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Tag: email

  • Smartphone Ownership Now "Mandatory", Not Techie Toy


    Not owning a smartphone today is the social equivalent to not having email a few years ago – at least in the US.

    That’s the conclusion of a report in the New York Times, which says that having an iPhone, Pre or BlackBerry is pretty much mandatory these days unless you want to ostracise yourself from "society".

    It says the devices are no longer a status symbol or techie toy but have become mandatory equipment for belonging to society.

    David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, told the paper: "The social norm is that you should respond (to an email) within a couple of hours, if not immediately.

    "If you don’t, it is assumed you are out to lunch mentally, out of it socially, or don’t like the person who sent the e-mail."

    The report comes, conveniently, as research shows that 41 per cent of consumers will make a smartphones their next mobile device.

    As a result, smartphone volumes will grow to 38 per cent of all handsets by 2013, representing the largest growth opportunity within mobile devices.

    This makes the smartphone category the most important competitive battleground in wireless today, according to the Yankee Group study.

    It also shows that trends within the smartphone ecosystem are profoundly impacting the power dynamics between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and operators.

    Traditionally, operators have had the upper hand when working with device manufacturers to bring a new device to market, but the power dynamics are shifting.

    With more competitive entrants, tighter budgets and increased consumer expectations, OEMs and operators need to work together, on equal ground, to thrive.

    Chris Collins, Yankee Group senior analyst, said the release of the Palm Pre spotlights the changes in the OEM-operator dynamic.

    "Sprint and Palm are two companies desperate for a blockbuster hit," he said. "And as such, they are either the perfect – or worst possible – partners for one another.

    "The fate of both companies relies on the success of their alliance around the Pre."

  • AOL messaging comes to Blackberry

    RIM partners with AOL to bring AOL Mail, AIM and ICQ to the Blackberry

    AOL’s email and instant messaging applications, AIM and ICQ, are to be embedded in Blackberry smartphones.

    While all three of the AOL features will only be available in the US initially, they are to be expanded to other markets shortly.

    RIM and AOL have developed native BlackBerry applications for both of the IM clients to ensure they work effectively on the Canadian-made handsets.

    AOL Mail for BlackBerry is built on the “push e-mail” architecture that RIM’s smartphones are already equipped with.

    Once installed on a BlackBerry device, AOL Mail will offer the same features as the desktop version, synchronizing data and content with the users’ online account.

    For those with BlackBerry OS 4.5 or later, emails can be viewed in HTML format and Microsoft Office attachments downloaded.

    Kevin Conroy, executive vice president at AOL, said he was thrilled to be collaborating with RIM.

    “By integrating our AOL Mail, AIM and ICQ services with the BlackBerry platform, users will have an exceptional mobile communications experience anytime, anywhere,” he said.

    Mark Guibert, vice president, corporate marketing at Research In Motion, said the BlackBerry platform offered unparalleled email and messaging capabilities for mobile customers.

    “We are very pleased to be working with AOL to enable a rich mobile experience on BlackBerry smartphones for the tens of millions of people who use AOL Mail, AIM and ICQ.”

    BlackBerry users can download both AIM and ICQ from the BlackBerry official website.

    Meanwhile, Nokia is looking at RIM’s business appeal by expanding the number of devices automatically capable of accessing Microsoft corporate e-mail.

    The Finnish company has said it will embed Microsoft Exchange Activesync on all Nokia phones that use the S60 Symbian operating system.

    This will mean 43 different models of Nokia phones will have easy access to Microsoft corporate email.

    Nokia will also add the Microsoft Exchange support to all new N-Series and E-Series phones that hit the market in the future.
    Prior to this announcement Nokia offered Microsoft email support as a download for only a handful of devices.

    But the feature wasn’t well publicized, and it was somewhat difficult to download.

    The enhancement is significant, especially in the US, where Nokia has not made inroads in a smartphone market dominated by BlackBerry devices.