RIM Chases The iPhone Dragon

Where's the black turtleneck, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie? Back in the day it was email that brought the working masses into the BlackBerry fold. These days the world of smartphones is a tougher place, which may be why RIM is taking a multiple pronged approach in its latest bid to woo customers.

Where once email was enough to lure the telephonic faithful, yesterday RIM announced partnerships with TiVo, MySpace, Ticketmaster, and Slacker - a Pandora-esque music streaming service.

TiVo: you'll be able to search recordings on your TiVo remotely as well as schedule recordings. And one day you'll be able to view your recordings remotely as well. Expect to see TiVo on BlackBerries later this year.

MySpace: instant push-based messaging, real time status and mood updates, camera integration and photo management, as well as a BlackBerry community page. Available globally in October.

Ticketmaster: "Offical Smartphone of Ticketmaster," for whatever that means. Exclusive to the US, UK and Canada, you'll be able to search for and purchase tickets to concerts from your phone. Sounds cool, and should be available by year's end.

Slacker: how can you compete against the iPhone without offering serious music functionality? I'm not sure this sounds like serious music functionality, but we'll know more when it becomes available in October. Unlike other streaming music services, with Slacker you'll be able to store up to 1,000 tracks on your BlackBerry.

RIM announces 'lifestyle' apps for BlackBerry [CNet]