Posted on July 22, 2009, at 12:39 pm .
by Ahmed Datoo, VP of Marketing for Zenprise
The widespread consumerization and general adoption of smartphones in the workplace is adding another layer of IT complexity. It’s important to remember that carrying a smartphone is similar to having a computer in your pocket. Therefore, these devices face the same security threats as a PC. Along with network vulnerabilities that stem from malware embedded Websites and email attachments, applications are also at risk.
The increased popularity and availability of smartphone applications creates security implications for employees who increasingly download these apps onto their corporate phones. Today’s enterprise is ill equipped to handle the expected wave of device issues resulting from rogue applications. A rogue application could cause a security threat by pulling sensitive data from the network.
Continue reading about security and compliance issues facing today’s corporations
Posted on July 20, 2009, at 12:28 pm .
It seems Nokia is on a downward spiral while the other major smartphone manufacturers are fast gaining market share. Nokia, the leader of global handset distribution, has dropped the most in market share over the the past 5 years.
Despite only selling 3% of the world’s mobile phones, Apple and RIM are dominating when it comes to profitability. Together, the two companies make up for 35% of the total industry’s operating profits. Analysts are saying that if RIM and Apple’s market share were to climb to 5%, it could translate to them owning roughly 58% of the total operating profits.
It just goes to show that we’re entering a new economy of mobile devices, where ubiquity isn’t enough. You have to be constantly innovating and offering not only hardware with new features, but a system of delivering innovative software to the customer. Nokia has the Ovi Store, but I doubt developers are seeing any significant revenue from it.
The software truly makes the hardware these days.
[Via]
Posted on June 19, 2009, at 7:25 am .
Father’s Day is June 21st of this year and he’s expecting a shiny new BlackBerry. I know, we talked about it.
Blackberry Curve 8900 (AT&T or T-Mobile) – The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the ultimate phone for productivity. Get your workaholic dad out of the office more with real-time push email, organizer applications, document viewing and editing, and integrated WiFi. And because the BlackBerry Curve 8900 works in over 200 countries, he will always be just a phone call away. BlackBerry Cool price: FREE with AT&T or T-Mobile new activation.
Blackberry Storm (Verizon Wireless) – The Blackberry Storm is Blackberry’s first touch screen model, and has a brilliant 3.25″ display that uses the breakthrough SurePress technology. The internationally compatible Storm comes loaded with a Rhapsody-capable music player, a 3.2-MP camera with advanced functions, 1 GB of on-board memory, a full featured web browser, and integrated GPS. The full BlackBerry experience on a touchscreen device. BlackBerry Cool price: carriers won’t allow us to show you the price, you have to see for yourself.
See more deals on BlackBerry devices that are so low we can’t legally tell you about them.
Posted on May 27, 2009, at 8:36 am .
Billing Revolution and Harris Interactive have some interesting survey data regarding the purchase habits of mobile based consumers. The data shows some significant trends along gender lines, income, education, and even preferences when it comes to specific items like pizza, tickets and entertainment.
Here’s a snapshot of some survey results:
93% of U.S. adults (93%) own a cell phone, and nearly half of these adults (45%) think it’s at least somewhat safe to make a purchase through their cell phone with 26% saying they think it’s fairly or very safe to do so.
Nearly half of cell phone owners (46%) would be willing to make purchases this way.
Of those who would be willing to make purchases through their cellphone, (75%) would be willing to buy entertainment items, such as movie/event tickets (58%), music (41%), mobile video or TV content (24%) and games (34%).Many would also purchase food/drink items (68%) such as pizza (59%), fast food (42%), and/or coffee (25%), and over half (55%) would be willing to purchase hotel rooms (43%) and/or tickets for travel (40%) this way.
Read the full research data from Billing Revolution and Harris Interactive
Posted on November 12, 2008, at 5:04 pm .
What are you doing on your BlackBerry?
A report like this makes me wonder if BlackBerry Cool should spend less time posting about email monitoring solutions more time reviewing Magmic BlackBerry games. Our sister site and mobile entertainment blog, QuicklyBored, is reporting that a recent NPD Group research paper states that not only are people using their smartphones more, but they’re playing games more often than using enterprise and productivity software. The findings come from a portion of the report aimed at discovering what features and functions consumers are most aware.
While the greatest increase in smartphone gaming was among iPhone users specifically, the nascent BlackBerry Storm might bring just as many new gamers to the fold. Post a comment to let us know if you play games on your BlackBerry, and which game is your favorite.
|via QuicklyBored|
Posted on November 7, 2008, at 12:01 pm .
This story is a great example of how numbers can be misleading, even when they come from respectable sources. J.D. Power has published a study stating that the iPhone far surpasses BlackBerrys among business users. Before we go dismantling this article, let’s give you some more information first.
The study was based on responses from 1,388 business wireless customers who currently own a smartphone. It was fielded between August and September 2008. Overall satisfaction was measured across five factors: ease of operation (27%); operating system (24%); physical design (21%); handset features (18%); and battery aspects (10%).
On a scale of 1,000, the iPhone reached 778 points, while the BlackBerry came in second with 703 points.
So what’s wrong with this article? Firstly, while we can assume that the iPhone 3G was used in the study, the BlackBerry used (or if it was one or many) is not mentioned. Was it a BlackBerry Curve? If so, I can see how many people would prefer the much newer iPhone 3G. However, the iPhone should have been placed against the BlackBerry Bold or Storm for a fair comparison, devices which had not been released at the time of the study.
Secondly, the initial premise that the iPhone can be used as a serious business phone is essentially false. While corporate VPs that need only email and a pretty device could use the iPhone 3G, that’s the only segment of the enterprise space to which it would apply. Serious enterprises simply won’t role out the iPhone 3G on a large scale. It is not as secure as the BlackBerry (read: no BES), no serious enterprise software is provided (read: no Rove Mobile Admin, no momentem… etc.) and it’s basic functionality as a serious communication device is limited (read: no copy and paste). J.D. Powers simply wasn’t asking the right people.
You can see more results from the J.D. Powers study after the jump. Please take all numbers with a grain of salt.
|via Fortune|
J.D Powers Smartphone Business Study
Posted on October 15, 2008, at 11:16 am .
From time to time, people from outside of the BlackBerry Nation like to peer into our world to figure out exactly why we spend so much time using our thumbs. To help them along the way, we’re often interviewed to provide our (ahem) expert analysis and opinion. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with the San Antonio Express-News for an article entitled ‘Smartphones place the Internet in more hands‘. Because I’m an ego-maniac, I’ve decided to quote myself here:
“We’re in a world where a lot of people don’t work 9-to-5 in offices,” he says. “They go to meetings. They are at job sites, or at clients’ offices. Not everyone commutes to an office and sits at a desk. You need to be able to work from wherever you are now.”
“For the majority of people,” he says, “to access a few Web sites, check e-mails, read news, use a document, maybe watch some videos, is all they need. And the ability to have that in the palm of your hand, wherever you go, is huge.”
All joking aside, it’s an interesting article that investigates how something as simple as a smartphone can shift one’s lifestyle to focus on where they are, not where they need to be. Check it out.
(via MySA)
Posted on October 2, 2008, at 9:23 am .
Yesterday we reported that the majority of European businesspeople were unwilling to trade in their favored handset for mobile email access. Today we can tell you that 87.5% of U.S. smartphone users access entertainment content (i.e. games, music, video) from their devices according to a survey by Artificial Life. In addition, 33 percent of those surveyed use their phone for entertainment over any other purpose, including email, GPS and Internet browsing.
It’s been tossed around that RIM’s BlackBerry subscriber base is now growing at an equal 50-50 split between enterprise and prosumer, and with reports like this it’s easy to see why. Why I’m sure that the majority of BlackBerry Cool readers wouldn’t give up their email for anything, I’m interested in hearing how important entertainment is to you.
(via CN)
Posted on August 20, 2008, at 8:25 am .
A recent study by NDP Group concluded that American cell phone sales were down 13% this quarter, the third quarter in a row to show a decline. The cost per phone has gone up 14% to $84, but the real kicker is that smartphone sales have doubled since last year, with particular emphasis on the full QWERTY devices out there (like BlackBerrys). The reasoning?
“One explanation might be that there’s a group of consumers that’s holding off, making do with the devices that they have, either because of larger economic concerns or because they don’t see any value yet in the new voice and data services that are driving some of these new handsets,” [said Ross Rubin, NDP's director of industry analysis.]
There’s definitely a grain of truth there, considering how simplistic layouts like the iPhone are winning over a wider audience. The new flip BlackBerry will certainly be tapping into the “I just want a phone” audience by latching onto a recognizable form factor, and potentially be taking an even bigger bite out of the standard cell phone market. It’s just a matter of selling folks on the data services…
(via AP)
Posted on July 1, 2008, at 1:00 pm .
As a lifelong member of the BlackBerry Nation, I often take for granted the value of my BlackBerry as a business and personal aid. However, I’m sure there are many true believers out there that are not fortunate enough to work for a ‘wireless’ company, and have to make do with a typewriter and an abacus. If that’s the case, you must tell your company about the Smartphone Challenge.
A joint initiative between The Phone Store, RIM, Rackspace Hosting and Sprint, the Smartphone Challenge is an opportunity for companies to get their feet wet with smartphones before making any financial commitments. Here’s the deal: your company gets a 10-day free trial with five Sprint BlackBerrys, full Exchange and BES hosting, and a bunch of free software and other goodies to sweeten the deal. The Phone Store will also host a launch party and training session to make sure everyone is aquainted with their new mobile friends. After the trial period is up, you can either choose to give the devices back or keep them.
Amazingly, the Smartphone Challenge has a 100% success rate. You’ll be hearing more from us about these guys — we always love giving exposure to the true soldiers of the BlackBerry Nation. Until then, check out another picture of the Smartphone Challenge goodie chest, as well as the full press release.
Click here to learn more about the Smartphone Challenge
