Blackberry Expanding to Windows Mobile Devices

RIM is said to be preparing the launch of software that will allow Windows Mobile powered smartphone users to turn their handset into a virtual Blackberry device.

The manufacturer will be offering the software for a number of handsets running Windows Mobile 6. Once the user has installed it, he/she will be able to enjoy access to Blackberry applications including email, phone, calendar, address book, instant messaging and more.

Devices running the Blackberry application suite will be able to connect to Blackberry services through the Blackberry Enterprise Server as well as Blackberry Internet Service. It also enables a WM6 mobile phone to run third-party apps developed for the Blackberry platform.

"We're working very closely with AT&T, as an example," RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie said in an interview. "There'll be other carriers that are highly supportive of this."

The software will appear as an icon on the screen of a smartphone and have the same interface as a Blackberry. According to the company, it will enable users to easily toggle between WM6 and Blackberry interfaces.

If until now, one of the things users had to decide upon when trying to pick a device, was the OS, now this no longer seems to be the case. Windows Mobile powered smartphones can now be turned into Blackberries or even the iPhone, if they pack the necessary touchscreen, with the help of some easily-installable application.

RIM will make the software available on selected devices that will be offered by several mobile operators later this year. While At&t will be one of them, RIM has revealed no information regarding the other carriers it will be working with.