BlackBerry courts Middle East apps developers

BlackBerry courts Middle East apps developers with 150 free phones - The National "Research in Motion has given 150 smartphones running on a test version of its new BlackBerry 10 (BB10) operating system to apps developers in the Middle East in an effort to spur software development in the region."

Blackberry down

BBC News, Blackberry services down in Europe, Middle East and Africa, 10 Oct 2011

'How Mobile Devices Help Indonesians Return To Hometowns for Eid'

Ratri Adityarani, penn-olson.com, How Mobile Devices Help Indonesians Return To Hometowns for Eid "We reckon Indonesia to be a mobile centric nation, thus it is not a surprise to see how apps and mobile devices in general become a crucial tool at Ramadan and Eid."

"Why is Indonesia so in love with the Blackberry?"

BBC News - Direct, Why is Indonesia so in love with the Blackberry?, 15 Jun 2011 "Internet guru Onno Purbo believes Indonesian fans see the Blackberry as the trendier, flashier gadget."

Blackberry 'will filter porn'

reuters.com, Blackberry maker says will filter porn to meet Indonesia rules, 10 Jan 2011 "Research In Motion said on Monday it will filter pornographic internet content for its Blackberry smartphone users in Indonesia, following government pressure to stop access to porn sites or face its browsing service being shut down."

UAE BlackBerry issues

bikyamasr.com, UAE: Lack of transparency about BlackBerry’s concessions, 12 Oct 2010

"The Emirati authorities appear to have reached an agreement with Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian manufacturer of the BlackBerry smartphone, under which they are not after all carrying out a threat to suspend certain BlackBerry services from today."

Playbook v iPad

Telegraph, BlackBerry unveils Playbook tablet to rival iPad, 28 Sep 2010 "The tablet will be able to run Adobe’s Flash, which Apple’s iPad doesn’t, and offer micro-HDMI and micro-usb ports. It weighs just 400g and includes dual HD cameras for video calling."

The Playbook v iPad competition should make the options for buyers more interesting.

UAE BlackBerry issues

Khaleej Times Online - Etisalat, du keep BlackBerry plans open, 2 Sep 2010

'India's BlackBerry Brouhaha'

Neeta Lal, Asia Sentinel - India's BlackBerry Brouhaha, 20 Aug 2010 "The impasse between Research in Motion, manufacturers of the popular BlackBerry smartphones, and the Indian government continues although RIM said this week it would yield some ground in allowing "lawful and limited access" to its messenger services."

BlackBerry issue opinion piece

Haroon Siddiqui, The Toronto Star, Siddiqui: De-encrypting hypocrisy of BlackBerry issue, 18 Aug 2010 "But it's not all about prudish Saudis stopping young men and women flirting via messaging. Or the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Algeria, India, Indonesia and Algeria failing to grasp “the reality of the Internet,” as Mike Lazaridis, RIM's co-CEO, said. They understand it all too well.

"Nor is it true, as he said, that “a lot of those people don't have Ph.D.s, and they don't have a degree in computer science.” They do. They are far more educated than he, a college dropout.

"Nor is this issue about RIM and its backers, the U.S. and Canada, being on the side of angels, while the Arabs, Indians and Indonesians are dancing with the devil.

"This is about those states wanting to eavesdrop the way our governments do."

BlackBerry India

AFP: BlackBerry 'optimistic' it can avert India ban, 13 Aug 2010 "India is battling insurgencies from Kashmir in the northwest to the far-flung northeast and mounting Maoist unrest. Islamist gunmen used mobile and satellite phones to coordinate the brazen three-day assault on Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people."

BlackBerry India

Reuters, BlackBerry assures India on access to services: source, 13 Aug 2010 "Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, will provide technical solutions next week, that will help Indian security agencies access its encrypted data, a government source said on Friday."

BlackBerry "reprieve" update cont/d

Reuters/Yahoo! News UK, BlackBerry gets reprieve, source says Saudi "deal", 10 Aug 2010 "BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has agreed to hand over coveted "codes" to users' phones to try to avert a ban on its Messenger service in Saudi Arabia, an industry source familiar with the talks told Reuters on Tuesday."

BlackBerry

Bloomberg, BlackBerry Deal May Mean Flirting Gets Harder for Saudi Youth, 9 Aug 2010 "“I’m not happy,” Khalid Ali, a 23-year-old Saudi who owns two Blackberry handsets, said at a Riyadh shopping mall. “Say I’m inviting a girlfriend to a party, it is not appropriate that anyone knows that. I won’t feel comfortable, even if the service is still there but monitored.”"

KSA BlackBerry

BBC News - Saudi accord to prevent ban on Blackberry 'in sight', 7 Aug 2010 "An official with one of Saudi Arabia's three licensed mobile operators told AFP news agency: "A deal has been virtually reached and we are in the process of adding the final touches.""

Algeria BlackBerry ban?

alarabiya.net, Canada, US in talks with UAE, Saudi officials, 6 Aug 2010 "In addition to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, India is in talks with the company over gaining access, and both Lebanon and Algeria, according to a newspaper report, are reviewing the situation and might soon also might join the list." Research In Motion under pressure ...