A new version of BlackBerry Connect will let Windows Mobile 6 handsets connect to RIM’s push email network as if they were BlackBerries – “a virtual BlackBerry experience", as the press release puts it.
Once installed, the software will provide users with a virtual BlackBerry application experience, including support for BlackBerry email, phone, calendar, address book, tasks, memos, browser, instant messaging and other applications developed for the BlackBerry platform.
The application suite will appear as an additional icon on the Windows Mobile start screen. Existing Windows Mobile applications are preserved, of course, so the user can switch between Windows applications and the BlackBerry suite.
BlackBerry Connect is already bundled on a range of Palm and Symbian-based handsets. For Windows Mobile 6, RIM says BlackBerry Connect will be available for “select” devices; it’s not entirely clear what’s being excluded and why.