It's no secret that BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) has tried to expand its traditional customer base beyond the enterprise in recent days. But the company's BlackBerry Pearl 8220 flip phone (formerly dubbed "KickStart") is the first RIM device aimed specifically at the vast low-end consumer market. And it just might be exactly what RIM needs to secure for itself a dominant stake in the space-assuming carriers are willing to hit the necessary price points.

Thanks to all the fear over data security breaches, a computer recycling operation has morphed into something much bigger - and potentially more lucrative - for the Saraiva brothers.

With the growing popularity of Apple's iPhone, Research In Motion (RIM)'s BlackBerry and other smartphones, it's no surprise that third-party vendors are jumping on the accessory train like geeks on Star Wars marathons.

In 2003, after endless rounds of political maneuvering and countless agitations against the privatization of major airports in India, the Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport became part of a global fraternity of airports run by private stakeholders. The airport is India's busiest, with 22.2 million passengers and 480 tons of cargo passing through its doors in 2006-2007.

"We have come into real contention [for mindshare] in the enterprise," said Tim O'Reilly, CEO at O'Reilly Media, in his keynote address at OSCON, last week's Open Source convention in the US. "So we should be patting ourselves on the back, right? I'm not so sure."

Strategic CIOs touch every point of the organization, even some areas that are not considered to be their immediate territory. Over the last decade law firms have changed from fusty redbrick elite clubs to thrusting commercial organizations that compete for business in a market where customers are now fully aware that they can shop around. For Graeme Low, head of IT at Cambridge based law firm Mills & Reeve, his role involves enabling a company to continue its recent record of rapid growth, provide systems that entice staff to join the company and improve communications to customers. He tells CIO how he and his team have achieved this.

Though Apple continues to be coy regarding business-minded tweaks to the next iPhone, slated for unveiling next week, enterprise users have plans of their own: They want the iPhone--even if the IT department's still a bit weary.

The next major release of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server will pose a test not only for customers but also for its creator, Research in Motion.

The way in which new IT tools such as the BlackBerry are adopted in corporate IT environments allows those of us who follow the alignment of IT with business value a glimpse into the varying management practices that are used by CIOs to get the best out of their investments.

Bill Would Double Cap on H-1B Visas

Establishing a brand name is a task that few companies do well. And, according to those that have, if there's one thing that's harder it's sustaining a brand.