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As expected, RIM has acquired Gist, a company that offers an e-mail and meeting service which ranks and prioritizes incoming messages, as well as offers web-based contextual info about who’s contacting you. Gist figures out who’s most important to you based on how often you interact, and farms up data from blogs and social networks so you know what’s going on with people before launching into your correspondence. There are obvious applications here that aren’t too dissimilar from the Priority Gmail Inbox on Android, but Gist will likely integrate deep into the native BlackBerry calendar and contact apps as well. It seems likely that these guys will take over the Social Feeds app that launched on OS 6 to conglomerate Twitter, Facebook, and instant messaging status updates. On the announcement, Gist said:
“We are extremely excited about our future at RIM and how Gist will be used by millions of BlackBerry users around the globe. This is a huge step towards our goal of utilizing the web-based Gist experience to allow users to build stronger professional relationships.”
They’ll be joining The Astonishing Tribe, QNX, Viigo, Torch Mobile, Chalk Media, and Dash Navigation as yet another tiny but innovative company to join RIM’s ranks, but the big question is how or when we’ll see the fruits of the partnership. Gist has an iPhone and Android app available, so check it out if you want to get a feel for what’s coming soon to BlackBerry.
[via Inside BlackBerry]
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
