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Apr 19

AT&T Lacks PlayBook Bridge Support for BlackBerry Smartphone Users

Posted in: att, BlackBerry, Phones, playbook, RIM, tablet, Tablets and E-Readers, Today's Chili

RIM's PlayBook tablet has already taken much heat for launching without crucial features. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

The only way to access e-mail, calendar and contact information on the BlackBerry PlayBook without using a browser is with an app called BlackBerry Bridge, which links Research in Motion’s tablet to BlackBerry smartphones.

Too bad that AT&T subscribers can’t use it yet.

BlackBerry users on AT&T’s network are out of luck when it comes to Bridge, as AT&T is currently the only carrier that does not support the app on BlackBerry smartphones. That means they’re stuck with either e-mail access via web browser on the PlayBook, or sticking to their phones for native e-mail access.

As one Crackberry.com user noted, the flagship BlackBerry smartphone on AT&T — the BlackBerry Torch — can’t even be bridged.

Initial speculation on AT&T’s lack of support suggested the company didn’t want BlackBerry users to take advantage of tethering the PlayBook to their phone’s data plan without paying for it, as Crackberry.com’s Adam Zeis wrote.

But AT&T provided Wired.com with a statement, quashing the speculation:

AT&T is working with RIM to make the BlackBerry Bridge app available for AT&T customers. We have just received the app for testing and before it’s made available to AT&T customers we want to ensure it delivers a quality experience.

When asked if AT&T would charge its BlackBerry smartphone customers for using Bridge as a data-tethering connection to the PlayBook, AT&T would not comment further, restating that it “just received the app for testing.”

RIM has already taken flak for rushing the PlayBook to market without crucial features.

There is, however, an unofficial workaround for AT&T subscribers. Apparently, AT&T is only blocking the download of the app itself from App World, and not the actual bridging process between devices, as Crackberry.com points out.

RIM’s PlayBook has been heavily criticized for its lack of native e-mail applications. The company has tried to downplay its significance in press interviews, as evidenced by CEO Jim Balsillie’s comments in a recent Wall Street Journal interview:

“A lot of people who want [the PlayBook] will pair it freely and securely off their BlackBerries [by tethering it via Bridge]. Because it’s a full web [environment], you don’t need a specific mail client for all your Webmail, and most people do you use Webmail.”

Though RIM is still hedging its bets for the crowd that wants that specific mail client: A “a standalone, nonweb, nonpaired e-mail client” will be made available to the PlayBook within the next 60 days, Balsillie told The Journal.

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