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BlackBerry Gets the Gist for Contacts Apps

19.02.2011
Over a decade ago, before becoming a mainstream phenomenon and about when "smartphone" first started to become a word, the BlackBerry was a novel device for those of us who were out of the office a lot but wanted to make it seem that we were at our desks (or in my case, while doing other things for fun, like playing basketball in northern New Jersey, or sailing while pretending to be at work).

But since the advent of the Android, the iPhone, and other smartphones that compete head-to-head with 's now-fabled device, the Canada-based handset giant has been struggling to maintain market share and has been at odds to offer something completely new and must-have again.

Looking to offer some interesting features to its pre-loaded BlackBerry applications, RIM earlier this week said it has purchased Gist, a startup that offers software that aggregates e-mail contacts while helping you keep tabs on what they are doing. The purchase won't trigger a mad rush to buy next-generation BlackBerries or new , yet Gist might offer a promise of new types of applications RIM could offer in the future.

RIM did not communicate many details about the terms of its purchase of Gist. Without saying when Gist's app might be preinstalled on Blackberries, RIM posted this on its blog earlier this week:

"Today we are pleased to announce that Gist has joined Research In Motion (RIM). We're excited that the Gist team is joining RIM and bringing their expertise in providing customers with a contextualized, streamlined, and consolidated view of information about their contacts to the BlackBerry platform."

If you are mulling trashing your Blackberry for the latest iPhone, Android, or another smartphone but are curious about what Gist could offer, it's possible to try it for free with your Gmail account.