Blackberry - After Settlement Onto the Next Battlefield

It is with a sense of relief that I reacted when the agreement between RIM & NTP was announced. The agreement eliminates the need for any further court proceedings or decisions relating to damages or injunctive relief. The agreement details make interesting reading :"RIM has paid NTP $612.5 million in full and final settlement of all claims against RIM, as well as for a perpetual, fully-paid up license going forward. This amount includes money already escrowed by RIM to date.The licensing and settlement agreement relates to all patents owned and controlled by NTP and covers all of RIM's products, services and technologies. NTP grants RIM an unfettered right to continue its business, including its BlackBerry® related business. The resolution permits RIM and its partners to sell RIM products and services completely free and clear of any claim by NTP, including any claims that NTP may have against wireless carriers, channel partners, suppliers or customers in relation to RIM products or services, (including BlackBerry Connect and Built-In technology), or in relation to third party products and services, to the extent they are used in connection with RIM products and services". This could have been reached earlier. RIM has not gained anything substantial in gaining this piece- except perhaps managed to bargain better and bring down the settlement amount - put a value to top management time, effort, attention et all that would have gone into this for the past several weeks - the actual settlement value should be seen to be much higher.So, no more anxiety . That’s for now. Moving forward, RIM has a bumpy road ahead. As I covered recently, Nokia has also begun to offer mobile application and file synchronization for mobile users of corporate CRM applications, for example, and recently launched a subscription-based corporate wireless sync service aimed at SMEs. It has been at the forefront in enterprise mobility applications and device mobility with its wireless messaging software. It recently acquired Intellisync. This technology allows for synchronization of data and files with high levels of accuracy and security across complex software applications. The next versions of Microsoft's mail-server and PocketPC software, due in a few months, will include support for BlackBerry-style "push" e-mail. In a world where carriers can literally mix and match mobile hardware and software, it is highly doubtful, if RIM will be able to respond as competitively. We can expect some more quick actions in the wireless email market space. RIM afterall may get aquired.