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Notify, Others Love BlackBerry Jam
By DAVID SIMS
TMCnet CRM Alert Columnist
They smell it in the water -- no, not smell even, they sense it at a primeval level -- and they're circling.
Notify Technology Corporation has issued a press release to remind you that its NotifyLink Enterprise Edition for Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise can provide what company officials are calling "a viable solution for those organizations looking for an enterprise alternative or backup plan using their installed base of BlackBerry devices from Research In Motion."
Wtih some sharks it isn't blood, it's BlackBerry jam.
RIM's been locked in a legal struggle to avoid having its widely popular BlackBerry service shut down over a lawsuit brought by NTP Inc., the holder of a small(er) Norwegian company's patent RIM stands accused of infringing for its wireless e-mail technology.
Last week a federal judge rejected RIM's request to go back and enforce the $450 million settlement hammered out with NTP last March, so that fallback option isn't on the table for RIM anymore. NTP's smelling victory in the court room, which means they can pretty much name their price to keep BlackBerry service from being shut off.
The examination of the patents is the crux of the matter, and from all appearances it looks like U.S. District Judge James Spencer will issue an injunction to cut off the service in the United States, which would be a death blow to BlackBerry worldwide.
A 2002 jury in Richmond, Virginia found that RIM did in fact infringe on NTP's technology to create its hugely successful BlackBerry. That is now being appealed.
RIM's claiming it has a workaround ready, but it's surrounded in a cloud of FUD. Most analysts see RIM coughing up $1 billion to keep the current service operational. On the other hand some analysts argue a shutdown of service would mean NTP ends up with a much smaller payout, since the holder of the patent in question will make money off RIM's business, so certainly they wouldn't kill the goose with one golden egg in her, would they?
Competitors such as Notify are ready with the methadone for CrackBerry addicts. There's Palm's Treo picking up customers at a brisk pace, and Nokia's E61 could get traction. Motorola's going to unveil something called the Q in the first quarter 2006.
Nokia also agreed last month agreed to buy Intellisync Corp. for their e-mail software programs for $430 million, a nicely ironic price. We English majors appreciate fine irony.
The NotifyLink Enterprise Edition provides organizations with secure, synchronized e-mail, calendar, contacts, and task information supporting any mix and match of BlackBerry, Treo, and Windows Mobile devices on most wireless carriers or 802.11x networks.
"Over the past couple of weeks we have had numerous inquiries from large and small organizations using BlackBerry devices asking questions about their BlackBerry options and looking for a possible alternative" said Paul DePond, President of Notify Technology.
In August, RIM paid $1.8 million to settle an unconnected patent lawsuit with the University of Texas, which charged that the Canadian company had infringed on a software patent for sending text messages over a telephone-like keypad granted to two UT-Arlington professors in 1987, according to The Daily Texan.
David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles please visit David Sims' columnist page.
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