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Michael
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 Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 8:55 am Post subject: Blackberry Legal Woes, Shutdown, Patents and NTP |
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I haven't been following Research in Motion (RIM - the makers of BlackBerry) legal woes lately, but since I was about to purchase a 7130e, I started looking in to the issue.
For those following, a summary is at:
http://yahoo.smartmoney.com/Techsmart/index.cfm?story=20051215&afl=yahoo
It doesn't seem likely that BlackBerry service will be shutdown, but it does seem possible. I wonder how many large companies are holding off on BlackBerry purchases until this mess is resolved.
Comments?
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xenophon
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| Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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One of our divisions uses BlackBerry and they have haulted rolling out any new devices. They are looking at our solution (Treo 650 tied into our email system) and we are considering expanding into Windows Mobile 5 with EVDO as well. Even though the RIM network likely won't be shut down, Gartner has advised enterprises to hault rollouts and consider other solutions.
The whole mobile PDA/smartphone market is shakey right now. Even before the lawsuit, RIM has been having trouble with losing money on hardware. Most carriers lose money of course on hardware and offset with monthly accounts. RIM hasn't been able to offset the difference and R&D costs on newer devices makes it even more difficult. The 'analysts' have been saying that RIM will become strictly a middleware company and leave hardware sales to the carriers. It's more than possible we don't see RIM-specific hardware in the near future but rather RIM services running on Palm, Windows Mobile, etc. That is if they can survive after this mess.
Palm sold PalmOS to a small Japanese company that intends to go the Linux direction. Palm will probably continue to rollout a couple more devices on the Garnett PalmOS for another year or so but it's a stagnant OS and needs an update. Unfortunately Palm gave up the OS and it's in the hands of a small company.
Windows Mobile 5 appears to have the momentum now to completely take over both Palm and RIM at least for hi end devices in the enterprise space. The consumer level is really up in the air. I'd expect multimedia semi-smartphone devices with small OS footprint will dominate the consumer level rather than PDA devices. |
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xenophon
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| Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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Here's market share as of Oct according to Gartner...
http://www.windowsfordevices.com/news/NS8408029005.html
RIM has actually passed Palm if data is correct but according to analysts, RIMs device costs are not being offset by account subscriptions. Poor Palm is getting stomped and Windows Mobile looks to have taken the crown. |
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Michael
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Location: Cary, IL
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Michael
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Location: Cary, IL
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:12 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | RIM: BlackBerry Shutdown May Hurt U.S.
Wednesday January 18, 4:11 pm ET
By Stephanie Stoughton, AP Business Writer
RIM Says BlackBerry E-Mail Service Is Critical to U.S., Shutdown May Threaten Public Safety
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Research In Motion Ltd. says its BlackBerry e-mail device is so critical that a court-ordered shutdown of U.S. service could threaten public safety and business productivity.
The Canadian company is trying to avoid a possible injunction, the result of a long-running infringement case won by NTP Inc., a tiny patent-holding firm.
In a filing Tuesday in federal court in Richmond, RIM argued that there is "exceptional public interest" in keeping BlackBerries beeping. And the idea of exempting government and emergency users from an injunction -- which NTP has suggested -- would result in errors, RIM said.
"It would be extraordinarily impractical, if not impossible, to devise and administer an injunction that would protect government and private-sector BlackBerry users who would be -- or should be -- excluded from an injunction," the company wrote.
In a filing of its own Tuesday, NTP asked U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer for a permanent injunction. The Arlington, Va.-based company noted that RIM users have plenty of alternatives, and it would give them 30 days to make their moves.
The injunction, NTP said, would end widespread infringement of its patents by RIM and its corporate customers. "RIM must simply turn those accounts off in the same fashion as when a customer fails to pay its bill," it said.
RIM's filing included supportive comments by emergency, government and business leaders. In fact, RIM said it believes the federal government is the single largest user of BlackBerry devices. Federal, local and state officials have made the devices a key part of their emergency response plans. Many government users and contractors also use it for daily communications.
BlackBerries are used to provide drug-interaction data to physicians and are part of planning for an avian flu outbreak, according to the filing. The natural-gas and financial industries said they depend on BlackBerries, and their statements help show that an injunction "would have far-reaching impacts on productivity in the U.S. economy," RIM said.
RIM said any workaround solution would likely require significant effort by users, prompting some to leave. Software would have to be loaded onto servers and BlackBerries, and users could experience delays and other problems. BlackBerry users overseas might also be required to upgrade to use their devices in the United States.
Many analysts have said the odds of a BlackBerry e-mail blackout are very low because RIM will settle or try to make changes to work around NTP's patents. Neither side has been commenting on settlement talks.
A federal jury in Richmond decided against RIM in November 2002. Since then, RIM has largely lost in the appeals process. The company has asked the Supreme Court to review one decision; the high court could decide next week whether it will hear the case.
On a separate track, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has preliminarily rejected the patents at the heart of the court case. RIM asked Spencer to consider the issues in light of the office's expected final rejections, which could come "in a matter of weeks."
The patent office's process, however, isn't as far along as the court case, and any decision could be appealed by NTP. Spencer has indicated that he was unlikely to delay the case while awaiting word from the patent office. |
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