In a surprising partnership announced Monday, Research in Motion Ltd. and Palm Inc. are going to work together to offer RIM"s Blackberry wireless e-mail service over Palm"s Treo 650. The product should see store shelves in early 2006
The surprise is due to RIM"s Blackberry handset being a key competitor to the Treo. However the partnership may be a new twist on marketing by RIM to expand its current e- mail subscriber base of approximately 3.65 million, while turning potential competitors into allies.
Most of those subscribers utilize RIM"s Blackberry device, which was introduced in 1999.
Palm wanted to maximize choice and flexibility for their customer base as well. The Treo will still support mobile e-mail from Visto, Seven and Good Technology, all competitors to RIM. This follows Palm"s agreement last month with Microsoft Corp. to offer Microsoft"s mobile software on a Treo Cell phone.
This is an aggressive but positive partnership that should give users more options, and help show that working together sometimes can actually benefit both the customer and the companies involved.
Financial terms were not disclosed.