Former Research In Motion co-chief executive Jim Balsillie sought a radical shift in strategy before he stepped down, Reuters reported on Friday. Citing two unnamed sources, the publication claims Balsillie wanted to allow wireless companies in North America and Europe to use RIM’s proprietary network for services on non-BlackBerry devices. The plan would help carriers entice customers to upgrade from feature phones to smartphones and allow them to offer inexpensive data plans that were limited to social media and instant messaging via the company’s BlackBerry Messenger service. Despite RIM’s network bringing in nearly $1 billion each quarter, the plan was vetoed, leading to Balsillie’s resignation soon after he stepped down as co-CEO. The Blackberry-maker will instead focus more on its next-generation BlackBerry 10-powered smartphones, and on regaining enterprise momentum.

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According to a recent job posting, Research In Motion may be looking to enter the iOS app market. The posting, which was spotted by AllThingsD, has since been removed, but a screen grab indicates that the company is seeking a Senior iOS Mobile Developer to build enterprise applications. More specifically, RIM needed “an experienced iOS/Objective-C developer capable of architecting, designing, developing and testing complex applications for iPhone and iPad devices.” Along with 7 to 10 years of programing experience, the job requires at least two years of professional experience in writing iOS apps, which candidates “must be able to show application from the App Store that they have written at interview.” It isn’t clear why RIM is looking for an iOS developer, however the company may be looking for help bringing its services to other platforms. BGR exclusively reported in May that RIM was planning to bring its popular BlackBerry Messenger app to Android and iOS.

UPDATE: Looks like the wait for BBM on iOS continues. A RIM spokesperson provided AllThingsD with the following comment: “In order for BlackBerry Mobile Fusion to perform advanced management functions for iOS devices, RIM will develop an on device client to be included as part of the overall solution.”

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The Indonesian government has threatened to ban Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Messenger and BIS services in the country following the company’s decision to install a server in Singapore instead of in Indonesia. “Because RIM has not been cooperative, it is possible that we will soon end BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service) and BBM service,” a member of the Indonesian Telecommunication Regulatory Authority BRTI told The Jakarta Post. “BlackBerry therefore, would just be like other cellular phones.” RIM told the Indonesian government it would build a “server or data center” in the country as one of four promises it said would be completed by December 31st, The Jakarta Post explained. Read on for more.

RIM has always said that it cannot provide governments with the ability to monitor BlackBerry Messenger , but Indonesia still appears to feel its citizens would be safer it a server was built within the country. “With the condition as it is now, we warn that the country’s users to be cautious about using BlackBerry because the data exchanged is not safe or cannot be guaranteed of its safety,” Heru Sutadi of BRTI said. A RIM exec said he was surprised by Indonesia’s comments. “We were surprised by the government comments we saw in the media,” RIM’s Managing Director for Asia Gregory Wade told The Jakarta Globe. “The [December 8th] meeting was very positive. We couldn’t imagine that the government would be so hurtful as to shut down our service. A lot of Indonesians use the BB to run their businesses as well as access their community.” Wade said RIM is working closely with the government on a solution but also explained that RIM has “not been advised of any specific requirements extending beyond what it has already satisfied.”

Read [The Jakarta Post] Read [The Jakarta Globe]

BGR exclusively reported earlier today that Research In Motion was facing serious challenges getting native apps such as email, BlackBerry Messenger and more working on the BlackBerry PlayBook. In a post blog a few minutes ago, the company has confirmed that the PlayBook OS 2.0 update won’t be released until February. Additionally, RIM also relayed issues with BlackBerry Messenger integration, noting that BlackBerry Messenger will not be included in the native apps bundle of PlayBook OS 2.0, instead coming at a later date.

“We are committed to developing a seamless BBM solution that fully delivers on the powerful, push based messaging capabilities recognized today by BlackBerry users around the world and we’re still working on it.”

The company confirmed that BlackBerry Messenger can still be used by connecting an existing BlackBerry smartphone with data plan over Bluetooth to the BlackBerry PlayBook using BlackBerry Bridge. Read on for a link to RIM’s full announcement.

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BGR exclusively reported in March that Research In Motion was working to bring its popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) platform to Android smartphones and the iPhone. Now, images that purportedly show a beta version of the chat application running on an Android device have been leaked by TechRadar. Reportedly, the app is set to launch on Android before next year and RIM is already in the final stages of testing the solution. The leak lines up with BGR’s original report that RIM would develop an Android client before an iOS version. In addition, BGR reported that RIM will likely limit the features of BBM on iOS and Android in an effort to woo users who want a more robust BBM experience back to a BlackBerry. RIM has plenty of stiff competition in the chat space, however. Applications such as Kik, Skype-owned GroupMe, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger all offer similar features and are available across multiple mobile platforms, and Apple’s iMessage service will launch this month with iOS 5. Hit the jump for a second image that provides a better look at the UI.

UPDATE: As pointed out by a tweet from Chris Parsons, it appears as though the image used in the screenshot below was pieced together from a marketing shot posted by RIM in August.

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BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has agreed to work with London authorities as they begin their investigation into recent riots. According to some Londoners, rioters were using RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger service, along with social networks such as Twitter, to organize the attacks. “It is clear that technology is being used, including in demonstrations, to direct people and undermine the police,” London’s deputy assistant commissioner Stephen Kavanagh told Bloomberg. “It is not for us to to moan about this, but to adapt policing style and deal with it.” RIM typically prides itself on the security of its BBM service and has denied access to governments worried the chat platform could be used for planning terrorist attacks. “We feel for those impacted by the riots in London,” RIM wrote in a recent tweet. “We have engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can.” Read on for more.

Despite RIM’s efforts, one Member of Parliament, David Lammy, has called on the Canadian company to suspend BlackBerry Messenger services while the riots continue, Reuters said. “This is one of the reasons why unsophisticated criminals are outfoxing an otherwise sophisticated police force,” Lamme tweeted. “BBM is different as it is encrypted and police can’t access it.”  Twitter isn’t giving up information as quickly. A spokesperson for the social network told Bloomberg that it would require a “subpoena or court order” before giving the police access to private user information. Read on for more on how one group of hackers is reacting to RIM’s cooperation.

A hacker group who calls themselves “Teampoison,” recently broke into RIM’s official BlackBerry blog and warned the company to stay out of the riots. In a letter, the group said:

If you do assist the police by giving them chat logs, gps locations, customer information & access to peoples BlackBerryMessengers you will regret it, we have access to your database which includes your employees information; e.g – Addresses, Names, Phone Numbers etc. – now if u assist the police, we_WILL_make this information public and pass it onto rioters.

Teampoison said it was afraid that “innocent members of the public” carrying BlackBerry smartphones “at the wrong place at the wrong time,” could be “charged for no reason at all.”

Read [Bloomberg] Read [Reuters]

One of the most important features Apple announced at WWDC 2011 was iMessage. It’s not only a direct competitor to Research In Motion’s extremely popular BlackBerry Messenger service, but could serve as the start of a much larger social initiative. Looking at the big picture, iMessage isn’t just a text / photo / video messaging service that will work with all iOS devices including the iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad, but it could also be the backbone for Apple to launch its own IM network that combines the company’s different strengths. Read on for my thoughts.

Right now, Apple has several ways to communicate on iOS and its OS X platform: iChat, FaceTime and iMessage. Why aren’t these services all tied together? Down the road, I think they will be. Imagine being able to add an iMessage account to iChat so you’re able to communicate not only from your iOS device with over 200 million users, but also from your desktop as well. Now your messages and conversations follow you from your iPhone to your iPad, and then to your iMac or MacBook Air as well. Why wouldn’t FaceTime be built into iChat too? The same way video calling now works on Apple devices could serve as the foundation for FaceTime calling to iMessage friends right through iChat.

Instead of relying on another IM network like AOL Instant Messanger, Apple is creating its own service on its own terms. The company has a chance to not only knock RIM down in the process, but also to finally switch hundreds of millions of users away from services like AIM to something much better and more comprehensive.

Look, people that know me know that I’ve been a BlackBerry fan from the beginning. The entire reason BGR was started was because I was breaking information on upcoming BlackBerry devices, mainly because I was obsessed with RIM and wanted to share that information. As we’ve all seen, however, RIM isn’t the market leader any longer. The company really isn’t innovating, and even worse, it’s not even competing with the titans of the smartphone space now: Google and Apple. All three companies have different product strategies, with Google and RIM being the most similar — they view devices as products, and features as check lists. Apple views devices as windows, and features as end-to-end experiences. Hit the break for the rest.

The real problem with RIM is that it hasn’t innovated for years. In that time, RIM’s entire product portfolio has been arguably lackluster, reduced to meaningless hardware upgrades and meaningless software upgrades. The company has tried to right its path by transitioning to QNX, an OS it purchased that will not only run the company’s tablets but smartphones as well in the next year to two. And the PlayBook by itself isn’t a bad product — but compared to the iPad, it’s a non-starter. RIM’s BlackBerry OS 7 (also known as BlackBerry OS 6.1, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 6, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry OS 5, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.7, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.5, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.3, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.2, also known as the same OS as BlackBerry 4.0…) isn’t an overhaul, but just another stop-gap solution until QNX.

So the question now becomes: if a company that hasn’t shown any leadership in the smartphone space hasn’t caught up to where it needs to be today, then how will it ever catch up? As it stands, RIM offers decent hardware with borderline-terrible software. In the future, judging from the PlayBook, RIM will offer decent hardware with mediocre software.

A high-level source at RIM told me that co-CEO Mike Lazaridis’ biggest fear was Apple creating a BlackBerry Messenger competitor. Today, Apple introduced iMessage, an app and service that not only looks better than BlackBerry Messenger, but probably works better as well. RIM’s push email and corporate integration pitch is losing steam, and the company pretty much just got out-fruited. We exclusively reported the company was planning on launching an Android and then iPhone BlackBerry Messenger app, but that was supposed to be at least 3-4 months out for Android, and possibly a year for iOS.

I’m sad. Sad because RIM doesn’t get it — and I’m not sure it ever will get it — and sad because RIM had the opportunity to once again be that innovator that it was in the past. It’s still possible… but with each day, each press conference, and each product introduction from elsewhere in the tech community, that chance looks smaller and smaller.

You know what was the other thing Mike Lazaridis is scared of most from Apple? A hardware keyboard on an iPhone. Shit.

During the BlackBerry World Keynote in Orlando this morning, Research In Motion announced that it is working with foursquare to include support for the social-network in an upcoming version of BlackBerry Messenger. Users will be able to share their location information as their BBM status, but RIM execs didn’t go into much detail on how check-ins will work or just how feature rich the implementation will be. The native foursquare client, for example, allows users to find nearby deals, compete with friends for check-in points, and more. RIM did not say when the client would make its debut, although we suspect it will be around the launch of its BlackBerry 7 powered Bold 9900, which will occur later this summer.

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PlayBook owners over on the CrackBerry forums have discovered that, after applying a new BlackBerry Bridge v1.0.0.83 update, they were able to use BBM on their BlackBerry PlayBooks. The feature reportedly only works with BlackBerry 6 devices right now, although there are rumblings that a BlackBerry OS 5 version is in the works as well. You’ll also need to update your BlackBerry Messenger application to the newest version first, and that should be available from RIM’s BlackBerry Beta Zone. Unfortunately some users are reporting that the new Bridge update is causing some lag on their phones, though, so you may want to hold off until RIM issues a release build of the software. Judging from the picture above, we’re definitely digging the multi-frame layout with the BBM buddy list on the left side and conversation view on the right.

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With BlackBerry World set to kick off early next month, you can expect BlackBerry-related leaks to keep rolling in hot and heavy for the next few weeks. We’ve already exclusively handled RIM’s upcoming flagship smartphones — the BlackBerry Bold Touch, the BlackBerry Torch 2 and the BlackBerry Touch (Monaco/Monza) — but there are plenty more goodies just waiting to be unearthed. Expected to launch alongside BlackBerry OS 6.1, screenshots of BlackBerry Messenger have been posted to a BlackBerry enthusiast forum. The images show a slightly redesigned look and minor UX enhancements, but the full feature list is still unknown so there may still be a few tidbits yet to be revealed. It might not be the version of BBM we’re all anxious to see RIM launch, but it’s never a bad thing when the company adds new features to its beloved BlackBerry Messenger.

[Via CrackBerry]

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We knew this story was a hoax when we first saw it, but we reached out to Research In Motion to get an official comment from the company. RIM tells us that rumors that BlackBerry Messenger might launch as an app for Apple’s iPhone on April 26th, is false. “RIM did not hold a conference in Toronto this week, and Jim Balsillie did not speak at any event in Toronto this week.” We’re not saying it isn’t coming at some point in the future, but BlackBerry Messenger is definitely not hitting the App Store on April 26th.

RIM may be forced to shut down its services in India if it can’t provide government intelligence agencies with access to its corporate email system by March 31st. According to a new report from Reuters this morning, India’s junior telecoms minister, Sachin Pilot, said that India isn’t satisfied with the access that RIM has provided to its BlackBerry messaging services. India has asked for access to RIM’s corporate email system in an effort to thwart terrorism and maintain security, but RIM has said such a solution isn’t possible. According to The Economic Times, which wrote a similar report, India believes that RIM provides other countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and China, with access to its corporate email services. India wants the same access, or it will force RIM to stop operating within its borders after March 31, 2011, one official said. RIM doesn’t look like it’s budging either, though. On Monday one RIM executive said India’s security demands are “astonishing.“

Read [Reuters] Read [The Economic Times]

BGR has learned from multiple trusted sources that Research In Motion is planning to bring its beloved BlackBerry Messenger app and service to Android, and eventually to iOS as well. According to our sources, RIM has not yet finalized details surrounding timing or pricing, but we have heard that the company might make the software free to all users. We’re also told strategy is still being developed, however, and RIM may end up charging users a one-time fee or even a recurring fee for access to its BBM service on third-party platforms.

It might seem a bit strange for RIM to want to bring the software that is responsible for keeping BlackBerry devices in the hands of countless potential defectors, but in the big picture, we think it could make sense. The company is getting very frustrated with applications like WhatsApp and Kik offering third-party experiences based on a concept RIM invented, and RIM apparently wants to own the space.

As far as what Android and iOS users can look forward to, we’ve been told RIM will offer stripped down versions of the BBM experience BlackBerry owners know and love. That way, Android and iOS users can communicate with practically anyone who has a smartphone using BBM, but they might not be able to share photos, location, or videos (when RIM crosses that bridge). Users who want the full BlackBerry Messenger experience will still need a BlackBerry smartphone to get it. At the same time, RIM could own the entire messaging app category on every major smartphone OS platform and could potentially draw new users in because it has given them a taste of what BlackBerry Messenger is all about.

Right now, we have heard that Android is definitely a go. But again, we’re not sure on timing, though our sources are confident that it will launch some time this year. RIM chose Android first because of the fact that it could develop and integrate something like this much easier with an open platform, but the plan is to build and deploy an iOS version at some point as well.