Techdirt. Stories filed under "blackberry" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "blackberry"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:09:35 PST Phone No One Uses Will No Longer Carry Game No One Plays Dealbreaker http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20130131/16551121846/phone-no-one-uses-will-no-longer-carry-game-no-one-plays.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20130131/16551121846/phone-no-one-uses-will-no-longer-carry-game-no-one-plays.shtml Cross-posted from
New versions of the BlackBerry mobile device won’t come equipped with BrickBreaker, a simple game that for years was installed on every BlackBerry and at its peak developed a cult following among traders and Wall Street executives. Richard S. Fuld, the former Lehman Brothers chief executive, became so addicted that in 2006 he had his technology department remove the game from his device in an effort to break his habit. Nick Manning, a spokesman for BlackBerry, on Wednesday confirmed the company’s decision to remove the game from new devices. [Dealbook]

Other posts from Dealbreaker:

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> but-what-about-those-angry-birds http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20130131/16551121846 Fri, 3 Aug 2012 14:25:00 PDT Desperate RIM Gives In And Lets Indian Gov't Spy On Blackberry Communications Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120803/04004219923/desperate-rim-gives-lets-indian-govt-spy-blackberry-communications.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120803/04004219923/desperate-rim-gives-lets-indian-govt-spy-blackberry-communications.shtml demanding that RIM let it snoop on encrypted messages from Blackberry users. RIM's response was that it was simply impossible to snoop on its enterprise customers' messages, since they set their own encryption keys. A few months later, the government claimed to have cracked RIM's encryption, though the whole claim was sketchy. In 2010, the government again demanded the right to spy on Blackberry users (raising more questions about that encryption cracking claim). RIM apparently offered up a "solution" that the Indian government rejected, because it didn't let them snoop enough (basically it allowed snooping on consumers, but not corporate accounts).

Now, however, there are reports that RIM has come up with a "solution" to let the Indian government spy on enterprise users as well:
RIM recently demonstrated a solution developed by a firm called Verint that can intercept messages and emails exchanged between BlackBerry handsets, and make these encrypted communications available in a readable format to Indian security agencies, according to an exchange of communications between the Canadian company and the Indian government.
If you're a RIM Blackberry customer, and you bought into it because of the security features, now would be the point where you get pretty pissed off and start seeking alternatives. The report from the Economic Times suggests RIM did this because of the "importance" of the Indian market. RIM is clearly in trouble. Its failure to keep up on the innovation front means that the company is clearly struggling. But kowtowing to a government by allowing it to spy on users is hardly the sort of thing that's likely to get you more customers. It seems like it should do exactly the opposite.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> impossible-doesn't-mean-what-it-used-to http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20120803/04004219923 Tue, 22 May 2012 22:01:00 PDT ITC Rejects Key Kodak Patent As Invalid Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120522/04084919013/itc-rejects-key-kodak-patent-as-invalid.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120522/04084919013/itc-rejects-key-kodak-patent-as-invalid.shtml suing more innovative companies for patent infringement. It filed suits against Apple and RIM for patent infringement both in the courts and using the ITC loophole. It appears that going to the ITC may have been a mistake on Kodak's part, as the administrative law judge there has said that the patent is invalid, so it doesn't even matter that some iPhones and Blackberries technically infringe. Of course, this has to hurt even more, considering that Kodak's trying to sell off its patents. If one of the key ones is found to be invalid, that can't be helpful in selling the bundle...

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> bye-bye http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20120522/04084919013 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:59:46 PDT UAE Claims Blackberry Outage Resulted In Fewer Car Accidents Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20111018/04003016396/uae-claims-blackberry-outage-resulted-fewer-car-accidents.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20111018/04003016396/uae-claims-blackberry-outage-resulted-fewer-car-accidents.shtml due to the giant Blackberry outage that made many of the devices useless for quite some time. Of course, as the report notes, there's nothing beyond correlation to back this up, and there may be an alternative explanation as well:
At the end of last month, popular UAE footballer Theyab Awana was killed in a high speed crash near Abu Dhabi, and it was claimed that he was sending a message on his BlackBerry when he hit a lorry.

The football star's father, Awana Ahmad Al Mosabi, made an emotional plea to people not to use smartphones while driving, and a Facebook campaign against the use of BlackBerry Messenger while driving has grown in popularity.
That would suggest a pretty major third variable which likely distorts the impact of the Blackberry outage.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> correlation-vs.-causation http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20111018/04003016396 Tue, 9 Aug 2011 19:03:07 PDT British MP Calls On RIM To Shut Down Messenger Services To Stop Riots; Because Pissing Off Rioters Calms Them Down? Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20110809/16120715459/british-mp-calls-rim-to-shut-down-messenger-services-to-stop-riots-because-pissing-off-rioters-calms-them-down.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20110809/16120715459/british-mp-calls-rim-to-shut-down-messenger-services-to-stop-riots-because-pissing-off-rioters-calms-them-down.shtml blaming the Blackberry for facilitating the London riots, it seems that some politicians are hanging their hopes on that to the point that they actually think that shutting down Blackberry's messaging feature will help. MP David Lammy apparently is asking RIM to shut off its Blackberry Messaging Service because nothing quells a bunch of angry, rioting young people like trying to cut off their ability to communicate.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> umm... http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110809/16120715459 Tue, 9 Aug 2011 01:06:00 PDT London Riots? Blame The Blackberry! Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20110808/16081115441/london-riots-blame-blackberry.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20110808/16081115441/london-riots-blame-blackberry.shtml want to blame messaging via Blackberry devices for the riots:
Steve Kavanagh, the deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said that "really inflamatory, inaccurate" messages on Twitter were mainly to blame for the disorder. "Social media and other methods have been used to organise these levels of greed and criminality," he said at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
Ah, right, just like vocal cords, pamphlets, telephones and other communication tools "were mainly to blame" for previous riots. Hint to the Metropolitan police: if you're going to always blame the tool, you're not going to do a very good job dealing with riots. If people want to speak out, they'll figure out a way to speak out. It's not the technology that is to blame. The technology is just a tool, and if you block off one path, you can be damn sure that they'll figure out another path instead.

Of course, the downside of officials misleadingly blaming the technology is that you get folks like this Dutch politician who took to Twitter about this to ask why police don't just turn off Blackberry Messenger in London -- perhaps not realizing that shutting that channel of communications down wouldn't stop anything -- but likely would anger people even more.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> oh-come-on http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110808/16081115441 Fri, 1 Oct 2010 02:01:34 PDT India Upset With RIM Because Solution To Spy On Emails Doesn't Work Well Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20100930/23010711242/india-upset-with-rim-because-solution-to-spy-on-emails-doesn-t-work-well.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20100930/23010711242/india-upset-with-rim-because-solution-to-spy-on-emails-doesn-t-work-well.shtml demanding that RIM give them a backdoor to read encrypted Blackberry email messages. At the time, RIM insisted that was technically impossible due to end-user encryption (something that's been called into question due to RIM's agreements with other countries, such as Saudi Arabia). A few months after that exchange, India announced that it didn't matter any more because it had cracked the encryption, and could spy on messages at will.

So it seemed a bit odd when India again demanded access to RIM Blackberry messages, leading to a standoff where RIM eventually "backed down" and offered to help India spy on users. However, the Indian government is now complaining that the solution doesn't let them spy enough:
The telecom department has rejected the interception solution offered by Canada's (RIM) for its secure corporate email service. What's more is that it has spurned RIM's technical solution for decoding all chat communication on the popular BlackBerry Messenger service...

In an internal note, dated September 28, reviewed by ET, the telecom department's security wing claims security agencies have been unable to intercept or monitor secure email communication made through the (BES) in readable format. "RIM maintains that it does not have the keys that can be offered to security agencies for converting secure corporate email into readable format," said a senior DoT official with direct knowledge of the matter. The DoT internal note claims law enforcement agencies have failed to intercept chats on the BlackBerry Messenger platform, which runs counters to the home ministry's recent position that it is satisfied with the interception solution offered by RIM.
Reading between the lines, it sounds like RIM is still sticking to the fact that, thanks to end-user encryption, it simply can't reveal the message contents -- but it sounds like it agreed to offer access to other information, which the Indian government feels is not enough. Of course, for all of India's rather public admission that it wants to spy on all sorts of communications, it doesn't seem to recognize that it's scaring companies away from doing business in India, as the threat of having communications spied upon is too big a risk.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> time-to-stop-using-your-blackberry http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100930/23010711242 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:33:20 PDT Does Checking Your Email On Your BlackBerry Count As Overtime? Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20100816/01165310628.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20100816/01165310628.shtml blur, and that's causing problems in some areas. Two years ago, we noted that some employees were upset to have to sign documents making it clear that checking email on Blackberries would not count towards overtime work. Last year, we questioned if paying employees hourly wages still made sense in many cases because of situations like this. The issue has come up again, as a Chicago police officer is suing for overtime for use of his Blackberry during off-hours. Obviously, there are some jobs where paying hourly could make sense, but if it's a job that's going to require a Blackberry and regularly checking in, it seems like it shouldn't be paid hourly, but as an exempt employee that gets paid a straight salary.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> according-to-some... http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100816/01165310628 Mon, 2 Aug 2010 16:00:13 PDT United Arab Emirates And Saudi Arabia Banning Blackberry Usage Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20100801/21561710443.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20100801/21561710443.shtml announced plans to ban the use of Blackberries, and that Saudi Arabia has announced its intention to do the same. The issue is one we've seen before. The way the Blackberry works is all the data is encrypted and sent through RIM's servers. This pisses off governments who want to spy on the data. RIM, in the past, has noted that it has no way of spying on the email, even if some governments claim to have figured it out anyway (a claim that seems somewhat dubious as that same government later demanded RIM break the encrytpion again). It appears that a lot of folks in the UAE are quite upset about this -- especially as parts of the UAE (Dubai in particular) have spent the last decade plus trying to present themselves as an ideal place for foreign business activity.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> can't-be-monitored http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100801/21561710443 Wed, 7 Jul 2010 01:46:01 PDT Indian Government Demands Right To Spy On Skype, Gmail, Blackberry Messages Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100702/17551510065.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100702/17551510065.shtml quite concerned about Skype, and the fact that they couldn't easily tap into communications on Skype. Two years ago, we noted a similar story concerning RIM Blackberry emails. Now Slashdot points us to the news that India's government is once again demanding that Skype and RIM make sure their services are in formats that can be read by law enforcement. A separate article says similar demands are being made on Google with respect to Gmail.

Of course, last time this happened (with RIM, at least), RIM pointed out that there's simply no way for it to decrypt email sent by users, since it's based on an encryption key set up by the end user. In response, the Indian government claimed that it had cracked the encryption used by Blackberries and was able to monitor messages sent via those devices. Of course, the fact that it's now pressuring RIM to format messages in easily spied-upon ways, certainly suggests the news of the cracking of Blackberry's encryption was somewhat exaggerated.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> spying-more-important-than-productivity http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100702/17551510065 Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:02:00 PST White House Confirms: President Keeps His Blackberry Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090122/1558383492.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090122/1558383492.shtml now the White House has confirmed it. Apparently, some security software has been added, and a very limited number of people will know the email address. Also, it appears that the administration is noting that the Presidential Records Act does allow an exception for strictly personal emails. So, while the President is being told to consider any emails he sends to be public, strictly personal email to friends or family will likely not be kept and revealed. What isn't entirely clear is who determines what is, and what is not, personal. In the meantime, how long until we hear about the first Obama-email-inspired phishing scam? You know someone's going to try to use a fake Obama email address to try to scam people... Now, let's see what they can do about giving instant messaging back to White House staffers.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> now-about-the-IM http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20090122/1558383492 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:16:11 PDT India Claims To Have Cracked Blackberry Encryption; Proudly Spying On Emails Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080923/0200222339.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080923/0200222339.shtml demanded that RIM allow it to easily snoop on any email messages sent via Blackberry devices. The company explained that since the end user sets the encryption key, there's simply no way to provide a backdoor to snoop on the messages. However, now the government is proudly claiming that it's cracked the code and can now monitor Blackberry messages on various mobile operator networks. The details are quite vague, especially an offhand comment about how this is "wholly for non-enterprise solutions." That would suggest, then, that enterprise Blackberry messages may remain secure. It also raises questions about whether or not the mobile operators in question are simply providing access to their mail servers. Either way, the whole thing seems weird -- including the government's effort to publicize the fact that it's spying on Blackberry messages.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> details-missing http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080923/0200222339 Tue, 27 May 2008 10:26:00 PDT RIM Tells India That It Simply Cannot Snoop On Blackberry Email Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080527/0112411225.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080527/0112411225.shtml snoop on emails sent via Blackberry devices, or they would be banned in India. I'm not sure why it took so long for RIM to point this out, but it finally has explained to the government the nature of its encryption scheme which means that RIM itself cannot decrypt messages sent via the network, since they're based on an encryption key set up by the end user. It's not clear how India is going to respond, though the article notes the two sides are "talking."

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> so-sorry http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080527/0112411225 Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:24:00 PST Motorola: Since We're Not Innovating, We'll Litigate Over Patents Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080218/110826281.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080218/110826281.shtml challenges facing Motorola, as it's been unable to continue to innovate in a way that customers desire in the handset business. Unfortunately, it looks like Motorola is choosing the all-too-common strategy among those who fail in the marketplace: they start suing for patent infringement. Motorola has now decided that since it hasn't been able to beat RIM's Blackberry in the marketplace, it's simply going to sue the company for patent infringement instead. Of course, as in any good patent nuclear war, RIM has fired back with its own patent infringement countersuit, meaning that both companies will be tied up with lawyers and judges, throwing away money that could have gone towards actually innovating and actually competing in the marketplace.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> suing-RIM http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080218/110826281 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:54:12 PST Once Again, RIM Blames Upgrade For Outage; Time To Do Weekend Upgrades Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080212/151839238.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080212/151839238.shtml major outage, the company blamed a software upgrade, which made many folks question why RIM would be doing a major software upgrade in the middle of the week. Since most Blackberry users are corporate users, it would seem to make sense to do upgrades over the weekend -- or at least late at night. So, with this latest outage, it's a bit surprising to see RIM fall back on the old "software upgrade" excuse again. The company doesn't say that's definitely what happened, but suggests that's what caused it, failing to explain why the company would run an upgrade in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> just-a-suggestion http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080212/151839238 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:59:59 PST RIM Toys With Blackberry Addicts Again; Cuts Off Users For 3.5 Hours Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080211/191307230.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080211/191307230.shtml having the system go offline for a few hours overnight. It's amazing how people recognize just how dependent they are on a service once it goes away. The eventual excuse given by RIM (a botched software upgrade) was unconvincing. However, there hadn't been any more outages, so questions about the service died down. However, with widespread Blackberry outages Monday afternoon, lasting about three and a half hours, impacting all mobile operators, some of those questions are going to be raised again. The Blackberry system involves all traffic going through RIM machines, and a cascading problem across those machines can certainly cause quite a bit of trouble. At some point, people are going to start asking if there isn't a more robust, distributed way of offering a Blackberry (or Blackberry-like) service that would be more immune to these types of issues.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> want-to-stay-connected? http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080211/191307230 Fri, 9 Nov 2007 11:31:33 PST Yes, Calling A Phone The Black Cherry May Confuse People Into Thinking It's Related To The BlackBerry Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071109/010536.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071109/010536.shtml Black Label, Strawberry and Black Cherry. The "Black Label" one is more borderline -- as it's hard to see that RIM should be able to control the use of the word "Black" as it relates to any mobile device. However, it's not hard to see people hearing names like Strawberry and Black Cherry on a mobile device and simply assuming that they're somehow related to RIM's BlackBerry. Even worse, LG had apparently wanted to call one of its new devices the BlackPearl -- which is really sketchy, seeing as RIM is offering a device called the BlackBerry Pearl. On this one, we'd say that even the moron in a hurry test suggests that people would be confused into thinking that some of these LG phones were from RIM.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> no-argument-here http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20071109/010536