The UAE said Sunday it will block key features on BlackBerry smart phones, citing national security concerns because the devices operate beyond the government’s ability to monitor their use. Officials in neighboring Saudi Arabia indicated it planned to follow suit.

The decision could prevent hundreds of thousands of users in the Mideast country from accessing e-mail and the Web on the handsets starting in October, putting the federation’s reputation as a business-friendly commercial and tourism hub at risk.

BlackBerry data is encrypted and routed overseas, and the measure could be motivated in part by government fears that the messaging system might be exploited by terrorists or other criminals who cannot be monitored by the local authorities.

However, analysts and activists also see it as an attempt to more tightly control the flow of information in the conservative country, a U.S. ally that is home to the Gulf business capital Dubai and the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi.

This isn’t the first time BlackBerry and Emirati officials have had run-ins over security and the popular handsets, a fixture in professionals’ pockets and purses the world over.

Just over a year ago, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion criticized a directive by UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company’s more than 145,000 BlackBerry users to install software described as an “upgrade … required for service enhancements.”

RIM said tests showed the update was in fact spy software that could allow outsiders to access private information stored on the phones. It strongly distanced itself from Etisalat’s decision, and provided details instructing users how to remove the software.

Within hours of the Emirati decision to block BlackBerry services, a telecommunications official in neighboring Saudi Arabia said the desert kingdom would begin blocking the BlackBerry messaging service starting later this month. The Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media, said the country’s telecommunications regulator would issue a statement on the move soon.

Ali Mohammed of Saudi Telecom, however, said the company had “not received any instructions about BlackBerry from the ministry.”

Like in Saudi Arabia, government censors in the UAE already routinely block access to websites and other media deemed to carry content that runs contrary to the nation’s conservative Islamic values or could stoke political unrest.

In announcing the ban, the UAE telecommunications watchdog said it will suspend BlackBerry messaging, e-mail and Web browsing services starting October 11. It was unclear if the ban would affect only local users or foreign visitors with roaming services as well.

Regulators say the devices operate outside of laws put in place after their introduction in the country, and that the lack of compliance with local laws raises “judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE.”

The government said it is singling out the BlackBerry, and not other phones that can access e-mail and the Web, because the devices are the only phones in the country that automatically send users’ data to servers overseas.

Unlike many other smart phones, BlackBerry devices use a system that updates a user’s inbox by sending encrypted messages through company servers abroad, including RIM’s home nation of Canada.

Users like the system because it is seen as more secure, but it also makes BlackBerry messages far harder to monitor than ones sent through domestic servers that authorities could tap into, analysts say.

“This is the irony, that it’s the device with the highest security features,” said Simon Simonian, an analyst at Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital who follows telecommunications. “These same security features corporations like have become an issue of national security for the government.”

Emirati authorities are eager to portray an image of the country as a safe, stable society free from the extremism found elsewhere in the region. They have taken steps to crack down on terror financing and efforts by neighbor Iran to sidestep international sanctions over its nuclear program.

Regulators said they have sought compromises with RIM on their concerns, but failed to reach an agreement on the issue.

“With no solution available and in the public interest … BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry E-mail and BlackBerry Web-browsing services will be suspended until an acceptable solution can be developed and applied,” Telecommunications Regulatory Authority director-general Mohamed al-Ghanim said in a statement carried on state news agency WAM.

“The TRA notes that BlackBerry appears to be compliant in similar regulatory environments of other countries, which makes noncompliance in the UAE both disappointing and of great concern,” he added.

A spokeswoman for Research in Motion said the Canadian company had no immediate comment.

Other countries, including India and the Gulf state of Bahrain, have also raised concerns about BlackBerry messaging features, but have not decided to block them outright.

“The UAE doesn’t want to take any chances and they want to monitor what is going on in the country,” Simonian said.

Research in Motion said in a statement last week it “respects both the regulatory requirements of government and the security and privacy needs of corporations and consumers.”

The company declined to disclose details of talks it has had with regulators in the more than 175 countries where it operates, but defended its phones’ security features as “widely accepted” by customers and governments.

Etisalat and Du, the UAE’s two state-run phone companies, said they would comply with the directive and are working on alternative services for their BlackBerry customers.

RIM does not disclose the number of BlackBerry users in the country.

Simonian, the Shuaa analyst, estimated that there are “hundreds of thousands” of BlackBerry users in the country, but likely fewer than the half million users cited by local media.

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Rumors of a BlackBerry tablet are heating up by the day, with Bloomberg now claiming that the BlackPad — yes, the BlackPad — will arrive in November, complete with an iPad-size screen and the ability to connect to the Internet via either Wi-Fi or your Bluetooth-connected BlackBerry.

Citing a pair of anonymous sources “familiar with the company’s plans,” Bloomberg says the tablet will indeed be called the BlackPad (which would presumably explain BlackBerry-maker RIM’s recent acquisition of “BlackPad.com”) and would boast a display that’s “roughly” the same size as the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen.

Rather than having its own, embedded 3G radio, the BlackPad would rely on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth tethering to your BlackBerry to connect to the Internet, Bloomberg’s tipsters claim — a nifty trick. I sure wish I could tether the iPad to my iPhone for 3G data.

The article doesn’t go into detail about what kind of processor would power the rumored BlackPad, or whether it would run on the revamped BlackBerry OS 6 (which seems likely). It did note, however, that the BlackPad’s pricing would be “in line” with that of the iPad, which starts at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi-only version.

Several details of the Bloomberg story are at odds with what we heard from one wireless analyst earlier this month, who predicted that the BlackBerry tablet would come with built-in Wi-Fi and a smaller, 7-inch display.

Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar (who, it must be said, has thrown some wild pitches lately when it comes to tech predictions) also thinks the BlackBerry slate will arrive with a 1GHz processor and dual cameras, including a front-facing lens for video chat.

The Bloomberg story caps months of rumors and speculation about a BlackBerry tablet, which stretch backas early as April and gained traction in June after the Wall Street Journal threw its own anonymously sourced log on the fire.

The latest rumors also come just days before BlackBerry’s planned press event next week. Expected among the surprises: a new touchscreen QWERTY slider powered by the revamped, touch-friendly BlackBerry OS 6.

I admit to being pretty skeptical about the BlackBerry tablet rumors in the early months, but based on the steady buzz, it’s starting to look like the BlackPad — or whatever it ends up being called — could indeed be for real, although RIM still refuses to confirm or deny its existance. If the tablet is real, though, the ability to tether with a BlackBerry for 3G data would be a major selling point.

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BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is testing a tablet that could act as a “companion” to its BlackBerry phone, says the Wall Street Journal.

The BlackBerry tablet is reportedly in the early stage of development and will tether to the the phone. Last month, the Boy Genius Report web site said the BlackBerry tablet is likely to have an 8.9-inch screen and include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Since Apple introduced the iPad in April, other PC and smartphone makers have announced that they are working on tablets of their own. In less than 60 days since the iPad was launched, Apple said it sold more than 2 million of them.

Earlier this month, Dell announced it will introduce a tablet called ‘Streak’ that will have a 5-inch display and run Google’s Android operating system. The Streak also has a SIM card so users can make calls with it. The device is currently available in the U.K. now and is expected to launch in the U.S. next month for $500. HP is also working on a tablet computer called the HP Slate.

RIM hopes to introduce its tablet to complement its BlackBerry phones. The move evokes Palm’s failed experiment with the Foleo. In 2007, Palm announced the Foleo as a companion device to its Treo phone. The Foleo priced at $500 would sync wirelessly to Treo phones. But, after much criticism, Palm cancelled the device even before it could make it to retail shelves.

RIM’s tablet might be better received. A tablet could help RIM compete better with the latest generation of smartphones. Except for the BlackBerry Storm, RIM hasn’t released any smartphones with touchscreens. A tablet could help bridge the gap between its keyboard-focused phones and the fast growing market for touchscreen devices.

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Since its inception, YouMail, a visual voicemail service for mobile phones, has had one big problem. You could view and play your mobile phone’s voicemail messages online, or–beginning lat June–by pointing the mobile browser to YouMail.com, but messages weren’t stored on the device itself.

Starting Wednesday, YouMail has begun to change that with a native YouMail in-box for BlackBerry phones. Visual Voicemail Plus is a free downloadable app that stores your incoming voice messages along with the caller’s name, number, and time of call.

In addition to viewing and playing messages in any order you’d like, those who have signed up for the free or premium transcription service will be able to read the message content.

Other online features have carried over as well, including interacting with the voice files by downloading, saving, and forwarding them, or posting them to social networks.

The latter has always been the creepiest application, and in my opinion, a misguided attempt to tap into social networking trends. It’s true that replaying calls for amusement, blackmail, or punitive action has been a common fate of cell phone messages for much longer than actor Alec Baldwin’s damning outburst back in 2007, but why make it so easy to push a private call to the public domain? Let’s just hope I’m the only Debbie Downer here envisioning embarrassing abuses of an innocent call.

But back to the app at hand.

While I’ll certainly be the first to welcome this native app with open arms, I will point out that it’s a bit basic in the design department. We’re sure to see more style come to the download in future releases.

The opening of YouMail’s API, now in limited beta, means we’re sure to see a proliferation of development, including YouMail’s porting to other mobile platforms, and to other apps and widgets as a plug-in.

For now YouMail’s Visual Voicemail Plus application will work on the BlackBerry Pearl, Curve, Bold, and Storm running version 4.3 or higher of the operating system, and only if you’re with Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile carriers. New users can sign up for a free account from the Visual Voicemail Plus interface or online.

It seems that mobile phone manufacturers are busy designing and preparing “iPhone killers”, mobile phones that use a touchscreen instead of a keyboard. Until now Apple’s iPhone has proven to be a real success and it proudly stands above all smart phones.

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Storm has just been released and people are very excited to try it out and are actually thinking that the new BlackBerry might pose a real threat to the iPhone. On the other hand, The BlackBerry Storm is not an attempt to create a true iPhone killer, but to give BlackBerry users and fans the possibility to enjoy the newest technologies that are available at the moment.

Critics who have tested out the Storm have generally given good reviews, mentioning the phone’s smart SurePress system, that was designed to give the user the feeling that he’s actually using a keyboard and not a touch sensitive screen. SurePress allows the user to actually press the screen down in order to give certain commands.

The only problem with this is that SurePress has a weird learning curve that might not appeal to some. After a while, controlling the phone becomes natural and pretty intuitive, but a small amount of time is, indeed, needed in order to get familiar with the controls.

A thing that received many good grades was the phone’s Internet browser, which works very well and its cursor hovers above the user’s finger an not underneath it, like it is the case with other similar phones. This is a good thing because one knows exactly what he’s pressing, the view not being obstructed by the user’s finger. BlackBerry Storm also has its downsides and, maybe, the most noticeable is the lack of Wi-Fi.

Source: eFluxMedia