That's why BB has an optional policy that will cause a phone to wipe itself if it can't contact the server for a set amount of time. Once contact is lost a timer starts on the phone itself so no server contact is required for a wipe to occur. This is of course a double edged sword that could get triggered if a user goes on vacation but simple planning can prevent that from being an issue.

I've got Karma to spare so I'll take the bait. I've been using both Android and BB for several years, side by side (yes, I carry two phones 24/7). The BB feels much smoother moving between tasks than the Android does. I can do and see more in a single view with the BB than I can with Android. I can write an email, SMS, BBM, Facebook post or Twitter update all from one screen, I can also view all of those in one view if I choose to. On Android, sure there are apps where I can do each of those but I have to open each app to do it. And yes some manufacturers have timeline apps to view all that together and I've used a couple, they suck, they poll for data separately from the official Facebook and Twitter apps, just what I want, to download the same data twice! I have my Gmail, Facebook and Twitter accounts going to both of my phones. I reach for the BB first when I want to use any of those because of the better UE I get from the BB. Maybe my problem is I'm not concerned enough about having the latest Angry Birds version.

If you're going to troll behind an anonymous handle at least have the decency to support your view with an explanation.

The management platform isn't really untested, it will be the same one used to manage PlayBooks now http://blogs.blackberry.com/2012/03/introducing-blackberry-device-service-for-blackberry-mobile-fusion/ . I'm also going to argue with your "under powered" claim. The specs may be lower but I have a BB 9900, a SE Xperia and a Galaxy S2, the 9900 runs just as smoothly and feels less fragmented when performing a task. Raw hardware specs are not always the same as user experience.

Unfortunately no one has stepped up to the plate to match the built in security and manageability of RIM's platforms. Leaving such features up to third party solutions/vendors leaves businesses in the same position as Timothy, wondering if they can trust them or not. If RIM falls there will be a void no other vendor is prepared to fill.

I'm with you on this one. Sure it took getting used to but now I find it much easier than browsing through multi-level menus. Plus it's really just a glorified quick access toolbar and you can do a lot of customization as to what commands are on it. I could live without the File menu taking over my whole window though.

I wish I was surprised that the US has the nerve to be angry after the megaupload arrests. I don't engage in any of this but even I'm worried about having a VPS hosted on US soil.

I think they're trying that with the Android runtime on the PlayBook. Seems like a decent idea, they still have full control of their own (new) OS without Google but the legions of Android developers don't have to learn anything new to run their apps on the PlayBook too.

What are you talking about? OpenGL ES has been available through Java on the devices since OS 5.0 (http://us.blackberry.com/developers/javaappdev/javasdk5.jsp) and support for JSR 184 was announced in 2007 (http://us.blackberry.com/newsroom/news/press/release.jsp?id=1209). It seems more like no one wanted to develop a 3D game in Java (most are written in C/C++) and no one would want to play a 3D game on such a small screen.

The researchers care what high level language was used. It could help identify who wrote it since it's likely that the language has a small user base.

By the sounds of the article they haven't ruled that out. They're just checking to see if it could be a higher level language that would help identify the writer(s).

It seems like everyone is blaming the police for this but if you RTFA, no charges or arrests have been made at all. It's social services who made the recommendation and I have NEVER heard of their decision being contested successfully. These people have the ability to apply restrictions like this to anyone with little to no evidence of an actual crime or charges being laid. For parents these organizations are far more intimidating than the police because they can make their own rules and the courts will uphold them.

Email is an app, not part of the OS. As an OS the Tablet OS is more than a match for iOS. This is another example of what I've commented on here already of how RIM focuses on enterprise and then get blasted. The 1.x release of PlayBook is very obviously intended to be a companion device for a BlackBerry. If it was intended to be a standalone device, it would have had an email app instead of Bridge. You're taking an orange and trying to call it an apple.

It wasn't their first attempt at touch screen (the Storm was released in 2008), thankfully they've learned something since the first one. I'm not sure where the idea came from that the PlayBook is a "dog". Not everyone wants to haul around a 10" beast of a tablet. The hardware is also quite capable, take a look at games like Need For Speed to see what it can really do.

As a business device, even with the "co-operation" (which they resisted), the business email remains securely transmitted. But in those countries, the government has legal access to any email servers inside the country anyway. If you expect privacy you shouldn't be trying to operate there. If these countries were abandoned by businesses they'd change their tune to save their economy. I don't think RIM has forgotten what they do best, the share holders and analysts have. They constantly blast RIM for failing to appeal to consumers, forgetting that the BlackBerry was built for enterprise usage.

The problem with not shifting that focus is that businesses are increasingly moving to employee owned devices, instead of company owned. If they can't appeal to consumers it will negatively affect their presence in the enterprise. Now, instead of having to appeal to IT purchasing departments you have to appeal to individual employees who don't really care if their admin can remotely wipe their data etc. They care more if they can play Angry Birds (which you can on a PlayBook now: https://twitter.com/#!/BlackBerryDev/status/149521163180191744)

Sure, if by lack of response you completely ignore their QNX Tablet OS (and future BB10) and that they've finally released a phone with no keyboard that doesn't suck (9860), for all those people that never have to type more than 140 characters at a time.