Mixed messages for Blackberry lovers
The last five days have taken Blackberry devotees and RIM stockholders on a magic carpet ride, crashing them hard on announcements that two major middle-eastern countries have banned use of the world’s most popular hand-held devices. then sending them sky high on news of a long-anticipated product upgrade.
Key Arab nations ban Blackberries.
The United Arab Emirates, widely regarded as the crossroads between east and west, announced that it would prohibit the use of Blackberry handheld devices effective October 11, 2010. UAE officials cited long-standing concerns about Blackberry’s encryption codes, which security and intelligence officers cannot monitor and which therefore make the nation an electronic safe haven for terrorists and leave it vulnerable to terrorist attacks in-country.
Saudi Arabia quickly followed suit, issuing a similar ban which went into effect on Friday, July 30, 2010. Saudi officials expressed both concern and consternation about RIM technology’s failure to update its products and bring them into compliance with Saudi telecommunications regulations. The ban will affect nearly three-quarters of a million Saudi users.
In a very carefully worded response to the two governments’ demands, Canadian manufacturer RIM Technologies explained the company encrypts data on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server so that no one, not even RIM, can access it. The industry’s strictest protector of users’ privacy, RIM offered no compromise, emphasizing it would not “accommodate any request for a copy of a customer’s encryption key since at no time does RIM, or any wireless network operator, ever possess a copy of the key.” Refuting widespread rumors that Indian officials had negotiated for access to the network, RIM officials insisted, “Any claims that we provide, or have ever provided, something unique to the government of one country that we have not offered to the governments of all countries, are unfounded.”
RIM announces Blackberry “Torch.”
In a New York media-fest Tuesday, RIM officials pulled the wraps off the long-anticipated Blackberry “Torch,” the latest reincarnation of the popular handheld and much-vaunted darling of the business market. Designed to rival iPhone 4 and Google Android phones, Blackberry Torch will run on RIM’s new BlackBerry OS6, a web-centric system comparable with Apple’s and Google’s latest and greatest operating systems. AT&T will enjoy exclusive rights to the Torch, selling the piece for $199(usd) with a two-year service agreement.
