RIM Launches BlackBerry Tag

RIM has announced a service for its new BlackBerry devices that allows users to share information by tapping phones together. Called BlackBerry Tag, the service uses NFC to allow users to share contact information, documents, URLs, photos and other multimedia. 

Unveiled during Co-CEO Jim Balsillies keynote presentation at the GITEX conference in Dubai, BlackBerry Tag will be included in the next BlackBerry 7 OS update. 

BlackBerry Tag takes advantage of Near Field Communications (NFC) technology included in the recently launched BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 and BlackBerry Curve 9350/9360/9370 smartphones, and these are the first BlackBerry smartphones that will support BlackBerry Tag.

“BlackBerry Tag is an exciting and innovative feature that makes sharing contact information and multimedia content effortless and seamless,” says Balsillie. “BlackBerry Tag opens a new dimension to the BlackBerry platform that is powerful, simple, and intuitive and we think it will be welcomed by both users and developers.” 

RIM also announced plans to offer BlackBerry Tag to developers through APIs on the BlackBerry platform. This will allow for tap to share functionality in third-party applications.