Phred Dvorak, on WSJ.com:

RIM said the BlackBerry network was set up so that “no one, including RIM, could access” customer data, which is encrypted from the time it leaves the device.

All good right? Many (including myself) have been working under the assumption that BlackBerry devices – specifically their communications tools – are always encrypted.

However, something seems iffy when Bruce Schneier writes:

While the data is encrypted between RIM’s servers and the BlackBerrys, it has to be encrypted by RIM — so RIM has access to the plaintext.

This is similar to how Opera Mini handles encryption: although everything coming to and from Opera servers is encrypted, the servers themselves need see what’s going on to do its magic.

Note that I don’t think BlackBerry has a security issue. But by making a statement that seems technically inaccurate they’re setting themselves up for scrutiny from the users that should be supporting them right now.

BlackBerry Torch With BlackBerry 6 OS Announced →

BlackBerry Torch in AT&T for $199.99:

As a refresher, the specs for the Torch 9800 look like this: 3.2-inch 360x480 touchscreen, 4.4” (5.8” open) x 2.4” x .57” and weighing 5.68 ounces, an optical trackpad, 4 GB of flash memory built-in as well as a 4 GB MicroSD card included with the phone, 5 megapixel camera with flash capable of shooting 640x480 video, BlackBerry 6 OS, and the usual smartphone features like Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n WiFi.

A modern device, with a modern OS – by 2009 standards.

For me this doesn’t mean that BlackBerry is in trouble. They are just not innovative for the end consumer. Other than the huge network effect of BlackBerry Messenger and their superior mail experience, they really bring nothing new to the market.

As long as these are the things that people want, no problem, if Apps, Browsing, Media, etc, keeps reaching mainstream, then somebody is in trouble.

New US Rules Allow Unapproved iPhone Apps And Unlocking →

Joelle Tessler, also on AP:

The decision to allow the practice commonly known as “jailbreaking” is one of a handful of new exemptions from a 1998 federal law that prohibits people from bypassing technical measures that companies put on their products to prevent unauthorized uses.

This is great. Every geek knows that when you buy an electronic device it’s yours to hack, but this adds some support to the assumption.

Other interesting exemptions mentioned:

• allow owners of used cell phones to break access controls on their phones in order to switch wireless carriers.
• allow people to break technical protections on video games to investigate or correct security flaws.
• allow college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos.
• allow computer owners to bypass the need for external security devices called dongles if the dongle no longer works and cannot be replaced.

Again, great news. I find the used mobile phone unlocking exemption specially interesting. I’m going to try to never buy a locked phone ever again, even if the initial price is higher.

UAE Says Blackberry is Security Threat →

Adam Schreck, from AP:

The United Arab Emirates has declared BlackBerry smartphones a potential threat to national security, saying the devices operate beyond the jurisdiction of national laws and are open to misuse.

Great example of when technology gets so far ahead of politics that by the time it catches up, it’s too late.

I get the feeling that at some point before 2012, we’ll see a similar story in Venezuela.

Translate the real world with Google Goggles →

From the Official Google Mobile Blog:

• Point your phone at a word or phrase. Use the region of interest button to draw a box around specific words
• Press the shutter button
• If Goggles recognizes the text, it will give you the option to translate
• Press the translate button to select the source and destination languages.

Whoa. There are some iPhone apps that try to this, but none are very good IMHO.

Don’t you just love living in the future?

UPDATE: Looks like it works pretty well:

Very Personal Computing →

Jean-Louis Gassée on Very Personal Computing:

One of my colleagues, Bob Ackerman, calls smartphones the very personal computers. Measured by size and potential, they’re both smaller and bigger than today’s PCs.

I really like this new classification for smartphone market and beyond. It breaks the mental model of mobile phones as PC accessories and allows a more clear outlook of where things are about to go.

The personal computer has reached the S-Curve’s shoulder while very personal computers are still at the S-Curve’s knee, poised for the type of growth the PC has enjoyed over the past 30 years:

I’ve been fascinated by tech S-curves ever since I read The Innovator’s Dilemma, so I can’t pass a change to include it.

If you go down the list of disruptive technologies, it’s amazing how fast a company - or even a whole industry -can go from being cutting-edge to commoditized dinosaurs.

HP to Acquire Palm for $1.2 Billion →

John Gruber on HP’s purchase of Palm:

I really do think this is a great move for HP. I don’t know that it’s going to work, but it certainly gives them better opportunities in the mobile space than they would have had otherwise.

Completely agree.

It says a lot that most people I see excited about Palm surviving are either iPhone or Android users. Smart geeks love innovative technologies, even if they don’t use the it.

BlackBook for BlackBerry →

BlackBook is the app Tiger Woods should have used:

Keep your contacts hidden with blackBook’s completely hidden contact list, accessible only by entering a customizable key combination on your BlackBerry® smartphone’s keypad.