Blog report suggests that Research in Motion is developing a tablet computer running a modified version of the BlackBerry operating system, billed as a companion to the popular smartphone.

Is Research in Motion going to enter the tablet market? If the rumors are to be believed, it does looks that way. The blog Boy Genius Reports hints at details about the development of a tablet computer with an 8.9-inch screen running a modified version of the BlackBerry operating system. Then again, an analyst points out that a lot of firms are experimenting with tablets these days, and the rumor of a concept by no means guarantees that the device will make it to market. Enterprise Mobile Today has the details of RIM’s rumored BlackBerry tablet.

Research in Motion is the latest firm to be rumored to be working on a tablet device, according to the blog Boy Genius Reports. If the description at BGR is to be believed — and BGR has a pretty good record of accuracy — then it looks like RIM is playing to the home team.

The tablet is described as coming with an 8.9-inch screen running a modified BlackBerry OS and designed to be a “companion” device to a user’s BlackBerry phone. It won’t have a cellular ratio built in, instead relying on a Bluetooth connection to the BlackBerry phone or a native Wi-Fi connection.

This makes it sound an awful lot like Palm’s ill-fated Foleo, a Linux notebook that was meant to be a companion device to a Palm Treo phone. Palm announced the Foleo in May 2007 and killed it that September after failing to get any traction with it, not to mention some public scorn.

Read the full story at Enterprise Mobile Today:
Details on RIM’s BlackBerry Mobile Computing Tablet Emerge

Before we answer the second question, do I need one; let’s look at what is a BES and how it works. First the BES is software; Research in Motion does not sell server boxes. In fact many businesses are installing the BES in a virtual server in order to reduce the number of physical server boxes. I’ve always thought that calling it a “server” was not a good idea; to me it brings up metal images of a new blade for the rack.

So why do companies buy a BES? The quick answer is security and control. The BES offers mind blowing control through 450+ IT policies that can be applied to all or selected handhelds in the corporate environment. Some of the policies control SMS, passwords, PIN to PIN, 3rd party apps & remote wipe.

• That’s great but how does it work? Without going to crazy here’s the “message flow”:
  New message arrives in the user’s Exchange mailbox; which the BES is monitoring using MAPI (Messaging Application Programing Interface)
• The message is compressed to 2kb chunks and encrypted using 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
• BES makes a secure connection to RIM NOC (Network Operations Center) over port 3101; the connection is an Outbound Initiated & Authenticated Bi-directional Connection. That means you always initiate the secure connection to RIM and an inbound connection is never accepted
• At the front end of you encrypted message is your PIN in plain text so RIM knows where to direct the message. Essentially the NOC is a traffic cop
• The message is sent to your handheld over the internet via either your wireless carrier or the Wi-Fi network
• Once the message reaches the handheld only than is the encryption decrypted, as the only key to decrypt your messages is on the BES and your handheld

In a nutshell that is how the message flow works. Here’s the RIM diagram of the full message flow. They love trotting this cartoon out at every opportunity during enterprise presentations. Pay attention there will be a test!

OK so now that we have that out of the way, what does it actually do?

As I touched on earlier here are some of the high points:

IT Policy management; allows corporate big brother decide what functions you can and can’t use
Remote Wipe

• Remote lock and password change
• Push down software configurations
• Wireless handheld firmware upgrades
• PIM Sync (calendar, address book, tasks & memo pad
• Full email sync (sent/received, filed, deleted, follow-ups)

Some more advanced enterprise applications:

• Corporate communications tools – MS Office Communications Server, Lotus Sametime
• Mobile Data Services – that will be the subject of a future post, this can’t be summed up in a bullet point

Here is a shot of my BES console showing some of the many options available to the admin.

For me personally, the two coolest functions of a BES are the PIM sync and wireless backups. The BES does an entire consistent backup of your device; including fonts, messages, phone call logs, password keeper, and icon locations. So if you lose your device or need to wipe it, fear not! The SQL database on the BES will push all this data back to your handheld. This alone is worth the price of admission.

Speaking of price of admission; how much does a BES cost?

There are two flavors of BES.

1. Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES)
2. Blackberry Enterprise Server Express (BESx)

Pricing for BESx is the easy one. FREE – totally and completely. You just need the hardware to put it on. More details on what is BESx and all its coolness to come in another post.

BES on the other hand costs. Standard BES pricing (Cdn $)

• BES Software with 20 client access licenses (CALs) $4,799.00 (QWERTYgadgets.com price $3799.00)
• 1 additional CAL $119.00 (QWERTYgadgets.com price $89.00)
• 5 additional CAL $539.00 (QWERTYgadgets.com price $399.00)
• 10 additional CAL $839.00 (QWERTYgadgets.com price $659.00)

RIM & their carrier partners used to offer free BES promos but that has been canceled to make way for BES express. These costs BTW are one-time costs. There is no fixed cost to maintain a BES. You can subscribe to RIM tech support which offers 24 x 7 support and free software upgrades. Service packs and maintenance release are free for all BES customers regardless whether they have T-Sup or not. If you don’t subscribe to T-Sup than point releases (4.0 to 4.1 or 4.x to 5.0) will cost you approx. $1200.

Do you need a BES?

If you have an enterprise grade mail server like Exchange, Domino or GroupWise and use a Blackberry the answer is an unequivocal YES! If you don’t have a mail server than the answer could still be YES provided you get Exchange – although I wouldn’t run quickly into that decision. An alternative new solution hit the market late last year from Google when they launch the Blackberry Connector for Google Apps. I am a huge fan of Google Apps, my whole personal life has been migrated there. Calendar, mail, address book, docs & my website are all part of my Google Apps ecosystem. The only wrench in the whole Google Apps-BES marriage is that the Blackberry Connector doesn’t support BES 5.x at this time. I’ve got an inquiry into the Google group looking for an update on when the will be supported. At the time I’m writing this article I have not received a reply from Google.

OK so that’s the nickel tour of what a BES is. Upcoming will be more detailed info on the exiting world of Mobile Data Services (MDS), IT policies, as well as the differences between BES and BESx.

RIM BlackBerry Smart Card Reader 2.0

RIM has always been a leader in the IT security field, with the usage of BlackBerry Enterprise Server spread across so many organizations now it would make your head spin. In these times when demand for higher levels of security is important, RIM has just announced their forth coming updated version of the BlackBerry Smart Card reader. More details below.

BlackBerry Smart Card Reader 2
Certified Secure – US Department of Defense

The BlackBerry® Smart Card Reader is designed to allow mobile personnel to meet operational requirements for using multi-factor authentication with Bluetooth®-enabled Microsoft® Windows® computers, BlackBerry® smartphones, PKI applications and for highly secure web browsing—without negatively impacting the user experience.

The BlackBerry Smart Card Reader can replace serial or USB based card readers, even if your organization has not deployed a BlackBerry solution. This enables you to benefit from un-tethered access to your smart card credentials from your desktop or laptop computer.

The BlackBerry Smart Card Reader is designed to solve a fundamental security concern for organizations, helping eliminate unauthorized access to unlocked computers and BlackBerry smartphones. Instead of inserting the smart card into a stationary reader or bulky peripheral attachment which can easily be left behind, users insert a smart card into this lightweight reader and wear it on a lanyard, causing smartphones and computers to lock when the user is not in proximity.
S/MIME Support

The BlackBerry Smart Card Reader works with certificates on smart cards to leverage your organization’s S/MIME infrastructure‡ and is designed to enable your employees to digitally sign and encrypt messages on either their BlackBerry smartphones or computers to provide sender-to-recipient security.
Advanced Security Features

When used with the BlackBerry® Enterprise Solution, the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader supports advanced security features to help meet IT and public sector requirements, including:

• AES-256 encryption
• FIPS 140-2 validated encryption module
• S/MIME support
• Wireless IT policy enforcement on smartphones

The BlackBerry Smart Card Reader is designed to minimize the impact of operational requirements on users, making it easier for them to comply with your security policies.

The BlackBerry Smart Card Reader can help your organization:

Increase Security Compliance – Increasing the convenience and comfort of using smart cards with BlackBerry smartphones and computers helps to ensure that users comply with organizational security directives. Using IT policy controls, BlackBerry smartphones and computers can be configured to lock if the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader goes out of range, rendering the smartphone or computer unusable and information inaccessible until proximity is restored and user authentication requirements have been met.

Meet Strict Government Security Requirements – FIPS 140-2 validated encryption technology. Built on the proven BlackBerry® Java® Virtual Machine (BlackBerry JVM), the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader uses an AES-256 encryption overlay for Bluetooth. It allows organizations using smart cards to add additional security features to the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution security architecture.

Provide an Enhanced User Experience Compared With Competing Solutions – The slim, lightweight BlackBerry Smart Card Reader features long battery life and Bluetooth technology that allows users to comfortably wear the reader on a lanyard. No more heavy peripherals or bulky smartphone attachments are required for authenticating to BlackBerry smartphones or computers with smart cards.

Manage Key Lifetimes Wirelessly – System administrators gain additional control over the wireless environment with the ability to wirelessly manage security key lifetimes on the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader through the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server.

Security these days is an essential component of any business, deploying smart card readers coupled with an enterprise server can give you the assurance you are looking for. The new BlackBerry Smart Card Reader is expected to be available in September and is being previewed this week at the LandWarNet 2009 Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. For more about the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader visit: www.blackberry.com/go/smartcardreader.

• Read The Full Release Via The RIM Media Press Release Website>>

Linkedin on your BlackBerry

It seems like it’s been a long while since first hearing about a LinkedIn application coming to BlackBerry smartphones. Thankfully, the wait is finally over and BlackBerry professionals can carry their LinkedIn in pocket!

The LinkedIn app has six modules (tabs at the top) that include the following:

• Network Updates. View and share crucial business intelligence and updates with your network.  Perfect for those spare moments between meetings.
• Search. Search across over 60 million global professionals, and get the answer back in seconds. We’ve implemented a unified search across both your direct connections and the entire LinkedIn network.
• Connections. LinkedIn is your address book in the cloud.  Get quick access to any of your connections to get their up-to-date profile information, and the ability to send them a message immediately.
• Invitations. Why wait to get back to your desk? Accept outstanding invitations immediately.
• Messages. Messaging is one of the reasons that BlackBerry owners love their devices, and we’ve worked hard to integrate your LinkedIn Inbox.
• Reconnect. You can’t leverage your network if you don’t build it.  This module brings suggestions for new connections to you anytime.  Now you can build your network from anywhere, in seconds.

In addition, the app offers some native features:

• Contacts.  Integrate your LinkedIn connections with your BlackBerry address book, and view the profile of any contact directly on your BlackBerry.
• Messages.  LinkedIn invitations and messages will now appear in your BlackBerry Inbox, just like any other email.  You can also view the LinkedIn profile of the sender of any email you receive.
• Calendar.  You can now view the LinkedIn profile of any attendee of a meeting on your BlackBerry calendar.

The LinkedIn app is immediately available for the BlackBerry Curve, Bold and Tour all on OS 4.3 or higher. For more info visit linkedin.com/blackberry or for a direct download go to m.linkedin.com/blackberry/download from your BlackBerry Browser.

Back up your Blackberry contacts with iDrive Lite FREE!

iDrive Lite is a nice FREE application that backs up and allows you to restore your Blackberry contacts on iDrive’s secure online servers.  More and more services like this one are popping up offering to store your sensitive data. SmrtGuard, another similar app offers lowjack, wipe data, wipe memory card, tracking for your BlackBerry.  If that app is too feature rich, then iDrive Lite may just be what you’re looking for. Online accounts are created from within the application itself which allows you to administer your contacts all from a nice PC-based user interface.

While each contact can have up to 40 or more pieces of information based on type of BlackBerry and the OS version only key pieces of information related to a contact may be backed up.