rim

RIM's shares rose more than 3% to close at $85.41 on the NASDAQ Friday due to rumors about Microsoft's intentions on buying the smartphone manufacturer.

However, the whole idea doesn't make much sense as RIM's current market value is about $47bn, and Microsoft would rather grow its own technologies instead of purchasing such a major company for them.

The new BlackBerry 8820 uses Wi-Fi connectivity for accessing the web. It wasn't officially announced, so there is very little info about it. We know that 8820 doesn't differ much from 8800, and comes with a landscape display and QWERTY keyboard. The camera is lacking, not sure about the memory slot.

The first carrier to offer the device is also unknown.

Research In Motion will soon start selling BlackBerries with both cellular and Wi-Fi capabilities.

The exact date of the release is unknown. All we now is that these devices should appear sometime in the second half of this year, according to RIM co-CEO’s words.

The BlackBerry 8800 was announced by Research In Motion. The 8800 is a quad-band GSM /EDGE, with built-in GPS , the device is a combination of styles between BlackBerry Pearl and some previous business-targeted BlackBerry handsets.

The BlackBerry 8800 has the following set of features inside

• QVGA display
• BlackBerry push email support
• microSD memory card slot
• Trackball navigation
• Bluetooth

The BlackBerry 8800 is going to be shipped later this month.

According to what is known for fact RIM is very negative towards other rivals editions that look like its handsets that it's going to sue companies that produce alike products. Recently Samsung launched the BlackJack on the Cingular Wireless network and it made RIM angry.

According to what RIM reports is that because the Samsung BlackJack has a name and a design that could cause "customer confusion" that may damage RIM's brand.

Research In Motion is betting that the addition of more multimedia features to its BlackBerry handheld line will help the company continue its strong growth. While the email functionality of BlackBerry is market leading, the devices have a more limited approach to multimedia than other smartphones.

"We'll be definitely supporting more forms of media, it's a big part of our direction," Jim Balsillie told Reuters, adding that delivering features such as photography, music and video with the BlackBerry "opens up some bigger markets".