Are solid Blackberry sales a harbinger of good news for smartphone makers?

Research in Motion’s reported that it added 1.45 million subscribers in the quarter ended on Sept. 1, more than it had previously anticipated. It pulled off the growth even with the distraction of the iPhone’s potential to steel its thunder, at least according to water-cooler (and media) chatter.

Granted, the Blackberry’s audience is more business-y, but consumers are warming up to the idea of using a handset to handle email, contacts, Web surfing, music and video and make calls. That’s good for Apple’s iPhone, Motorola’s Q, Nokia’s N95, Palm’s Centro and Treo, and others.

Bank of America analyst Tim Long on Friday told clients he still thinks the Blackberry maker has the upper hand.

“We believe RIM is the best positioned handset maker to continue to capitalize on Smartphone trends.”

(Reuters)
(Blogging Stocks)
(TimesOnline)

Keep an eye on:

• A jury found in a civil case that Jammie Thomas infringed copyrighted song recordings, after the music industry claimed she used online media to illegally download and distribute music. The jury awarded damages of $9,250 for each of 24 recordings, or a total of $222,000. (Reuters)
• After a week of distancing himself from the company he founded and owns, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that he talked regularly to senior executives at the firm and was kept abreast of what was happening there. (NYT)
• Microsoft’s “Halo 3″ video game racked up worldwide sales of $300 million in its first week, making it one of the year’s best sellers and helping the company to more than double sales of its Xbox 360 console. The game did $170 million in sales in the first 24 hours after its September 25 debut. (Reuters)
• Luring new readers means connecting with them on the Internet through blogs, live online chats and interactive databases, industry leaders told newspapers editors. (AP)
• Microsoft named veteran Rick Thompson to oversee operations for the company’s music player Zune, just two days after the software maker released a beefed up new version of the device. (BusinessWeek)

(Photo: Reuters file)