BlackBerry getting squeezed?
Device maker Research In Motion heads to federal court to stand its ground in a case that could lead to a service shutdown. Here's everything you need to know.
BlackBerry saved
Research in Motion will pay $612 million to use the technology at the core of the popular devices.
March 3, 2006
Welcome to litigation land, 2006
perspective There's no joy in tech-dom after the RIM-NTP settlement, says CNET News.com's Charlie Cooper.March 3, 2006
Reporter roundtable: The RIM settlement examined
audio Join News.com reporters and editors as they discuss the implications of the long-running patent dispute case.March 3, 2006
BlackBerry case: No shutoff, for now
Judge James Spencer scolds patent holder NTP and device maker Research In Motion for not coming to a settlement.
February 24, 2006
Judge faces 'reality' in BlackBerry case
Transcript of Judge Spencer's closing remarks appears to show resignation, annoyance with endless dispute.
February 24, 2006
A view from the BlackBerry courtroom
reporter's notebook A seemingly exasperated federal judge made the men in black suits chuckle during Friday's RIM court hearing.February 24, 2006
Second final rejection issued for NTP patent
As pivotal hearing winds down, the second of five NTP patents gets a thumbs-down from the Patent Office.
February 24, 2006
Bye-bye, BlackBerry?
A federal court hearing scheduled for Friday is inspiring fevered thumb-typists to ponder life without mobile e-mail.
February 23, 2006
RIM chief: Chances of NTP deal appear slim
Research In Motion would settle the legal drama over the BlackBerry, but not at the terms NTP is offering, CEO says.
February 23, 2006
NTP slams RIM on eve of crucial hearing
BlackBerry maker calls patent-holding company's lambasting statement a "shameless diversionary tactic."
February 23, 2006
Patent office issues final rejection of NTP patent
Rejection is for an NTP-held patent that covers a system for sending e-mails over a wireless network to a mobile device.
February 22, 2006
Legal tangles don't sour BlackBerry customers
BlackBerry shipments increased by 46 percent to vault RIM to the top spot among PDA vendors in 2005, says Gartner.
February 14, 2006
RIM's BlackBerry work-around
Research In Motion details how its new software work-around will be distributed to customers.
February 9, 2006
FAQ: Will BlackBerrys be shut down?
A confusing legal saga is nearing a conclusion in a Virginia courtroom, but plenty of questions remain about how this case evolved, and what remains to be decided.
February 2, 2006
U.S. Supreme Court rejects RIM's appeal
U.S. shutdown of BlackBerry service appears imminent as appeal in a patent infringement case from RIM is rejected.
January 23, 2006
Jury: RIM infringed on patents
A federal jury determines that Research In Motion infringed on patents and orders it to pay $23 million to holding company NTP.
November 21, 2002
Pick a BlackBerry
Despite all the legal woes, RIM's BlackBerrys aren't seeing black yet. With promises of a software workaround that will allow the continuation of service, here is the latest lineup of BlackBerry devices for all the major carriers.
BlackBerry alternatives
Then again, if all of this makes you nervous, here are six smart phone alternatives that can step in for your BlackBerry. As with any emergency, it's always good to be prepared.
RIM BlackBerry 7100 series
All BlackBerry reviews
See CNET editors' top smart phones
Read the latest smart-phone reviews
Why the BlackBerry dispute may keep going and going
Attorney Eric Sinrod says RIM's workaround could spawn entirely new patent issues to fight about with NTP
February 15, 2006
I want my BlackBerry
Sinrod hopes the courts won't take away his prized PDA. But if it happens, he--and millions others like him--have another option.
December 7, 2005
Fighting the Good fight
Good Technology CEO Danny Shader says a shift in handheld tastes should spell an end to the end of the BlackBerry era.
July 18, 2005
Why RIM won't blink
Hanging tough under pressure, RIM CEO Jim Balsillie blames NTP for not reaching a solution to their patent dispute.
June 23, 2005
Sending a message to RIM
NTP co-founder Donald Stout says the company expects Research In Motion to pay up--one way or another--to settle their long-running patent dispute.
June 24, 2005
Are you a BlackBerry user? What do you expect to happen?
From CNET News.com
Government has two million accounts.
Patent Office is government.
How long will disputed patents stand?
There is enough dirty water without you two fighting all the time. You just act like babies and ought to be treated as such.
Don't customers have inherent rights to continuing service at reasonable prices, regardless of whether RTP and NTP disagree?
The Blackberry that I had through Nextel had limitations in regards to the WEB interface. However, the easy of use, the way it interfaced with Outlook, the easy 'one hand' operation and the email handling far outways the 6700 for what I need as a communication device.
You CAN NOT effectively operate the 6700 with one hand, the keyboard on the side, seems nice, but also try to use it... 'tuff' ... Many of the simple intuitive things built into the Blackberry, (i.e. when sending email, putting in @ and '.' by the space bar selection, instead of 'hunting' for the function button 'the dot' and the '@'), I am now missing. I could build a long list of things that I liked about the Blackberry, many that I didn't even realize until now, because it was all so 'easy'.
Didn't think I would miss it, the 6700 looked superior on the surface, and to some people it may be. But those of you out their, considering a switch to another device, you may not want to be as quick as I was and wait this all out for awhile.