January 17, 2009 by Matt Thomas
With the SmartPhone war growing more brutal, companies are looking for anything they can to get an edge on their opponents through good publicity. In this respect, Blackberry received an unexpected shot in the arm this week after it emerged that president elect, Barack Obama wishes to retain his Blackberry once in office. The president to be has had a long-standing love affair with the device and was often spotted using one during the campaign.
As well as manna from marketing heaven for RIM (Research in Motion), the makers of the Blackberry, this issue is of some genuine importance. Communications from presidents can be subpoenaed by courts and congress under public records laws. For this reason, previous presidents have chosen not to use Blackberrys or any other personal phones, doing all their communication and organisation through armies of assistants. They’ve also traditionally shunned email – something else Obama intends to change.
Obama maintains that he only wants the phone so that he can keep in touch with old friends outside the administration and Washington. That may well be true, although the device may still end up being subject to the Presidential Records Act.
Reports indicate that despite all this and much advice to the contrary, Obama is determined to keep the phone.
RIM must be rubbing their hands with glee.
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