back to article RIM taps Microsoft Bing for phone and tablet search

Microsoft's Bing has been crowned the default search and maps provider for Research in Motion's smartphones as well as the Playbook, RIM's answer to the Jobsian iPad. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer took the stage at RIM's BlackBerry World conference on Tuesday morning in Orlando, Florida to announce the partnership …

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  1. Doug 3
    Grenade

    Because Microsoft has a vested interest in RIM success. NOT

    I didn't know RIM was in such bad shape. I guess they were able to say that is wasn't the existing BING default search deal causing users to flee by the truck load so bedding with Microsoft for search and maps is better for RIM customers. Which is an interesting though considering Google got the search and map market share with user choice and not purchasing users like Microsoft does.

    It was nice knowing you RIM.

    grenade because they're pulling the self destruct pin much like many others who felt it was better to team with Microsoft and that monopoly money than make the right choice for the customers sake. There'll probably be a little financial blip as the MS$ comes in and then the mass exodus and payouts for RIM executives and management.

  2. ratfox

    Ballmer "We're going to invest uniquely into the BlackBerry platform..."

    How do you say "Motherf***" in Finnish?

  3. Charlie Clark Silver badge
    Stop

    Flying bacon anyone?

    Gavin, you and Mary-Jo seem to be reasonably well-informed about what's going on at Microsoft but what on earth makes you think "but you can expect that RIM's Bing agreement includes a clause that IE10 either becomes the default browser on its phones and tablets or gets some sort of higher billing"? Or did you write the tag line just to troll?

    Given the fact that Microsoft seem determined to tie Neanderthal Explorer ever more strongly with Windows 7 runtime so they can't even support Win XP or Win 2000, how are they going to port it to QNX (which wasn't Linux based the last time I looked)? NE 9 uses all kinds of Win 7 specific hooks for hardware acceleration that just won't be around on other systems. If they wanted to do that it would be easier for them to take QT off Nokia's hands and port their future systems to QT. Somehow I can't see that happening though.

    What they might do is port Silverlight to QNX and do some kind of NaCl with Silverlight on the QNX platform. OTOH, as you rightly point out they might be happy enough with search and map use data and advertising.

    1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
      Big Brother

      re Charlie Clark

      I was with you until this bit

      -->as you rightly point out they might be happy enough with search and map use data and advertising.

      IMHO (& history) the words 'happy enough' and Microsoft should never be in the same article. Have we not learnt that they are never 'happy enough' with anything other than complete control of any company they do business with. If they don't get that they steal stuff (as in i4i) and then claim it as their own.

      Oh, and it is all wrapped up in an NDA.

      Just read the documents filed by B&N if you think I'm exagerating.

      1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

        You've got a point

        Maybe the beginning of some unholy MS, Nokia, Crackberry alliance based on windows mobile? They've got the cash to wipe out "but we've just spent shedloads developing for this platform" arguments. Playbook 2012 to run on windows? I guess the IT folks at corporates with Exchange servers would be happy. With Nokia phones at the same time that would give them some market share but the price would be eye-watering, and, of course, the market will have moved on quite a bit by then.

        Anyway I stick by my point that NE is not getting ported to any other platforms.

  4. mark l 2 Silver badge

    RIM's Linux-kernel-based PlayBook

    "RIM's Linux-kernel-based PlayBook"

    Surely the playbook is based on QNX neutrino which although POSIX compatible is not a linux kernel.

    As for bing being on more devices, it doesnt alter that google has become the go to for web search. My website had 7836 hits from google last month and only 246 from bing. (i got more hits from my facebook page than bing)

  5. Mikel

    'twere better done with Android

    The goal is to make your products more popular, not less so.

  6. Levente Szileszky
    Gates Horns

    It's been confirmed over and over again: getting into business with MS is the touch of...

    ...DEATH.

    What makes RIM to think they will be the first exception?

  7. DJ 2
    FAIL

    I'm on my 6th blackberry,

    Dear Microsoft & Rim,

    Microsoft can't do search, they never could, and they will never get it right. Developers GOOGLE MSDN.

    Kthxbai.

    DJ, ex Blackberry owner

  8. /dev/me
    FAIL

    Bing??

    Do an image search on Bing, do something adventurous like scrolling down the page. And lo! What happens? It hijacks the browsers [back] button as every movement of the scroll wheel or bar gets counted as a separate page in your browser history. Running up well into the hundreds. At least in FF. And from what I understand also Chrome and Safari.

    __

    This may be a slightly off topic post, but if I where RIM I would think twice about getting into such an ordeal. 'Worldwide rollout of defective JavaScript-r-us'?

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