Flip Form Factor Comes To Enterprise Mobility

BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 – Image Credit: RIM

Flip Form Factor Comes To Enterprise Mobility

A flat rectangle form factor found on most buy and use cellphones, iPOD’s, iPhone’s, Japan incorporated’s iPhone knock-offs, and etc. is not really the best form factor to use when one is looking for electronic communications tools for business field use. One of the main selling points for Motorola’s NEXTEL/Sprint push-to-talk enabled cellphone over the years was a flip or clamshell form factor largely due to the assumption that it offered greater protection to the touch surfaces like keys and display.

The Blackberry 8220 has now brought the flip phone form factor to a fully featured “smartphone” that would allow a greater argument for enterprise mobility applications in large field force deployments.

16 GB of on-board chip storage, a 2-megapixel camera with flash and zoom are on board, and it's also capable of video recording, an OS capable of running Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Exchange, IMB Lotus, Novell (NSDQ: NOVL) GroupWise, and Web-based e-mails, and comes preloaded with DataViz Documents to Go, allowing users to edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files on the handset.

The only hindrance that may remain would be the ability to install specialized programs that are developed and implemented by the business enterprise that would like to utilize all that a smartphone would be able to deliver in a form factor that screams durability. Only T-Mobile and time will tell.

This excerpted and edited from Information Week -

RIM's Blackberry Flip Pearl Sports Clamshell
The company's first BlackBerry flip phone features push e-mail, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and document editing.
By Marin Perez - InformationWeek - September 10, 2008 10:20 AM

After months of speculation, Research In Motion (NSDQ: RIMM) officially announced its first clamshell smartphone.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 still has many of the enterprise-grade features one expects from a BlackBerry, but the new form factor should help RIM bolster its presence in the casual market.

The light-sensing external display enables users to preview incoming e-mails, phone calls, texts, and photos without opening the handset. The company said the internal screen sports a 240 by 320 resolution for crisp detail and contrast.

Like the BlackBerry Pearl, the Flip has a SureType QWERTY keyboard for composing messages, and a trackball for navigation. The handset has integrated access with the BlackBerry wireless services for push corporate e-mail.
----
While it lacks 3G network support, customers can use the integrated Wi-Fi and the EDGE connection for Internet browsing, e-mailing, and streaming video from YouTube's mobile site.

The handset works with the BlackBerry Media Sync application to let users sync their iTunes music.
----
The smartphone is capable of playing video, has Bluetooth version 2.0, voice activated dialing, and background noise cancellation.
----
The device measures in at about 3.9 by 1.9 by .7 inches, and it weighs 3.6 ounces.

T-Mobile will be the exclusive carrier of the handset in the United States, and it will be available this fall for an unspecified price.
Reference Here>>

INDY DownForce And Marketing Blunders

Promotional graphic used by INDY DownForce to promote mobile information alert applications. Non-sponsoring company product married to a log-time IRL racing team and series sponsor from the same mobile products industry. Graphic Credit: INDY DownForce broadcast email to inbox

INDY DownForce And Marketing Blunders

Mark this down as one of those - "What's Wrong With This Picture?", episodes.

To the casual observer, this issue may not mean so much … but to sponsoring entities that pay big bucks to support an advertising and branding awareness campaigns, this blunder is BIG.

This morning, we at Symblogogy received an announcement from the fansite of the Indy Racing League informing fans of a new and free function one could bring to their mobile phones.

The text from the email alert reads as follows:

IndyCar Mobile gets you FREE, convenient access to IndyCar Series racing at your fingertips. Get the inside edge on racing action with features such as:

Just Released!

RITMO Mundo Timing and Scoring - Breaking News - Race Videos - Photos - Discounts - IndyCar Nation and more...

The problem comes when one looks at the photo used to illustrate and draw attention to the free offer. The photo features a BlackBerry mobile phone with Danica Patrick’s - Andretti Green Racing, MOTOROLA Sponsored Dallara racing machine in front to emphasize the IRL Timing and Scoring feature tie-in.

Think of the symbology …

Doesn’t anyone understand Marketing 101 down there at INDY DownForce? Isn’t there any sensibility to the ties of who sponsors what, and if it makes sense to have a non-sponsoring company’s product (BlackBerry, RIM) be shown prominently with a strong, competitive sponsoring company effort (Motorola)?

Why couldn’t INDY DownForce have stripped up this marketing graphic using a Motorola RAZR … or similar Motorola product as opposed to a RIM manufactured product?

How are IRL racing teams going to relate the value of sponsorship with this type of vision and lack of collaborative support?

The fact remains that many teams have started the first three races of the ICS season with little or NO SPONSOR SUPPORT on their sidepods!

This is a blunder … a BIG marketing blunder indeed!