RIM May be Ditching Edelman and Razorfish PR Firms During Transition

One of the biggest criticisms of RIM is that the brand has taken a serious drop in North American popularity. In this big transition phase for RIM, from the old OS to a new QNX and supersphone company, RIM is going to need new representation. You probably shouldn’t the old PR firms that represent your old brand, when you’re moving on to something new and better. Rumor has it that RIM is shopping around for new firms to represent them.

According to PRWeek, RIM has held initial meetings with a number of agencies, with a view to holding a full pitch. Apparently RIM has not denied that it’s looking for a new agency and the company will still work with Good Relations, part of the Bell Pottinger group, on its consumer tech and b2b comms across UK and Europe. Frank PR still handles RIM’s consumer PR in the UK.

Check out the story in PRWeek for quotes and more details.

T-Mobile's You Fix gives budget-minded Brits a new approach to pay-as-you-go

If you’re a Londoner who’s struggling to live within your means, T-Mobile is hoping its latest You Fix plans are the solution to your budgetary woes. The Magenta-clad carrier’s UK arm promotes You Fix as the ultimate hybrid of pay monthly and pay-as-you-go. Customers sign a 12 month commitment to one of three plans that range between £15.50 ($25) and £26 ($42) per month, and the most expensive plan brings 300 minutes and texts. Once the allotment is met, consumers can top off their accounts based on T-Mobile’s traditional PAYG rates, or bide their time until the new month rolls around. Additionally, You Fix’ers may choose between one of seven free add-ons each month, including options to add data or unlimited texts. Subsidized phones are also on the menu, with the BlackBerry Curve 8520, HTC Wildfire S, and Samsung Galaxy Gio leading the pack. Looking to save a few quid?

Check the full schedule of plans in the PR beyond the break.

Notify Technology Announces New Version of NotifySync for BlackBerry Targeted for Microsoft Office 365

Today Notify Technologies announced that the NotifySync for BlackBerry is now compatible with Microsoft Office 365.  If you’re not familiar with this product it simply offers BlackBerry users access to the MS Exchange ActiveSync platform if your organization does not have the BlackBerry Enterprise Server deployed.

NotifySync pushes your email, calendar and address book in addition to giving you access to the company ‘Global Address Book’.  Today’s announcement is great because now it works with the MS cloud mail Office365.  The Office365  buzz is really picking up steam lately as it just came out of Beta and Microsoft prepares for a full-on-assault of the Google Apps platform.  How that is going and the long term success is a story for another day.

For today we’re just announcing that for you BlackBerry users who feel as though they are wandering in the desert because your company won’t install a free BES Express now have another option.  The NotifySync is fairly value priced at $120/user for the first year and $30.00/each additional year. Keep reading for full press release.

More information on NotifySync for BlackBerry

US Cellular announces 4G, plans to light up LTE by end of year

Just when we’re finally basking in the warmth of spring and picking May flowers, US Cellular finds a reason for us to look forward to the cold and dark winter to come. The carrier announced plans to deploy its own LTE network, intent on blanketing two dozen markets (representing 25 percent of its customer base) with blazing-fast 4G service in time for the holiday season. And the party ain’t stopping just because the mistletoe comes down and the decorations are put away; the holiday deployment will only be the first phase, with US Cellular continuing its 4G expansion efforts through 2012. Full PR after the break.

BlackBerry PlayBook Battery Life Changed with OS 1.0.3? Possible Fixes

Some of you may already know that I cannot help but poke fun at RIM legal when the chance arises. Over the years the user agreements RIM legal has forced us to accept have been getting longer and longer. Now all RIM value added apps have their own like BBM, Facebook, App World, and they usually would take multiple pages to print not to mention the fact that the font is barely legible.

To make matters worse we now have an even more interesting twist on the User Agreement when it comes to the new video chat User Agreement for the BlackBerry PlayBook. In an interesting form of (hopefully accidental) coercion RIM has confirmed that not accepting the BlackBerry PlayBook v1.0.3 OS Video Chat User Agreement causes an issue where the “battery drains faster than normal or the battery level fluctuates irregularly.” The second possible cause for such issues is that RIM has made “some changes to battery parameters” in OS 1.0.3 which can be fixed by discharging and recharging the battery a few times to “retrain” it.

Check out the full details here or below:

RIM announces BlackBerry 7 OS with better browser and BlackBerry Balance, but no legacy support

The BB OS 6.1 update that grew too big for its name has just been made official by RIM as BlackBerry 7. Its ambassador into the wide world of smartphones will be the newly minted BlackBerry Bold Touch, which is expected to arrive “this summer.” What can you look forward to? The user experience is promised to be both easier and faster, voice-activated searches are available for content both on your phone and the web, and the browser has been “significantly enhanced” with new features like a JIT (just-in-time) JavaScript compiler and HTML5 Video support. BlackBerry Balance is also part of the new OS, allowing you to compartmentalize your personal and professional lives into neat and separate piles of content. Full PR can be found after the break.

Update: RIM has just noted that there will be “no legacy support” with BB 7, meaning that older devices, even those running version 6 of the OS, won’t be getting any (official) updates to the latest stuff. This has been justified by how tightly integrated the software build is with the underlying graphics hardware in the touch-capable Bold handsets. Basically, the old phones won’t be able to run the new OS. Oh, and in case you were wondering, there’s no trace of QNX in BB 7.