On the eve of the BlackBerry Torch's launch, RIM has made BlackBerry Desktop Software 6.0 available. The software makes for easier syncing between BlackBerry 6 devices, like the Torch, and a PC.
In advance of the BlackBerry Torch's Aug. 12 debut on the AT&T network, Research In Motion has made BlackBerry Desktop Software 6.0 available. In July, RIM had originally offered it in beta form.
The updated interface optimizes the experience of synching media
content between a PC and BlackBerry handsets, particularly those
running BlackBerry 6, as the Torch does. According to RIM, its new
desktop software features an updated interface and a more user-friendly
menu for syncing, managing and updating BlackBerry smartphones. It also
makes it simple to add or remove applications or other files.
Desktop Software 6 is compatible with Microsoft Outlook, Windows
Calendar, IBM Lotus Notes and Yahoo, and allows users to synchronize
Organizer information between a PC and handset.
The Torch is the first BlackBerry smartphone to feature the
BlackBerry 6 OS, as well as to pair a dedicated RIM keypad with a
multi-touch display. RIM executives hope that this one-two punch, along
with the company's gradually growing collection of applications, will
help the brand to better compete in North American markets against the
Apple iPhone and the range of new smartphones running Google's Android
operating system.
While RIM posted solid revenues during the first quarter of its
fiscal year 2011 - $4.24 billion, up 24 percent from a year earlier -
it continues to rely heavily on interest from international markets,
and its market share in North America has slipped during five
consecutive quarters.
In an Aug. 2 blog post, ratings company Nielsen revealed the
findings of survey that found BlackBerry owners to be not nearly as
loyal to their devices as those with iPhones or Android-running
devices. With the Torch and BlackBerry 6, Nielsen implied, RIM had better get it right, or it risks of losing a good portion of its audience.
Early reviewers of the Torch,
however, have written that, while the cleaned-up and more-modern device
may enable RIM hold on to current customers, it's unlikely to do much
stealing of new ones from competitors.
To view the system requirements necessary to download the software, pay a visit to the RIM site.
Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.
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