September 2002

The BlackBerry wireless email solution from Research In Motion could gain significantly in appeal for field service applications following the announcement that it will in future support file attachments.

Initially the system will support popular corporate document formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, WordPerfect, Adobe PDF, HTML and ASCII text. Users will also be able to retrieve a summary of the document or table of contents, and selectively view the part of the document that is relevant to them.

RIM is providing the facility through a new application developed using the AirDoc platform from Arizan Corporation, which it has acquired.

The BlackBerry service uses a bespoke handheld terminal to allow users to download and send emails remotely, and is aimed mainly at corporate customers. It was initially supported in the UK by BT Cellnet, and now its service is also available through Vodafone, which says a company with 500 users would pay under £29 per month to use the system over its GPRS network.

 

It has been unclear just how much demand there would be for the system in Britain, where rival services and more attractive handheld terminals are available, but RIM seems set to redress that balance with a range of further developments. These include tri-band support (900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies), colour screens, corporate voicemail integration and additional wireless synchronisation. Calendar synchronisation is already available.