Blackberry cultivation and uses

Blackberry is one of a number of devices called PDAs, or personal digital assistants, allowing the user to send and receive e-mails using wireless technology and cellular technology. Business has adopted the Blackberry to a large extent as a way of maintaining communication with employees anywhere at any time. The growth of this product has been facilitated by the widespread adoption of the cellular telephone. Schools have been used handheld computing devices in classrooms, and this has also accustomed individuals to their use so that they then carry this use over into the business world. Problems of accessibility and security remain, and business is addressing these as they arise.

The Blackberry is a particularly popular example of the new wireless computing technology. The product is produced by a company called Research in Motion (RIM). The Blackberry allows the user to send and receive e-mail from virtually anywhere, using wireless technology to connect to a network. Such technology joins the cellular telephone to keep people connected and mobile. This has had a profound effect on business and on the development and maintenance of social networks. The technology also brings with it new security threats that have to be addressed, and all wireless technology ads to the security needs for business and for the individual because such technology serves as a new point of vulnerability. Still, the convenience of the technology and the way it allows for the sending and receiving of more complex messages at any time has added to its appeal.

Clearly, the external environment for the development of this technology has been one of competition from a number of directions, with shifts in the marketplace as new products and innovations in old products attracted consumers and left existing products behind until they as well were updated and redeveloped. The handheld market itself continues to grow as the computer revolution extends outside the home and office and into the street, with more people seeking not just PDAs (personal digital assistant) allowing for the inputting of data but also handhelds with connectivity capabilities to access the Internet from virtually anywhere. Products that can deliver these services at a reasonable price have an advantage.

Full-sized portable computers are called laptops, while smaller devices are known as palmtops, or personal data assistants (PDA). There are other hand-held devices in use, but these are the most common and are produced under a variety of names by many different companies. Students and business people may use these and other devices for taking notes, accessing information, communicating with one another, sending e-mails, writing reports, and many other uses. Schmeltzer (2000) points out some of the uses in an education setting, writing,

Think of a lesson plan where students tackle the topic of how large objects are built with machines. To learn about construction concepts, the students use Palm handheld computers to make concept maps and share this work with their classmates. Then, they take a field trip to a construction site, record observations on their handhelds, and, upon returning to the classroom, they upload their observations to a desktop computer to help create a database (Schmeltzer, 2000).

In addition, Schmeltzer notes, the student takes the handheld home and uses it for study. This use of handhelds is not simply a manifestation of more expensive and elite schools but of average public schools today, as Schmeltzer notes with reference to Michigan school districts: "Experts from the University of Michigan... are helping to implement programs that bring handheld computers into classes in Detroit and Ann Arbor" (Schmeltzer, 2000, 11). Such uses prepare the individual for continuing to use such devices in the business world.

Norris and Soloway (2003) also note the power of handheld devices in the classroom and state that such devices are being used in lower and lower grades:

Ample empirical data from the past 25 years suggest that when certain conditions are met, computing technology has a positive impact on learning and teaching in the primary and secondary grades (Norris & Soloway, 2003, p. 26).

The authors state that there is a range of impacts perceived, including increased time on task, higher test scores, lower cost, and increased motivation. The research literature suggests that there are six conditions that must be met for such benefits to be realized: 1) sufficient access to technology; 2) adequate teacher preparation; 3) effective curriculum; 4) relevant assessment; 5) supportive school/district administration; and 6) supportive family/community: "These conditions are needed for any educational innovation to be successful" (Norris & Soloway, 2003, p. 26). Similar requirements are found for use in the business world, with necessary support from the company and even the industry.

Crane (2001) also finds that such technology is being used much more at the high school level, with handheld devices like the Palm Pilot seen in the hands of students so that the product "is becoming a force to be reckoned with on the K?12 landscape. Its handheld computers are being used in innovative ways to promote student independence, increased productivity and group learning" (Crane, 2001). Students make use of these devices throughout the day, revising their schedules and to-do lists, keeping locker combinations handy, using the devices as a calculator for mathematics, reading current events on downloaded newspapers, taking notes directly into the Palm, uploading notes from others when class is missed, and so on: "Contrasted with a paper notebook full of illegible scrawl, the Palm-assisted notes are infinitely more useful for these students" (Crane, 2001).

Branch (2000) reports that many companies offer assistance to teachers in the process of introducing handheld technology to the student, such as a recent multi-company summer session showing teachers and administrators how to use and integrate technology into their school districts. He calls this "a quiet educational revolution" and explains, "Although small, and unlikely to change the universal learning landscape in and of itself, this revolution is no less profound to its participants" (Branch, 2000).

Schmeltzer (2000) discusses a program intended to accomplish much the same thing by introducing students to the handheld devices available and training them in their use. This is only one of several programs of this type, this one started by the experts at the University of Michigan's prestigious Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education (referred to as the hi-ce center).

The experts at the center developed learner-centered technology and curriculum to address the needs of today's schools. This program has been in close collaboration with the Detroit and Ann Arbor public school districts and has produced a new generation of middle-school science curriculum and software supporting students' active learning styles and teachers' instructional strategies:

The center also develops practical models for professional development, assessment, instructional practices, and home-to-school-community integration (Schmeltzer, 2000).

At one school, prior to this program, none of the students had ever used a handheld computer: "In just five class periods, the 11? And 12?year-olds were navigating as easily as they do the latest Nintendo game" (Schmeltzer, 2000). Schmeltzer also notes some of the singular benefits of handhelds in the classroom environment when he writes, truly effective learning tool supports teachers and students. Teachers can check students' work quickly by examining Palm-produced documents that have been transferred to a desktop computer. Each electronic Palm portfolio becomes the "evidence" of learning that a child can easily share with parents (Schmeltzer, 2000).

A teacher at another school finds other benefits to the use of handhelds:

Schottler is happy with the way the Palm program is helping her students. Where students used to have trouble reading their own notes, now legibility is not an issue, and grammar and spelling can be corrected when the pressure to pay attention to the lecture is off. Because they do not have to rely as heavily on adult input, the students show increased self-esteem, self-sufficiency and a general sense of fitting into the school setting that they may not have felt prior to the Palm program. Schottler sees for herself that having the Palm "can help them be a better student." Self-confidence can be a wonderful high. The "students are on a positive wave?

they can feel good about school" when they have these Palms to help them keep up with the other kids (Crane, 2001).

Many of these benefits might be achieved without the use of handhelds, of course, but the training students receive in this way translates to further use of technology later, which is becoming more important as the world becomes more technologically oriented and as employment may depend on the ability to adapt to new technologies.

Handhelds include small computers, schedulers, telephonic devices, even teaching aids offering specific content to users. More and more schools and businesses are making use of these devices.

The development of this business has been relatively rapid, building on the cellular technology that began to be marketed some two decades ago. The cellular telephone has become ubiquitous since that time, changing the way people communicate, enabling them to stay in touch from virtually anywhere at any time, altering the way people on-the-go communicate so that the public telephone booth has all but disappeared from many cities. Essentially, a cellular system involves the use of a series of sending and receiving stations placed throughout a region so that a telephone use can move from one place to another as the signal to and from the handheld telephone shifts seamlessly from one cell to another, according to where the individual is traveling. Other handheld devices, such as the PDA, make use of this same system, which can also connect to other networks to reach across the country or around the world.

From a financial standpoint, cellular technology has become more affordable to a wider range of people. New technology and the introduction of economies of scale have added to the downward spiral in prices. Most users about a decade ago were business users, but more and more private consumers were expected to be attracted in the near future and have been. The utility of cellular service to the consumer is considerable, offering convenience, portability, full telephone service, added services such as Internet access and photo capabilities, and connectivity to other computer-related devices and services. Cellular telephony offers a means of communication from anywhere in a certain area and even from other areas if cellular service is provided there as well. Customers use this to communicate with any other person with a landline telephone or a cellular telephone. Cellular service is often sold on the basis of its use in an emergency, such as an auto breakdown. Newer versions allow other uses, such as sending e-mail, taking and sending photographs, accessing the Internet, and so on.

The way the market developed has been related to both the technology as it has been applied and the uses to which consumers can put this technology in their daily lives, supplanting and extending the older technology of the telephone and of such other means of communication as mobile radio transmitters, CB radios, and the walky-talky. The U.S. industry was energized by the deregulation of terminal telephone equipment in 1984 with the divestiture of at&T, and after this growing demand for data communications capability spurred the development of products and systems integrating the movement of voice and data through the network. Product, market, and regulatory factors combined to make construction of private communication networks an economically feasible alternative to 100% reliance on the public switched network, so the U.S. market then developed two primary sections -- the public switched telephone network, and private networks. Cellular telephone technology applies to both, but the private cellular networks have shown the greatest growth (Standard and Poor's Industry Surveys, 1992, T40).

Imports played a role in the development of the U.S. cellular market, holding a steady position with more than one million units valued at $300 million in 1991. The dominant suppliers then were Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea, with 40, 24, and 18% of import value and 36, 31, and 16% of import volume, respectively. In the latter half of 1990, imports from Japan increased sharply, and this trend continued into 1991. Nearly 60% of all imports were for vehicular use, with 27% being hand-held portables and 14% transportables. Imports constitute approximately 50% of the U.S. cellular market. The total world market for cellular technology surpassed 13 million subscribers in 1991, with the United States remaining the largest single market, having nearly 50% of the world market. Leading markets after the United States in descending order are Great Britain, Japan, Canada, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, and Mexico. Subscriber growth was particularly impressive in Italy as the result of the implementation of a new higher capacity system. Eleven new countries added cellular service in 1991 as worldwide growth continued. By the end of 1990, there were more than 10 million subscribers in more than 70 countries, with more than 3 million in Europe alone. By the end of 1991, service was found in 83 countries serving about 15 million subscribers, a fifty percent jump in subscribers in one year. European countries still face delays of up to one year in implementation of the Pan-European digital cellular network, but system coverage is expected to reach 80% of Europe by 1994, with a prediction of 13 million subscribers by 1996. This will mean a market of more than $17 billion for service revenue and nearly $6 billion for equipment. In 1991, the high growth markets included Italy and Mexico (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1992, 30-8-30-9.).

The United States continued to win important international contracts and operating licenses. In 1991, Motorola reached licensing agreements with several major European manufacturers for its Pan-European digital cellular technology. Consortia were also selected to operate selected systems in countries such as Pakistan, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Poland, including such groupings as several of the Regional Bell Operating Companies and Millicom, among others (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1992, 30-9.).

Today, the United Stats is the second larget cellular market in the world, the U.S. has 153 million cellular subscribers against a population of 290 million. Cellular service was first introduced in the early 1980s and licensed by the FCC to two companies in each marketplace, and by 1995 the FCC was auctioning licenses for the 1900 Mgz frequency range to contribute to a more competitive environment. The marketplace now has seven wireless carriers in a single market (USA wireless market - 2003, 2004, paras. 1-2).

This means increased competition for cellular service in each market, affecting price in different ways. Price elasticity in this industry has been affected by the entire body of telephone regulations, a segment that has been in flux for some time. Deregulation of the telephone industry altered the way people related to the different phone companies and phone services offered as what had been a monopoly changed to a very competitive environment, with numerous companies fighting for market share in different segments, such as equipment, local service, long distance service, and so on. The first stage of deregulation came in 1984 with a court ordered breakup of at&T, creating regional subsidiaries, creating competition for long distance service. Pressure continued to bring competition to local service as well, leading to passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 so that smaller companies could offer local service. At the time, this brought higher rather than lower prices (Deregulating telecommunications, 2005, paras. 1-6).

The competitive environment for telephone service across the board affects the services offered and the prices charged for cellular service in particular. To the extent that cellular service can be less costly, it is benefited by higher prices elsewhere in the industry. This fact is shown by a study by Ward and Woroch (2004) when they note,

We empirically estimate the substitutability of fixed and mobile services for telecommunications access using a large, U.S. household survey conducted over the period 1999?2001. We find significant positive cross-price elasticities between mobile and wireline usage. Because mobile usage prices fell dramatically over this period, we estimate that wireline usage may have been about 50% higher had mobile prices not fallen (Ward & Woroch, 2004, p. 1).

This development means a shift in the nature of competition between landline and cellular companies. Wireless telephony, such as car phones, did not traditionally threaten landline service, but price differentials today mean that cellular service may undermine traditional telephone service and for some even supplant it entirely.

Among the issues affecting consumer demand and price are the regulatory environment, the resulting competitive environment, shifts in pricing among the different types of service, and rapidly lowered costs on cellular service in particular. Cellular service providers must make an initial outlay in terms of establishing the cell towers that provide service, but this is somewhat easier than putting lines into homes across an area and then maintaining those lines as the traditional telephone companies must do. The cost of the telephones themselves influences how many people sign up for service. When there was a monopoly, equipment was provided by the landline telephone company, but this is no longer the case. Today, the consumer may purchase telephones from anywhere but is also responsible for his or her own maintenance. The cost differential between a landline telephone and a cellular telephone has disappeared, with cellular phones today being relatively inexpensive, and at most being competitive with all home telephone equipment.

Increasing revenues depends on increasing the number of people using the service, and the strategies being pursued are doing well at this effort. These include lower prices, special services to connect family members and friends at lower rates, and lower cost long distance. Another approach taken is to add to the convenience for the customer, with services such as prepaid telephone service such as is being offered by MCI WorldCom to allow consumers access to cellular service within the need for credit checks, service deposits, or monthly fees. Such services come in the form of prepaid cellular cars or with telephones sold with a certain amount of airtime as part of the service (Cellular phones add new twist, 1999, paras. 1-3). The cost of prepaid telephone service has been dropping rapidly as well. Another initiative that may bear fruit in the coming years is an effort to integrate cellular telephone service with the Internet more fully (Mobile industry leaders announce an initiative to create a mobile Top-Level Domain, 2004, paras. 1-8).

The PDA and Blackberry are part of this latter effort, building on the cellular market. Business found numerous uses form the cellular telephone and responded well to the added convenience and to the ability to communicate at any time with employees, customers, and vendors. Wireless computing is an extension of this possibility, allowing for writing and sending reports, sending and receiving e-mail, and accessing many Internet functions. As noted, businesses have also found that there are some problems that may develop with the use of this technology, with connectivity and security issues at the forefront.

Gartenberg (2001) writes about how ubiquitous computing will meet the criteria allowing it to displace the PC in time as the information appliance choice for most business users:

As I define it, there are three critical components of ubiquitous computing: Web services, wireless connectivity and a diversity of information devices. While ubiquitous computing might be lacking in the first two, it's dependent on wireless connectivity to be successful (Gartenberg, 2001, p. 25).