Blackberry Launches iPhone Challenge

Long-foundering Research In Motion this week launches its first competitor to the iPhone and tech sites are rather excited. Note that commmenters at Gizmodo are quite suspicious of the above rendering of what the new Blackberry actually looks like.

Blackberry Outage = Fewer Car Crashes

Observers carefully note that last week's Blackberry outage "coincided" with a reduction in traffic accidents.

The National reports that traffic accidents in Dubai dropped 20 percent compared to historical averages during the blackout. In Abu Dhabi, accidents dropped by 40 percent, and there were zero fatalities. If you're thinking that this isn't a significant enough sample to show that smart phones and distracted driving are inexorably linked, consider this: There is an accident in Dubai every three minutes. Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim pointed out to The National that the accidents resulting from distracted driving "range between minor and moderate ones, but at times they are deadly." Officer Al Harethi took it a step farther, adding "the roads became much safer when BlackBerry stopped working."

So far I've only been rear-ended by a Food Emporium shopping cart. She did drop her iPhone, which was a slight compensation.

Smartphone Wars

(Source)

Blame It On The Blackberry

By all accounts, Monday's NY Senate coup was orchestrated from behind the scenes by billionaire Tom Golisano, a thrice-failed NY gubernatorial candidate. Golisano has funneled millions to Democratic candidates over the years, but had become increasing annoyed when the finally-in-power Democrats in the Senate refused to jump to his commands, even announcing that he was moving to Florida rather than pay NY taxes. The final straw, according to Golisano, came when (now desposed) Majority Leader Malcolm Smith fiddled with his Blackberry rather than pay attention to him during a meeting.

Upstate billionaire Thomas Golisano said he began plotting to overthrow Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith after the Democrat spent a whole meeting in late April reading e-mails. "Of course I was upset, I thought that was very rude," he said of the meeting in Smith's office. "When I travel 250 miles to make a case on how to save the state a lot of money ... and the guy comes into his office and starts playing with his BlackBerry, I was miffed." Golisano, who spent millions helping Democrats take control of the Senate for the first time since 1965, said Smith and party leaders reneged on a promise of reform and engaged in a secretive budget process that resulted in $8 billion in new taxes and fees. After the meeting, Golisano, who founded the Independence Party, asked political operative Steve Pigeon to see if he could work a deal with Republicans.

According to the NY Daily News, the final details of Monday's revolt were laid out by Golisano over the phone from his Florida home. Golisano made his billions by founding the payroll company Paychex, and owns the Buffalo Sabers pro hockey team.

Our Black(Berry) President

Advertising wonks say that Barack Obama's public devotion to his Blackberry would be worth as much as $50M if the president were able to sign an endorsement deal.

President-elect Barack Obama has repeatedly said how much his BlackBerry means to him and how he is dreading the prospect of being forced to give it up, because of legal and security concerns, once he takes office. “I’m still clinging to my BlackBerry,” Mr. Obama said Wednesday in an interview with CNBC and The New York Times. “They’re going to pry it out of my hands.”

What could the “BlackBerry president” charge for his plugs of the device if he were not a public servant? More than $25 million, marketing experts say, and maybe as much as $50 million. “This would be almost the biggest endorsement deal in the history of endorsements,” said Doug Shabelman, the president of Burns Entertainment, which arranges deals between celebrities and companies. “He’s consistently seen using it and consistently in the news arguing — and arguing with issues of national security and global welfare — how he absolutely needs this to function on a daily basis.”

Shades of Idiocracy to be sure, but I can imagine a day when sitting presidents make product endorsements.