July 21, Abu Dhabi National - (International) Blackberry maker questions Etisalat software upgrade. Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian company that produces the BlackBerry mobile e-mail device, has distanced itself from a recent software patch sent to its UAE customers by Etisalat, and called into question statements made by the operator. In a statement mailed to the media, RIM said the Etisalat software, labeled as "spyware" by a prominent mobile security company, is "not a patch and it is not a RIM authorized upgrade." "RIM did not develop this software application and RIM was not involved in any way in the testing, promotion or distribution of this software application," it said. "Independent sources have concluded that the Etisalat update is not designed to improve performance of your BlackBerry hand-held, but rather to send received messages back to a central server." Like Etisalat, RIM has said little on the software patch since reports of its negative effects on handsets and intended function as an e-mail monitoring and tool emerged last week. The company cancelled scheduled interviews with the local media and has not replied to requests for comment. But in the eight-page statement, the company took issue with Etisalat's response, which described the patch as "required for service enhancements particularly for issues identified related to the handover between 2G to 3G network coverage areas." According to the RIM document, "in general terms, a third-party patch cannot provide any enhancements to network services as there is no capability for third parties to develop or modify the lowlevel radio communications protocols that would be involved in making such improvements." "In this case, Etisalat appears to have distributed a telecommunications surveillance application," it added, saying that it "does not endorse the development of this type of software for any platform." Source: http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090721/BUSINESS/7 07219986 /-1/SPORT
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