RIM Takes Microsofts Hand!

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) will let developers create applications for BlackBerry phones using Microsoft Corp.'s .Net programming environment, continuing its efforts to broaden the capabilities of the devices.

The BlackBerry plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio lets developers write applications that integrate with existing back-end servers through .Net Web Services, RIM said Monday. The plug-in works with the BlackBerry Mobile Data System.

Okay here's the best part of this story. Read carefully:
While the BlackBerry for many years was mainly a mobile e-mail device, RIM has increasingly enabled more capabilities for developing other wireless applications as it faces growing competition from companies such as Microsoft and its Windows Mobile operating system.

So the moral Orel of the story is, if you can't beat em join em'. And if you're worried about a iPhone moving in, pay a big bully and do his homework. There's a lot more Jibba Jabba in the form of excuses in the rest of this story.