of countries in Asia-Pacific will be able to get their BlackBerry jollies on the Sony Ericsson P1i. Some might snub their nose at the thought of using a stylus, let alone straying from their beloved ‘Berry, but this Sony Ericsson deal is packing a 3.2 megapixel camera which doubles as a business card scanner. Nice, but worth losing the keypad over?
Stefano has heard of a potential outage for the Americas and Asia-Pacific on the 25th. for 20 minutes sometime between 12:00 AM EST and 3:00 AM EST due to a firmware update. Not long, but a little warning never hurts. Too bad we have to resort to newsgroups to get this kind of information, huh? Affected services include:
* BlackBerry Enterprise Servers (BES) may be unable to connect to the BlackBerry Infrastructure during the maintenance. I recommend that nobody even log on to any of the 4 BES servers during this time as you may experience issues relating to the maintenance.
* Users may be unable to send or receive any email messages during the maintenance.
* Users may also be unable to register their device, roam in another location, or use other services such as Internet browsing or Blackberry Messenger.
* Devices may not receive new service books during the maintenance.
* Enterprise Activations may not work during this maintenance.
* PIN to PIN messaging may not work during this maintenance.
Stressed out that you’re going to be cut off? Well, if you’re BlackBerrying at 3:00 AM on a Sunday, maybe that’s the first sign you need a break anyway.
UPDATE: New info suggests the outage isn’t going to happen anymore. And this, my friends, is why we have a Rumors file.
Neil just gave us the heads up on a free virtual BlackBerry Technical Seminar this Thursday from 9 AM – 6 PM EST. A separate seminar will be available for anyone in the Asia-Pacific region on November 21st. What do you have to look forward to?
* See the next generation BlackBerry Enterprise Server
* Understand the opportunities in developing applications for the BlackBerry solution
* Learn what the latest updates and tools can do
* Ask tough technical questions and get answers direct from BlackBerry experts
* New Troubleshooting and Developing Tips and Tricks
* Hear from IT professionals and developers world-wide about how they’ve taken the BlackBerry solution far beyond email
* Chat online with select BlackBerry solution partners
Gemalto and Far EasTone Telecommunications are tag-teaming a new initiative to bring SIM card-based near-field communication services to Taiwan, starting with a trial phase and eventually leading to a full roll-out in ’08. NFC allows for contactless transactions, so you just wave your phone in front of a sensor, which debits your account and sets you up with whatever service you were looking for. Here’s an example.
Taiwan’s hypermarket chain, Far Eastern Geant for instance, will hang posters embedded with NFC tags at their stores. Shoppers walk by, wave their NFC mobile across the poster and walk away with a coupon downloaded to the SIM for use at the checkout or for later purchases. Moreover, subscribers can view and interact with services provisioned using the mobile’s own web browser.
Embedding this function in SIM cards allows users to swap devices without any disruption in service, and lets mobile operators introduce new services through it, such as topping up your minutes at a terminal. NFC is becoming a growing market, and getting the technology inside a SIM card could significantly increase adoption.
RIM announced that BlackBerry is coming to Ukraine today through MTS’ launch of the BlackBerry 8700g, with the help of Alcatel-Lucent. While the rest of us might be in the process of upgrading to some of the new stuff hitting shelves, a ton of people still pack the 8700 and is an indisputably trusty device. A little further south in Mumbai, RIM announced BPL Mobile’s first BlackBerry, the BlackBerry 8300. The 8800 has already been there for awhile, so the Curve is a clear next step.
