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Electronista: An upcoming update to the BlackBerry line’s OS will bring changes that put on a par or potentially exceed other smartphones, Research in Motion has announced today. Through a combination of BlackBerry version 4.5 for the phones and updates to BlackBerry Enterprise Server, the update will give options previously reserved to devices such as the iPhone or to devices running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile. E-mail on the phone will now support full HTML web code as well as rich text, similar to the Apple device. Any supporting devices will also be able to edit Excel, PowerPoint, and Word documents on the phone itself without having to resort to a third-party tool, RIM adds.

Other changes for the phone users will include the ability to search e-mail on the server even when deleted from the phone or manage some of their phones’ sync over the web rather than install a large amount of software. Businesses in turn will also have more control over the device and will have the option to push wireless upgrades as well as selectively control Bluetooth and GPS, RIM says.

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Engadget: If you’ve been astounding friends and family with your thousands-of-words-per-minute typing skills on your Blackberry, RIM’s latest patent may come as a bit of a heart-stopper. According to “recent” filings from the smartphone manufacturer, a new style of keyboard is on the table which may move your familiar key placement into a slightly more angular position.

The purpose of the proposed pad is ostensibly to improve accuracy by creating a more “natural” placement for your thumbs — though this concept might be a little more effort than required. Of course, since all kinds of crazy designs get filed with the patent office, we wouldn’t put too much faith in this seeing the light of day, though it is an intriguing look into RIM’s design process.

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Camera Core: SAP has announced that its new software for sales-force automation will be compatible with Apple’s iPhone. SAP is launching the software this month.The software will load business contacts, information on sales prospects and account data onto the iPhone.

The popularity of the device with salespeople has led SAP to introduce versions of the new software for the iPhone ahead of versions for mobile devices more traditionally used by businesses, such as Research in Motion’s Blackberry smartphones.

The iPhone software features a Web-based interface with drag-and-drop tools similar to ones available on Google.

Apple launched the iPhone in France last week, on the orange network. In a separate piece of news, Orange has announced that it has already sold 30,000 iPhones in France.

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Camera Core: There is growing speculation that Research in Motion (RIM) could be developing a new Blackberry to rival Apple’s iPhone.RIM, which is better known for business smartphones, recently moved the Blackberry into the consumer market with the launch of its Pearl handsets.

In an article for Unstrung, Carmi Levy of AR Communications Inc, a Canada-based provider of outsourced communication solutions, commented that RIM’s forthcoming 9000-series could be a strong competitor for the iPhone.

Like the iPhone, the 9000 is expected to feature a touchscreen and enhanced media capabilities. The range will be the first RIM handset without a keyboard, a feature that would be essential for an enterprise-focused device.

RIM apparently planned to launch the 9000 series this year, but the launch has now been delayed until 2008.

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Mobile Magazine: Research in Motion, the Canadian firm behind the ubiquitous BlackBerry handheld, is dishing out an onslaught of lawsuits, all of which are aimed squarely against LG. You see, RIM has their panties all up in a bunch over LG’s use of terms like black, berry, and pearl. In fact, the legal action is going so far as to demand LG to completely destroy any and all LG phones that contain the words black, blue, or pearl in their name.

Apparently, LG has been issuing a number of handsets whose colors are described by monikers like Black Cherry and Strawberry, and well, RIM doesn’t really like that. Ironically, when LG was first trying to ship some of these mobile phones State-side, Verizon asked RIM about clearing the names. Even though RIM declined, LG and Verizon went ahead anyways. In this way, it’s not like this lawsuit came out of left field.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. If RIM wins, will Verizon and LG really have to recall all of those phones.

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ZDNet: The saga continues as hackers continue to peel away the intricacies of the iPhone, prompting many to ask why hacking the iPhone has become so important. A primary objective for the iPhone hackers is exploring this new handset and the consensus is that “this is no SmartPhone.” While the internet feature of the iPhone is a leap forward, its lackluster cross-functionality makes it much less attractive for many handset buyers.

Many multi-function handset owners with experience with handsets such as the Blackberry and SmartPhone have already begun to voice their dissatisfaction over the lack of third-party content available to iPhone users. Essentially there are over 20,000 third-party applications compatible with the Blackberry and SmartPhone, while Apple has locked down the iPhone so that none are available. The rush to the iPhone for hackers is about liberating the iPhone by opening it to third-party content.

Some users fear that opening the iPhone to third-party content would open the handset to the malware that exists for Blackberry/ Smartphone. While naturally the risks would increase, so would the preventive measures of mobile security such as an antivirus/firewall program. If you are looking for a handset with an abundance of available add-ons the iPhone is probably not the handset of choice for you. It doesn’t take a hacker to realize that the iPhone is not a SmartPhone.

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Computerworld UK: Research In Motion expects to offer a BlackBerry mobile phone that also supports Wi-Fi, the company’s CEO said.

Speaking at the JP Morgan Technology Conference, RIM’s co-CEO Jim Balsillie said such a converged BlackBerry should come out “in the back half of this year.”

RIM is behind its competitors in developing devices with both cellular and Wi-Fi.

Motorola and Nokia were both selling such phones, aimed at business users, last year. RIM recently hinted at forthcoming converged phones but until now hadn’t said when they would ship.

“Wi-Fi was over-hyped,” Balsillie said. “I was not a big believer in it for the first two or three years because it was hyped as something that would subsume everything, that you would get rid of your cell phone. We feel it’s complementary of a cell phone.”

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Navigadget: A lot of people have been talking back and forth about the RIM’s new Blackberry 8800 but nobody was sure if it would have GPS navigation capability or not -until today- when it was officially announced at the 3GSM conference in Barcelona, Spain.

Through its built-in GPS, the BlackBerry 8800 can pinpoint its location and provide “out-of-the-box” support for a wide variety of location based applications and services, including BlackBerry Maps. BlackBerry Maps provides driving directions — with the ability to track the route via GPS — and integrates with other BlackBerry applications, so users can generate a map from an address in their BlackBerry Address Book and send maps via email from their BlackBerry 8800.

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Reuters: Leading world mobile handset maker Nokia is set to announce three new phones aimed at business users on Monday, the International Herald Tribune newspaper reported.The Finnish-based mobile firm is also expected to unveil a new version of its Intellisync Mobile Suite software for corporate users as part of an offensive against the popular BlackBerry mobiles of Canada’s Research In Motion, the paper said.

David Petts, of Nokia’s loss-making Enterprise unit, told the newspaper the phones would include the E90 Communicator, which uses Wi-Fi technology and fast HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) 3G data technology. The phone also has a 3.2 megapixel camera and a video camera for videoconferencing.

Petts said the phone, to be unveiled at the 3GSM telecoms fair in Barcelona, would be available in the third quarter and retail for 750 euros to 800 euros.

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Reuters: BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) won a second victory in a key UK patent lawsuit on Wednesday that had threatened the future of BlackBerry’s e-mail service in Britain.London’s Court of Appeal backed a High Court ruling from a year ago that RIM, based in Ontario, Canada, had not infringed a patent held by Luxembourg company InPro Licensing Sarl which related to how portable computers surf the Internet.

Lord Justice Jacob ruled that intellectual property licensor InPro’s patent was not valid and should be revoked, bringing an end to the potential threat to the BlackBerry e-mail service used by hundreds of thousands in Britain.

The court ruled that BlackBerry devices were more than just the ideas that were the subject of InPro’s claim, noting that they “owed nothing to the patent” and must have involved “a vast amount of actual detailed implementation and design”.

(more…)

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ZDNet: Research In Motion (RIM) is suing Samsung, claiming that the name of the company’s new BlackJack smart phone is too similar to that of RIM’s own BlackBerry devices.

The suit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. RIM is seeking an injunction against the sale of the new BlackJack phones.

In the complaint, RIM said Samsung’s use of the BlackJack name “constitutes false designation of origin, unfair competition and trademark dilution.”

RIM contends that its BlackBerry devices, used by more than 6 million people around the world to send and receive e-mail, have become iconic in both form and function.

The BlackJack, which runs Windows Mobile operating system and has a full QWERTY keyboard, competes directly with many of RIM’s devices, including the BlackBerry Pearl, a phone designed to attract consumers rather than RIM’s typical business customers. The company says it believes the name BlackJack might confuse some customers.

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