Earlier this month, Qik announced that it had added support for consumer-focused phones - generally falling outside the "smart phone" category - like the Nokia and Sony handsets. Now, Qik is making its way on to the handset that most business users carry: the BlackBerry. Well, some of them, at least.

This makes Qik available on the most popular handsets in the world - leaving it even more conspicuously absent from the Apple iPhone. (iPhone owners interested in using Qik are currently forced to jailbreak their iPhones to use the service.) The new Android phone, the G1, is also currently missing out on Qik support.

But today, a few lucky BlackBerry users get to test Qik functionality for themselves. Those BlackBerry who carry the supported handsets and are interested in testing the alpha software can visit Qik to download the application.

The service begins its launch in Spain through subscribers to Telefonica's Blackberry service plans. Later this year, Unite Servers will be made available to Germany and others, though no word on when they will arrive in North America.

WhitePages Director of Monetization & Mobile, Bret Moore, said, "While we have seen tremendous success and uptake from our iPhone and Android apps as well as the newly relaunched m.WhitePages.com, we wanted to design something new with the power BlackBerry user in mind."

WhitePages rep, Tyler Roehmholdt, said, "The app has everything you'd expect in a WhitePages mobile app - the ability to search hundreds of millions of listings to find people and businesses on the go - as well as a number of great new features to help Blackberry users be even more efficient."

Check out this demo:

This rash of mobile apps from WhitePages is part of a major rebranding effort that targets not only the company's visual identity (very humanly chronicled in the WhitePages blog entries) but also the range of services and products they offer. We look forward to seeing what's next.

The Blackberry app is initially available on the BlackBerry Bold, with versions for Storm, Curve and Pearl to follow shortly. The price is $6.99 for six months of service.

And with good reason. For all the buzz about Google and Apple handsets, BlackBerry remains the dominant force in smart mobile devices. So it shouldn't come as any surprise that MySpace has released an application for the BlackBerry platform. What is surprising, however, is how long it has taken.

As Sarah asked in a previous review:

"This app is very much like the Facebook app for Blackberry, which was announced back in late 2007. Now, almost a year later, a MySpace version is planned. Why the holdup?"

Why indeed? Granted, developing for any new platform is a challenge. As is supporting multiple platforms on a single site. But, at first blush, the new BlackBerry app doesn't appear to be doing anything revolutionary. It seems to simply recreate a subset of the functionality found on the Web site. The only major difference being that it is formatted for the smaller screen.

And in reality, the development of the app - from the announcement of the MySpace and RIM partnership to the release - has actually been fairly short. Deciding to build the app - rather than the time it took to build the app - was definitely the gating factor. And that raises another question.

Why BlackBerry? Why Now?

The answer might be the most obvious one: the BlackBerry demographic is changing. In the past, the majority of BlackBerry users were interested in one thing: an easy way to read and respond to email. Even the phone seemed secondary.

Today, as more and more activities are being moved to mobile devices, BlackBerry has a much wider appeal - and it's not all business people. This new breed of BlackBerry users want to do more than respond to email. And RIM is working to make sure that they meet that demand, albeit in a "following rather than leading" fashion.

But are there really BlackBerry users on MySpace? There are a few. As of this writing, the number of BlackBerry friends is sitting at nearly 18,000 users. And the MySpace Mobile site - http://m.myspace.com - is seeing a very respectable 14 million monthly unique mobile visits, which is right in-line with numbers that Facebook mobile is seeing. If the BlackBerry app is actually meeting a need, we should see both of those MySpace numbers grow substantially over the next few months.

Still the question remains: why now? And how does this continued push to the mobile platform play into some of MySpace's latest revenue plans, like MyAds? The answers to those questions are still a little murky. We'll just have to wait and see how many BlackBerry friends Tom adds over the coming months.

Evernote becomes a single destination for every note you have, including video, pics, to-dos, audio message, web clips, and web bookmarks. All notes can be tagged and synchronized between your Mac or PC, the Evernote Web app, and your BlackBerry. You can access your existing notes by searching for keywords, filter by tags, or simply browse for them.

In The Field

Many of us have been looking for a mobile note taking application that would be useful "in the field", since that's where we take most of our notes. Often we can't type fast enough on our mobile devices to keep up, so we jot down notes on *gasp* paper. With Evernote for Blackberry you can simply take a snapshot with your device, add a subject, comments and some tags and save it for later. When you get home you can sync everything up and have it available on your desktop or on the Web.

Prior to using Evernote for Blackberry, some people used to snap pictures of people's name tags at various events for future reference. Now you can put those in a folder in Evernote and tag, comment and archive them.

But Does it Work?

Taking text notes in Evernote for BlackBerry is straightforward and easy as are snapshot and audio notes. Trying to recognize words in some written notes can be a little sketchy, but Evernote does a pretty decent job of finding key words through a simple search. Overall the interface is a little clunky, and there seems to be no (obvious) way to add content to existing notes using the BlackBerry. Those are the only major complaints we have with it, although not being able to add to existing notes on the fly is a real bummer.

What makes this app especially useful is the ability to sync everything at once. That alone makes it an app we will continue to use. When you add BlackBerry's tagging capabilities with GPS, it becomes very powerful note taking tool indeed. Imagine being able to geotag a note and how that could be useful later. Add some snapshots, maybe a short video or audio clip and you have the makings of a very serviceable blog post or report.

Evernote for BlackBerry is certainly worth a try, check it out for yourself. It is available on the Evernote site or from BlackBerry App World. Of course there are several note taking apps for the BlackBerry, but so far this is the best one we have found, especially among the other free apps.

Now that the iPhone has a MySpace app, the company felt it was time to deliver a version to Blackberry users, too. The new app will feature a full messaging interface (comments, bulletins, and messages), status and mood updates, the ability to interact with friend requests, camera integration and integrated photo management, the ability to view and comment on friends albums and photos, and notification of new MySpace events.

This app is very much like the Facebook app for Blackberry, which was announced back in late 2007. Now, almost a year later, a MySpace version is planned. Why the holdup?

It's possible that RIM didn't feel that Blackberry users were interested in having a MySpace application, as that network tends to skew younger and is not used for business networking in the same way that Facebook is. Yet with the arrival of the Apple iPhone, RIM may be concerned about loss of market share. This new app may represent how RIM is trying to hold onto those customers who want more social networking tools and apps available on their Blackberry devices.

This potential loss of userbase must be especially concerning to them since the iPhone now integrates with Microsoft Exchange, the email system used by businesses all over the world. That integration means that I.T. departments are now able to support iPhones if they so desire, breaking down one of the final barriers to getting iPhones in the enterprise.

Blackberry Hub

In addition to today's announcement about the MySpace Mobile Blackberry app, RIM also announced the creation of a new hub on MySpace for information about the company's products. The Blackberry Hub features product demos, contests, how-to video guides, a marketplace of apps, and downloadable wallpapers and skins. When browsing through the MySpace Blackberry app section, clicking any link for an app will redirect you to RIM's web site, where you can download the app for your phone.

Users can also sign up here on the hub to be notified when the MySpace Mobile app becomes available for download.

In addition to the benefits provided by standardization, IT departments also have to take into account the investment in their current infrastructure technology. To date, that investment often includes BES, or Blackberry Enterprise Server, which supports the needs of email-on-the-go for millions of corporate users.

Now, BES admins can deploy Google Maps for Mobile to those millions of users with ease, thanks to Google's new packages designed specifically for this server technology.

• Download the ALX package for BlackBerry Enterprise Server to give employees Google Maps for mobile.
• Download the JAD/COD package if you would like to host the files internally and have your employees individually install Google Maps.
• If you use access control policies to restrict installation of applications on corporate BlackBerry phones, download the workaround ALX package for BlackBerry Enterprise Server versions prior to 4.1.5 MR1. (More information is available in our discussion group.)

ALX packages for Google Web Search and GOOG-411 are also available. 

Too bad. I'd dreamed he'd be using Twitterberry to share tidbits from NSA briefings ("OMFG @Biden - can you believe Libya is at it AGAIN?!"). At the very least, I was hoping he could liveblog his own inauguration: "12:03 pm - Putting my left hand on the Bible, raising my right. Then bringing both hands over to the keyboard to type this. Roberts is starting to look impatient."

More Noise to Signal

We mentioned in our previous post that CRM provider Etelos had created an iPhone version of its product. Today Zoho has announced an iPhone version of their Web Office suite, called (naturally enough) iZoho. It currently allows users to view documents, spreadsheets and presentations. As of now, only documents can be edited. And Zoho hasn't actually tested this on iPhone yet, so they say they will add more features "after we get to play with iPhone."

The big question around all of this is: how much adoption will the iPhone get in the enterprise? We know that the iPhone will be mostly a consumer play, as with the majority of Apple products. But on the other hand, the Blackberry has been an enormous success in the enterprise. In many ways, the iPhone will compete with the Blackberry - and it already looks to have much better Web support. Zoho noted this about iPhone in their blog post:

"...a device with a big screen, built in Wi-Fi, good usability and a full fledged browser will only improve the chances of practically using web apps on a mobile device."

Raju Vegesna from Zoho told me they don't have a version for Blackberry and that developing Zoho for the Blackberry would be much more difficult. "iPhone was easy because we didn't do lots of changes", Raju said, "we just supported Safari. But that's not the case with Blackberry. We'd have to do a specific version for it, as it is not a full fledged browser."

Conclusion: Watch out Blackberry!

In response to a question from Simon Leyland about business use of the iPhone in our previous post, a commenter named Dan responded:

"Simon, I am not sure that iPhones will be less desirable than Blackberry's to the Enterprise. The Exec. and outside sales teams seem to be ideal for browser-based apps that get them their data. Why not? I have been using a Blackberry for years and ready to try something new. I would love to get at my data from a smaller device than a laptop. But I may be the exception to the rule."

I think Dan is right and there will be demand from businesses for the iPhone, despite the higher price. The iPhone has better Web support than the Blackberry and by all accounts is easier to use (although we won't know for sure till Friday). What do you think - will there be demand in the enterprise for the iPhone? How will this affect Blackberry?

Best of Both Worlds?

What's most appealing about the Kogan Agora, at least based on these specs, is its promise to deliver the "best of both worlds." It combines the apps and music of the iPhone with the form factor and keypad of Blackberry. 

As much as some people love the iPhone, it's touch keyboard takes some getting used to. Some people never really get used to it - especially former Blackberry users or those who are comfortable with a two-hand typing experience. Switching to the iPhone is a move these folks need to think carefully about. Although they gain a combo media player/phone and applications galore at their fingertips, they have to sacrifice the typing experience they consider to be ideal. For heavy email users and texters, giving up the keyboard may be a deal-breaker.

Then along came Google's Android OS. Now you can have both music and apps and the possibility of using a real hardware-based keyboard. Unfortunately for Blackberry addicts, it first arrived on T-Mobile's G1 which came with a slideout keyboard. That was close, but it was hardly a recreation of the Blackberry experience.

The Kogan Agora, on the other hand, looks like the Blackberry (or perhaps the Blackjack) and includes all the Android goodness, too. Will this be the ideal combo? A Blackberry-esque media player that you can fill with downloadable apps? We'll have to wait and see once the phone arrives and reviews come in, but it definitely looks promising.

Here is the context. This relates to the big battle between Microsoft Office and Google Apps.

• There are 21 million BlackBerry users in 150 countries. Many are senior business people.
• Google is signing up 3,000 business users to Google Apps every day.
• Business guys usually live either on their Blackberry or in Outlook.
• Google wants those business guys to lose that last habit and to live in Gmail.
• Once somebody lives in Gmail, it is relatively easy to gradually entice them into other Google apps.

Key Features of the Apps Connector

1. Updates: Mail is pushed to your device.
2. Reading: Messages read on your BlackBerry show up as "Read" in Gmail, and vice versa.
3. Deleting: Messages deleted on your BlackBerry are deleted in Gmail, and vice versa.
4. Contacts: Synced between your BlackBerry and Gmail.
5. Folder/Labels: Select which folders and labels to sync.
6. Calendar: This feature is a one-way sync from Google Apps to your BlackBerry device.
7. Device management: Use standard BES Server features to enforce IT policy, push applications, remote wipe devices, etc.

What's Old and What's New

What do most users who have both Gmail and BlackBerry do today? They forward Gmail to their BlackBerry. That's okay, but they end up managing two inboxes, which is why the second and third features, while simple-sounding, are actually pretty critical to adoption:

2. Reading: Messages read on your BlackBerry show up as "Read" in Gmail, and vice versa.

3. Deleting: Messages deleted on your BlackBerry are deleted in Gmail, and vice versa.

Some early adopters have found ways around this issue, but Google had better make it super-simple if it is going to get mass adoption.

After testing, we can confirm that this works as advertised.

What's Still Missing?

As with many of these kinds of announcements, when you see what is possible, you end up wanting more, and the list of requests can be endless. But here are two features we wish for that do not seem like they would be too hard for Google to deliver. So, we asked Raju Gulabani, Product Management Director of Google Apps, to comment on these two:

1. Two-way calendar sync. Today, Google allows syncing from Google Calendar to BlackBerry. This may be useful to somebody who lives at their desk and is mobile only very occasionally. But for people who live outside of the office, this does not cut it. We want to be able to input data into our BlackBerry calendars when we're talking to someone or during those "time-fillers" such as waiting at an airport or in a Starbucks line. The BlackBerry calendar thus becomes our primary calendar. So two-way sync is essential if we are to rely on Google Calendars back at the office.

Raju was willing to confirm that this was a high priority and would be available in the second half of this year.

2. Tasks. Managing task lists is another classic "time-filler." If we could manage these via a native BlackBerry interface rather than having to go to a Google website, we could be mobile and connected to colleagues on multiple projects.

Raju was only willing to confirm that Google understood this usage case, but was not able to forecast a timeline for delivery.

Digging Below the Covers

We had four questions for Google:

1. Does this require Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES)? Yes, you need BES, but not the Exchange Server.
2. Does this use IMAP? No, it uses a "native" synchronization protocol.
3. Does this use Gears? No, it uses a "native" synchronization protocol.

What does "native" synchronization protocol mean for the market? Native in this context means proprietary. Basically, it means that this synchronization is unavailable to any other webmail service provider.

When Can You Get This?

This is currently in customer beta testing and will be launching in the Google Apps Premier and Education Edition (at no additional charge) in July 2009.

The Indonesian mobile market has more than doubled in the last year and for a lot of users there, their mobile phones are the most important on-ramps to the Internet. As InMobi points out in its press release, strong competition among carriers has brought prices down and made mobile phones more affordable in the last year. While the BlackBerry is generally regarded as a business phone with a focus on email, it is currently beating the more web-centric iPhone in Indonesia when it comes to mobile web usage.

InMobi estimates that the average user in Indonesia generated 592 page views, while the global average is only about 250. About 80% of all the handsets sold in Indonesia are web-enabled - though most of them obviously don't give users access to the rich experience smartphones can offer.

As for BackBerry's lead in this market, it's important to note that AdMob's last metrics report from July (PDF) points out that both Apple and RIM only have a small share of the Indonesian handset market. BlackBerry currently holds the lead against Apple, though, and judging from InMobi's data, it looks like it also has the momentum to extend this lead.

Alternately, you can choose to download the CloudPrint driver to your PC and save the files to the CloudPrint server before you travel so you'll have them ready in advance.

With the new partnership between RIM and HP, the CloudPrint service will come to BlackBerry devices in the form of a software download which will be made available to BlackBerry Internet Service subscribers and BlackBerry Enterprise Server customers. Of course, CloudPrint includes support for the new BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0, also launched this week.

There's no word yet on how soon the technology will become available. However, at the time of writing, HP's CloudPrint site at cloudprint.hpl.hp.com has gone blank, stating only "thank you for your interest" along with a link to HP's home page. Perhaps that means they're making changes to it now.

With FriendMobilizer, you can view your friend's information and profiles, write on their walls, browse photo albums, approve friend requests, view group and event invites, read your new wall posts, read the messages in your inbox, update your status, and more.

Click Image to See Larger Version

The application is currently available for both Windows Mobile devices and Pocket PCs and can be downloaded from the web site at www.faceofmobile.com. However, according to the company, the generic software platform developed for FriendMobilizer will soon be ported to other mobile OS's as well. In addition, the company plans to build mobile apps for other social networks in the future.

But the competition here is not Microsoft. For the business user, the competition is Blackberry; and Blackberry is not Microsoft. I am a long time Blackberry user and it is seldom annoying. It just gets the job done. So unlike when I switched back from Windows to Mac, which I did with a big sigh of relief, I am in no hurry to switch based on anything wrong with what I have.

And a few reviews are making me think that iPhone could be a high maintenance date. Sure, high maintenance dates can be fun, but I am judging this on boring utility criteria. For example:

1. Keyboard. I am ready to be convinced by touch-screen keyboards. But I am not sure I want to spend the time adjusting. Outside the USA, where SMS is the major use of a mobile phone, I think this is a big deal. Flipping to horizontal is neat, but does this work for email?

2. Battery. Any mobile device that cannot do a full day's work and play without re-charge is a pain. You don't want to be in "don't leave home without it" mode regarding your charger unless you are going for more than a day. On a normal day, it's plug it in before you go to sleep and pick it up in the morning.

3. It's a bit big as a phone. OK, so is the Blackberry. But, as they say, size matters when you are holding it to your ear. Some people express almost comical amusement at the idea of using the iPhone as a phone - "you still call people, how quaint". Then don't call it a Phone, because it does set that expectation.

I know that resistance is futile. I will get an iPhone eventually. Or Blackberry will give me a better browser, which is really what I love about iPhone.

The killer app for me? Skype to Skype calls over WiFi. I believe that requires an unlocked iPhone. It would dramatically change the economics of mobile phones. Which AT&T certainly knows and will be resisting for as long as possible.

Plus a really slim but full function collapsible keyboard, so I can write full length stuff as easily as on my laptop. And then a simple way to plug into any screen that's around, so I can edit docs stored in the cloud. So that I can stop lugging around my laptop; that's a big win for people who spend a lot of time away from their desk.

My guess is that the iPhone ecosystem will bring all these things to market fairly soon. The iPhone is the first real new platform since Windows (sorry, Facebook).

Image: After the iPhone Keynote, Jan 2007; pic by mac steve