It doesn't look good for Research In Motion. On monday the U.S. Supreme Court
refused to intervene in their messy patent dispute with NTP, making it more likely that the popular wireless e-mail and voice service could be shut down. While RIM has argued that an "exceptional public interest" is at stake in keeping its business functioning, I like to disagree. There're plenty of alternatives, which includes Palm whose line of Treo smartphones has always been a favorite among hard-core users. While the Palm Treo 700w
doesn't deliver true "push" e-mail yet in the sense where the server notifies the device upon incoming e-mails, it offers all the other bells and whistles, such as a comprehensive productivity suite, direct access to Microsoft Exchange Server, one-handed context operations, and fast EVDO for high-speed data transfers. Palm shares were up 3.5 cents at the close of trading on NASDAQ yesterday.
If you are a BlackBerry user, how fast would you be willing to make the switch?