BlackBerry Planet

BlackBerry Planet is a new tribe of people who simply cannot getalong without their favorite device, Research in Motion'sinnovative electronic organizer, the BlackBerry. This omnipresentdevice has gone beyond being the world's foremost mobilebusiness tool and entered the consumer mainstream as the Swiss ArmyKnife of smart phones.
BlackBerry Planet tells the behind-the-scenes story ofhow this little device has become the machine that connects theplanet. Starting with the early years of Mike Lazaridis'invention and his founding of RIM at age 23, it details his driveto innovate, developing what was a glorified pager into theessential corporate communicator, used by everyone from dealmakersto the Queen, from movie stars to the entire US Congress. Since1992, Lazaridis and co-CEO Jim Balsillie together have been thedriving force behind the RIM story.
With access to senior staffers and former RIM employees,BlackBerry Planet tells the inside story about the brandingand marketing success of the BlackBerry, from its use during 9/11,which earned RIM a reputation for security and reliability, to thecultural adoption of the iconic device as a must-have symbol, tothe backlash against the addictive properties of the"CrackBerry," and the various patent suits RIM has hadto fight off - including the five-year court battle thatresulted in the largest technology patent settlement in UShistory.
As the incredible story of the BlackBerry unfolds, and as RIMbattles global giants like Nokia and Apple in the emergingsuper-phone marketplace, users, fans, investors and competitors canlook to BlackBerry Planet for the insight and context ofwhere they've been, to try and predict where they'regoing.