RIM Plays Catch-Up With Wi-Fi

Recent reports that Research in Motion will soon deliver a Wi-Fi-enabled smartphone could make it easier for users to employ a BlackBerry within an enterprise--where 3G is often limited but Wi-Fi is usually available.

That is among the impacts of RIM's decision to finally add Wi-Fi to its popular wireless devices. The BlackBerry's push e-mail requires an always-on cellular service to deliver on its promise of e-mail-on-the-go.

Today RIM is behind competitors Motorola and Nokia, which have offered Wi-Fi on their devices for some time. Users like Wi-Fi for its high speeds and low costs (often free) compared with at-times expensive 3G services.According to RIM, a Wi-Fi-enabled BlackBerry would seamlessly roam between Wi-Fi and cellular data networks, keeping both services and security settings intact.

The other challenge will be selling carriers on Wi-Fi, which can eat into the data-services revenue.