May 12th, 2008
Blackberry users to get Windows Live services
Research in Motion (RIM) and Microsoft have struck a deal via which Blackberry users will be able to run Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger on their devices.
The two companies announced the deal on May 12; actual availability is slated for some time this summer with support for multiple languages.
Microsoft announced a similar deal to preload the full suite of Windows Live services on Nokia smartphones last August.
Microsoft and RIM have been service partners for years. In 2005, the pair announced enterprise instant messaging (IM) and presence capabilities for BlackBerry subscribers via Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 and BlackBerry Enterprise Server. In April 2008, Microsoft’s TellMe unit announced that it was bringing a new voice-activated-search appliction to the Blackberry (before Windows Mobile — but that’s another story.)
It was just a year ago, rumors were swirling that Microsoft was poised to acquire RIM.
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