Two wireless rivals may be realizing that they are stronger together than
apart, according to a report by the Toronto Star Friday.
Handspring President and CEO Ed Colligan told the Star that his company —
The Star also reported that RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie acknowledged that such
Handspring has already licensed RIM’s keyboard technology, as has Palm. And
maker of the Treo Communicator, a device which combines a Palm OS PDA with
a mobile phone — is making overtures to rival Research In Motion that would allow the Treo to support RIM’s Blackberry
software.
RIM has gained a sizeable foothold in the enterprise market, with companies
turning to its Blackberry Enterprise Server and Blackberry e-mail devices
to deliver e-mail to employees wirelessly. According to the Star, Colligan
wants Handspring to license RIM’s software, allowing Blackberry Enterprise
Servers to deliver e-mail to its Treo devices.
He said that enterprise customers have told him that they would use the
Treo if it didn’t mean replacing their existing e-mail server software.
a partnership between the two rivals would fit with RIM’s strategy, though
he could not say anything definitive.
last November, Finnish titan Nokia licensed the Blackberry e-mail software
for its phones.
