Nokia and RIM signed a licensing agreement in November, 2002, under which Nokia could develop and sell handsets with BlackBerry functions; at the time both parties expected development to proceed apace. Nokia has since announced two handsets, the 6810 and 6820, which have the BlackBerry Web client built in, but neither device is available in the US because of the patent infringement lawsuit won by NTP against RIM.
The court’s decision against RIM, stayed pending RIM’s appeal, includes an injunction which would bar RIM from selling BlackBerry devices in the US. According to this article in eWeek, Nokia said it has delayed launching the devices here. “We decided until [the lawsuit is] straightened out to delay the availability of BlackBerry functionality on the 6800 in the U.S.,” said Joe Gottlieb, director of business development and strategy for Nokia’s Enterprise Mobility Systems business unit in Mountain View, Calif. “We’re waiting to see how that pans out.”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.