Comments on: I want my BlackBerry

Attorney Eric Sinrod hopes that the courts won't take away his PDA. If they do, will he and others flock to RIM competitors?

[hadaso]

Any need for speacial technology for "wireless" email?

I don't understand why there's a need for proprietary technology to "deliver email to a wireless device".

It seems to me all one needs is a wireless device capable of running general purpose software (written to use the available hardware) with TCP/IP connection to the internet. Then one could install an IMAP client and use any email account with any provider that allows IMAP access.

A general purpose device would not make one depend on one particular kind of device/service provider. The technology would not be encumbered by patents (I hope using SMTP+IMAP4 over TCP/IP is not patented...) and of course a general purpose device would allow the independent development of lots of other uses for a wireless communications device without it being dependent on the device being "wireless" - instead just on its being connected to a TCP/IP network.

Or am I completely wrong? Perhaps any particular combination of methods used at the seven different layers of the OSI model are separtely patentable?

SMTP+IMAP4 over TCP/IP

from the software point of view yes

but i think RIM and the wireless network providers do a little more to make it look like TCP/IP to the devices (hence NTP)... although i still think it's not worth patenting...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G
../GPRS
../IDEN
../RMI


etc

[Sonicsands]

broad meaningless patents

This is sadly another case of someone allowed to hold a true invention hostage by applying for a broad meaningless patent.

Why did NTP not make their case strongly until Blackberry became a profitable product?

Nowhere in the NTP patent is there an explicit description of what the Blackberry does - just general, vague suggestions of wireless data transmission.

The US patent system really needs major overhauling. I applaud RIM for not bowing to this. If the service is shut down, it is the fault of NTP and that of the US patent system.