The big news out of RIM’s New York press event was BES 5.0, but they also talked a lot about their enterprise convergence service, Mobile Voice System. In so many words, it’s a fancy call forwarding system that gives your BlackBerry all of the functions of your traditional fixed office line, like extensions and conference calls, essentially merging your business and cell lines into one. To anyone you’re talking with, calls appear to come from your business line, but you can switch to your cell number as well – especially handy when your boss calls and you’re actually on the golf course. I had heard about this when they had launched the service in 2007, and I still think it’s a little bizarre for RIM to support an aging infrastructure that they’re really trying to replace, but it does act as a good in-between for companies still locked into the old ways and have yet to truly embrace mobility. After a brief talk with some of the RIM folks, I heard a new version will be coming out in June. Here are a few shots showing off some of the functions MVS has to offer – nothing flashy, but very functional.
