Nathan's Occasional Blog

About 4 or 5 years ago, when I was still working as a consultant, I was brought into a firm to deploy a Blackberry Enterprise Server and about 10 devices.  We worked closely with AT&T Wireless and even brought in their RIM liason (he was from the home office in Canada) to train our users.

I sat in the training meeting and asked few questions of the RIM guy.  Specifically I quizzed if they were planning support for Bluetooth or polyphonic ring tones.  I was told, with an air of disdain, that “business users wouldn’t want those features, and RIM is solely focused on the needs of business users.”

That makes the comments today by RIM co-CEO Jim Balsille ring in my ears with sweet, sweet irony.  Not only does my current Blackberry 8700c support Bluetooth and polyphonic ring tones, but coming models will have much more…

“Adding in media players, removable storage and image capturing will only further that (growth). “Even enterprise employees have a life beyond that and these lifestyle devices will be a part of that. Gaming, IM, personalization… it’s just as exciting as the enterprise space.” [via BBHub]