ICE to test BlackBerry 10 platform and devices
Research In Motion said a U.S. federal agency, which recently outlined plans to move away from BlackBerry in favour of Apple iPhone, is now set to begin testing RIM’s new BlackBerry 10 platform and devices.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), will early next year begin a pilot program on RIM’s new line of BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10), which allows corporations and government users to run the new devices on their networks, a RIM spokeswoman said late on Wednesday.
The news, which comes just as shares of the embattled company rallied to their highest close in seven months, signals that RIM’s BlackBerry 10 platform is gaining some traction ahead of its official launch next month.
ICE , in October, announced plans to end a long relationship with RIM, stating that its now aging line-up of BlackBerry devices could “no longer meet the mobile technology needs of the agency.
At the time, ICE outlined intentions to buy iPhones for more than 17,600 employees. It is not immediately clear whether the agency plans to revisit this plan or whether its intends to use RIM’s new BES 10 platform to manage both iPhones and BlackBerry devices. A spokeswoman for the agency was not immediately able to comment on the pilot program or the agency’s plans.
