At the big annual BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) show last week, WES 2009, I had the pleasure of sitting in with fellow bloggers from CIO, CrackBerry, Port3101 and BlackBerry Cool regarding what we thought would happen in the next three years in the wireless space. We each had distinctly different angles, so if you’ve got the half hour to kill, it’s worth a watch and to pitch in your two cents. My bit starts at 11:25, if you want to skip right ahead. I’m still dubious about Kevin’s claim that RIM would buy up Palm (NSDQ: PALM), but it makes for good conversation material. Big ups to BoxTone for the invite – we’re looking forward to participating in other events at shows in the future. For anyone else who might be interested in having us comment at your event or for your publication, feel free to drop us a line!

The most eye-catching of the many sessions at RIM’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium was the introduction of BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) widgets, which are built entirely on web-based languages. This is the horn Palm (NSDQ: PALM) is busy tooting for WebOS, but RIM’s take will be a little different. They’re essentially working on a hybrid system which will allow developers to write apps entirely in JavaScript (and other web coding languages), but have them packaged in the BlackBerry operating system’s native Java. This makes a lower barrier for entry for developers who wouldn’t otherwise be able to work in Java, and could result in more efficiently-running apps since some of the heavy lifting will be left to the web. This will present a whole new class of applications in the BlackBerry App World, that is once devs get the tools for Eclipse and Visual Studio, which will be made available shortly.

As far as when you can get started on making your own BlackBerry widgets, it’s safe to assume we’ll see more details around the BlackBerry Developer Conference in November. For a closer look at Java widgets on BlackBerry, check the WES presentation slides.

Thanks Josep!

RealPlayer had a booth at WES showing off a very handy utility that’s still in the works (and so no pics), but certainly worth a mention. Their desktop application chews through videos and compresses them to a mobile-friendly format for a variety of different platforms. Of course support for all the latest BlackBerrys was shown prominently, but the iPhone and Sidekick were also currently-available options, with more promised to be on the way. Real was tight-lipped about a release date, but the product was looking nicely polished, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the option built into RealPlayer soon.

Lenovo (OTCPK: LNVGY)’s Constant Connect card was launched shortly before WES 2009, and while at the show, I got a chance to take a looksee for myself. The acessory basically plugs into a ThinkPad and lets your e-mails recieved by BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) get shunted right through to Outlook on your computer. The real genius here is that this functions even when the laptop’s off, so you can be cruising through an airport, counting on checking some e-mails while on the plane, and just have your BlackBerry and ThinkPad connected by Bluetooth. This only become possible because Lenovo started building the card ports with direct access to power, so a full boot-up isn’t necessary to run; since it’s still new, this feature is only available in their T400, T500, W500, X200, X200S and S200 models. Currently Constant Connect is available for $150 in the US, but should be hitting Canada and Europe in Q3, and Asia shortly thereafter. Next up, Lenovo is hoping to make a few more versions of the card for different-sized slots and squashing any bugs that creep up. It was cool to see Constant Connect in action – it’s definitely a one-of-a-kind accessory.

So, there was no BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) 9630 Niagara/Tour announcement at the Wireless Enterprise Symposium as we had all hoped, but AT&T (NYSE: T) was more than happy to show off their newest baby, the BlackBerry 8900 Curve. T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) may have already had it for a few months, but no doubt there will be plenty of folks married to AT&T by choice or otherwise who would appreciate the option. It should be out sometime this summer, but for a closer look at the hardware, take a look at our BlackBerry 8900 Curve Review. If you’re looking to get your thumbs all over this phone, after launch we’ll be giving away the freebie from AT&T’s excellent WES party with Kenny Loggins (whose “Danger Zone” from Top Gun goes through my head every time I take off in a plane).

I was dubious of TetherBerry at their initial launch, since their way of circumventing carrier tethering plans and policies could be a risk to subscribers violating terms of service, let alone the fact that tethering capabilities are already built into Windows and BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) natively, but their latest update is most definitely worth a nod. Mac rarely gets any love from RIM in regards to this kind of stuff, but TetherBerry has stepped in and offered their solution for all the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) fanboys out there who want to cruise the internet using their BlackBerry’s data connection. It’s currently in open beta, and all you need is a light app on your Mac and another on your BlackBerry, and you’re good to go.

They’re working on Bluetooth next, then maybe hit up some other platforms (along with the necessary rebranding), but what I would like to see is a client for Ubuntu. I hear it’s a good OS for netbooks, but I would only get one if tethering via BlackBerry was an option. Right now it’s technically possible, but it’s a helluva lot harder to do than on Windows; if TetherBerry wants to play the “makes life simple” card, Linux would be where to play it. Head over to TetherBerry to give their Mac client a shot.

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis coyly hinted at what was called the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Wireless Presentation solution in his day 1 keynote at WES 2009. In his brief mention, it was described as something that would display Powerpoint presentations right from your BlackBerry. There’s already a little something called ShowMate, but it’s a fairly awkward, hardware-based solution. I would hope the one Lazaridis is talking about here would involve some smooth Bluetooth pairing, failing that or hey, maybe even using some handheld pico projector.

Another mystery is, who’s making it? “Wireless Presentation Solution” is a name that reeks of the usual generality RIM puts on their earlier software before giving it something a little snazzier, but Mike mentioned it right after Vocera, a third party voice product for the medical sector, so it’s equally possible the Wireless Presentation Solution is being worked on by a separate software developer. A solution like this is a natural extension of the Documents to Go PowerPoint editing that’s currently available on BlackBerry, but it may be awhile before we get any more details…

BlackBerry is, of course, an enterprise device first and foremost, and it’s a big focus of this year’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium. For the day 1 keynote, IBM General Manager Bob Picciano introduced a BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) enterprise solution called Alloy, which was first announced back in January at their own annual show, Lotusphere. Alloy is essentially an app for managers who need to handle all that bureaucratic paperwork on the fly – that includes sending out reports, dealing with travel requests, fine tuning task assignments through SAP Workflow, granting leave requests through Lotus calendars and plenty more with a customizable options available. Find out more about Alloy at IBM’s Lotus site.

HP had already made two official announcements at WES (CloudPrint and Operations Manager), but they also offered a sneak peek of what they’re working on next at yesterday’s keynote. Details were slim, but the long and short of their new app, Friendlee for BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM), is that it lets you get in touch with your closest contacts, know what their status is, and where they are.

By detecting who you interact with most frequently, Friendlee automatically populates your friends list. Simple twitter-style status messages means you can keep up on specifics; some of the examples they have here include “who do I call to fix the printer”, and “did you get the memo” shows HP is clearly gearing this towards enterprise. Profile awareness will also let you know what mode your contacts’ BlackBerry is in – no more taking it personally when they don’t answer your call, since you can see they just have it set to Silent. Knowing your contacts’ local time is also huge for international corporations who need to plan their correspondences carefully across time zones.

Friendlee also sports a kind of LinkedIn style of connections; you can browse through select contacts of your close contacts, enabling otherwise awkward second-degree links, and also a business reccomendation engine. You might remember your friend mentioning a great pizza place around the block, and by perusing his Friendlee profile, you could get further information on it.

It doesn’t look too far along, since they didn’t do much other than copy and paste an Android screenshot onto a Storm, but they were confident enough to show it at the biggest BlackBerry show of the year, so I’m sure it’s on the way. In the long run, HP is trying to reimagine the address book so instead of chewing through a list of rarely-used contacts, you’ll be focusing on the few people you talk to on a daily basis. Take a look at HP’s research on the app for a closer look.

DevelopIQ is getting in on the mobile music scene in a serious way at WES 2009 with 7digital. With a number of music licenses comparable to Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), 7digital will offer DRM-free music downloaded over the air to BlackBerrys this summer. That alone is pretty sweet, but 7digital’s massive license library has attracted the attention of other players in the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) music sphere, and they’re working towards populating those other apps with their music library.

7digital’s app, though, is the slickest I’ve seen to date. It has two panes on the left and right that are summoned either by temporarily reprogrammed convenience keys, or by quick scrollball swipes. Gestures FTW. Beyond that, you can plug right into your BlackBerry Remote Stereo Gateway from the app and have all the same native music controls. Automatic syncing over Wi-Fi means no plugs, and you’ve got options when it comes to quality: over the cell network, they’ll send you a low-fidelity version which will automatically be replaced with the super-awesome one once you’re within Wi-Fi. I’m really looking forward to this app, especially if they can get it rolling in Canada as quickly after their U.S. and U.K as they say.