Lenovo and RIM's 'ConstantConnect' Links ThinkPads and BlackBerrys

Finally something the BlackBerry is good for. Just kidding of course. The Blackberry does a lot of good things, but according to an Engadget post this afternoon the latest bit of goodness is ConstantConnect.

A joint bit of functionality between select ThinkPad models and possibly equally select BlackBerrys, ConstantConnect allows for a convenient sync between your ThinkPad and Blackberry in cases where you have limited connectivity to the Internet, or when you are just not willing to pay for it. Lenova PR describes this as a “seamless, integrated email experience,” which plays itself out in one of two scenarios. First, there is the situation where you don’t have a connection to the Internet for your laptop, but you do have a signal for your BlackBerry. Just type up you email via Outlook on your computer as you would normally and send. The mail is transferred to your BlackBerry and sent. The second scenario is where you have no usable signal for either devices, for example on an airplane or in a severely dead zone. Here you also compose your mail as before and send. In this case, this is stored on your ConstantConnect card. As you finish, place your laptop into sleep mode, for example as you ready yourself for landing. There is no need to open up your computer again to sync with your mail server. As a signal becomes available to your BlackBerry your ConstantConnect card will make a bluetooth connection to your BlackBerry and the stored mail will be sent through the BlackBerry. Also, in this scenario email received by the BlackBerry will also be copied to the card to be synced to Outlook when it is started up again.

As far as pricing goes, Engadget says it’s a “$149 option from select business partners and through Lenovo.com.” This has yet to be confirmed on the Lenovo site though. Also, there is no news yet as to whether the functionality is limited to enterprise e-mail and what ThinkPad and BlackBerry models can take advantage of the functionality. Regardless, it sounds like it could be an option for the frequent, yet budget minded business traveler.

–Tom Milnes