According to the press statement, the BlackBerry Partners Fund will not restrict the development of mobile applications and services to any single mobile platform or any specific industry segment. The Fund will be designed to advance the industry by fostering development and driving the entrepreneurial spirit to create the most innovative mobile offerings for customers.

"The mobile world has evolved well beyond phone calls and simple messaging to require more empowering and liberating solutions that connect people to everything that matters most to them, wherever and whenever they want," said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, Research In Motion.  "RIM, RBC and Thomson Reuters share the common belief that mobile applications and services will propel the industry forward and the BlackBerry Partners Fund is being formed to help fuel innovation and activity in the mobile ecosystem."

One wonders however, whether any of the money will go to Apple and its iPhone- now touted as the application most likely to kill off the BlackBerry, or how this will also impact on the many other competitors of the BlackBerry out there?

However there seems to be some solid reasons behind this move - Thomson Reuters will get a dedicated platform to sell its data as well as to market and promote its services, and BlackBerry will solidify and consolidate its ?business user' focus, and perhaps also giving it a barrier to ward off any encroachment from competitors, whether they be Apple, HTC, Nokia or anyone else.




 

 


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