Blackberry and Palm shake on it
Blackberry and Palm shake on it
Oct 18, 2005: Instead of giving each other a backhander, Palm and Research in Motion have announced that they have gone for the high-five instead and are working together to bring Blackberry Connect to the Palm Treo 650 Smartphone.
Starting in 2006, the option will be available for all existing and new Treo 650 customers and will see Blackberry Connect software appear as an option in Palm's email client.
Combining a mobile phone, email, organizer, messaging and web access the Treo has a been a boon for Palm's slipping market share, something which the RIM deal could further boost.
"We're thrilled to make [the Treo 650] even better by answering customer requests and offering RIM's BlackBerry email solution for businesses," said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm "Our news today demonstrates Palm's promise to offer flexible mobile-computing solutions with world-class, enterprise-strength partners, delivering what we're convinced is the best email experience to the broadest set of customers - all on Treo smartphones."
The deal is also a boost for RIM however, giving their Blackberry product even greater penetration.
"The BlackBerry architecture and infrastructure are recognized around the world as secure, manageable, reliable and scalable, and we are extremely pleased to broaden the choice of BlackBerry-enabled handsets with the Treo 650," said Jim Balsillie, chairman and co-CEO at RIM. "We have already seen significant customer interest in this powerful combination, and we look forward to building on our relationship with Palm."
Having also recently partnered with Microsoft, Palm seems to be making friends of its enemies to boost business and regain ground eaten up by RIM.
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