Part+3

Currently the Blackberry, in its various models, faces a very competitive landscape. It is however for this reason that the Blackberry has developed to its current technological state. To differentiate itself from competing smart phones on the market RIM has tried to position the Blackberry as the quintessential business tool. Many of the advances that the Blackberry has seen are in physical design and ergonomics. There have been however recent advancements in the Graphical User Interface (GUI), which Blackberry OS 4.0.6.134 brought (Blackberry Bold Gui Preview) In its current form the device is still a highly attractive option for business to use. Despite the development of competing smart phones, in regards to basic navigation, email, internet browsing, call quality, and networking Blackberry’s have remained on top because of their robust email support and general business friendly OS. Other than this Blackberry has improved the technology in the device to support 3G wireless technologies (3G enables the phone to run dual voice and data streams simultaneously [What does 3G mean?]). Going forward the North American wireless market is on the cusp of 4G wireless technologies. This is an exciting time for smart phones like the Blackberry because wireless speeds will finally be comparable to wired Internet speeds. Having a Blackberry with these kinds of speeds opens the door to a whole host of new possibilities. Better Internet based applications and improved cloud computing could revolutionize the way the device is used. Similarly existing applications such as Internet browsing and connection to the email servers will be vastly improved. The kinds of cloud applications that would become possible for the device to runs could be a fundamental shift mobile computing. It may be possible to run applications on your computer and stream them to your phone. This technology would have the possibility to make the computer and smart phone interchangeable.
 * Part 3: Recommendations**
 * 1) **Discuss your opinion of the choices the organization has made or with the state of the technology/system and its prospects for the future; (Mike)**
 * 2. Do the strategies/tactics/goals and objectives reflect the situation as you have analyzed it? (Maggie)**

The current status of the Blackberry hardware and software appears to be following some of strategies, tactics, goals and objectives. The development team at RIM has been very successful at marinating the Blackberry as a technological leader in the wireless industry. Through their aggressive development cycle and cooperation with the wireless providers the world over the term Blackberry has become synonymous with all things business and smart phone. By offering innovative products that offer the users a host of features while making a once complex device accessible to the masses they have continually attained their goal of being the best and most user-friendly business phone. The only notable exception to this would be the Blackberry Storm. While it is not an utter failure it has strayed from what makes a Blackberry, a Blackberry. The touch screen technology in the phone was not the revolution they had hoped for being the phone for both busniess and regular phone users. The buggy firmware launched on the device goes on to further illustrate how this Blackberry was released in an almost beta form. The design of smart phones are not ergonomically pleasing for end users, Blackberry has let to create a new model that consider this feature. Some of the features Blackberry incorporates into their phone include third party services like twitter and facebook. These features become attractive to end users, joining the Blackberry community. **3. Outline at least 4 recommendations you would make for the organization (with regard to the system you have discussed) or the system? Back up your recommendations with your analysis; (Mike & Tim)**
 * 4. Discuss how this case/technology may impact your own lives and/or careers; (Tarek)**


 * 5. Write a conclusion that sums up your findings and arguments. (everyone)**

//**NOTE:**// //Groups of up to 4 students must have at least 4 recommendations. Groups of 5 students must have at least 5 recommendations.//
 * __TIPS__**
 * 1) For Part 3 – Recommendations:
 * 1) Base all your recommendations on the SWOT analysis; (**Mike & Tim)**
 * 2) Ensure that you clearly state which parts of the SWOT analysis __**each**__ recommendation is based on (i.e. if you make a recommendation for one (or more) weakness(es), state which weakness(es), why did you choose that/those weakness(es), and then move on to the actual recommendation);
 * 3) Analyze and discuss __**each**__ recommendation (make sure you ground your arguments in secondary sources):
 * 4) Explain how the recommendation will help the organization/IS better/faster achieve its goals/objectives;
 * 5) Discuss the changes that may be required as part of your recommendation;
 * 6) Discuss how the organization/IS may be impacted by your recommendation; what are some of the roadblocks and risks? How can they be mitigated?
 * 7) Has your recommendation been previously implemented by other organization/IS? What was the result?
 * 8) __**Groups of 5 students**__ must include a //Converting// exercise (converting the threats and/or weaknesses into strengths and/or opportunities): choose one threat or weakness and convert it into a strength or opportunity – back it up with secondary sources (i.e. justify and discuss); **(Maggie & Tina)**
 * 9) Discuss how this case/technology may impact your own lives and/or careers **(Tarek)**
 * 10) Please be as concise and specific as you can.
 * 11) Try to focus on ways or topics discussed in class.
 * 12) Keep in mind that you must have **at least** 8-10 secondary sources, with **at least** 2 scholarly sources. More is strongly encouraged. They may be different from the Interim Report. You need to determine how relevant each source is for each of your submissions;
 * 13) __**Please ensure you make proper use of citations. Missing citations amounts to plagiarism!**__
 * 14) __**We may ask you to use Turnitin.com so be prepared.**__
 * 15) Lastly, please make sure you copy Catalin Bidian (our TA at __catalin.bidian@utoronto.ca__) on all email submissions and project related questions. __**We will both be grading your final reports.**__