Have a Blackberry?Or a RIMM device? Get ready to be without it.
 

Guess there is a patent infringement lawsuit going on. The judge hearing the possible settlement case today threw the settlement out, said go back to court.

A shutdown of the system while deciding who owes who is one of the potential chips on the table.

Won't happen. RIM will pay out whatever is needed to keep it going.

The follow-on analysis is that RIMM has several hundred mil saved up for the settlement. The rumors are that it will cost a bil.

Nonetheless, might get messy.

I think they're holding out for a piece of the action

One of my clients is the (non-tech type) CEO of a tech company in Sunnyvale. He tells of big management meetings where there will be 50-ish people around this big board table while he is telling about some new program or plan. Says he'll notice a geeky type, head bowed, both hands in his lap, obviously typing. He'll twitch like he hit the sent button, and 3 or 4 other geeky types will reach for their Blackberries, read the message and snicker. He got fed up one day and walked over and read the snicker message. It actually had some worthwhile critique of what he had just said, but the sender was afraid to say it. He took the Blackberry away from the sender, and the recievers as well. He wanted them to speak instead. He said the 24 hours that their Blackberries were on his desk, these people went beserk. He said they all (including him) learned a lesson.

I cannot imagine all the people I know with them being without them.

I'd love to burn my Blackberry... BURN IT!

I have one and like it but could live without it. Businss and staying in touch with company emails is the only reason why I have mine.

Agree that there are a lot of people addicted to them.

JoeA

My manager at my last job tried to sucker me into 'testing' one. No way. I just dont believe Im that important. The phone is enough. The phone is too much sometimes.

"Crack"-berries

I HATE that...it's TRUE.

I think it's one of the rudest things to bring a blackberry to a meeting and then act like that. That's one of my pet peeves. We have a couple managers who act like that....

And yes, they'd probably die without one (the attorneys are even worse, they can't go 5 minutes without it).

I doubt it's going to happen though.

I agree.

Mine sits in my desk drawer. If it can't open attachments it's worthless to me.

IMHO, data to the “phone” will be the next major tech revolution. The Blackberry is just the proverbial “tip of the iceberg”. Now that most cellular carriers offer data in some form, convergence to the “phone” is happening at an amazing pace. Goodlink and Microsoft (ActiveSync) offer more robust products and I am sure that there will be more to follow.

And I agree that we are becoming TOO connected. I carry the latest MS product (i-mate SP5m) and I never get away from our clients, family or friends. :(

I've been trying to get our IT department to turn Activesynch on, so I can check my e-mail with my Palm. No go. They are RIM people. Let's see how it plays out, but I's bet on a settlement before the lights go off. RIM has lost this battle and needs to close the gaping wound.

OTOH, if they are around next year, I'm looking forward to RIM's software for my Treo 650...