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W3C publications can be downloaded in either .PDF or stone tablet.

Let’s face it, unless you’re rocking the BlackBerry Bold, browsing the web on your BlackBerry is usually a frightening experience: things don’t work, page formatting is often weird and some pages are just too damn big to download. Thankfully, the W3C, which develops guidelines for website standards, has published the details of new standards that will make it easier for people to browse the Web on mobile devices, hopefully ensuring that even low-end BlackBerry users won’t be left in the lurch.

Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0 provides steps for content authors to face the challenges of hardware and software diversity, device constraints and bandwidth limitations. In addition, the W3C has also released a XHTML Basic 1.1 Recommendation, providing a convergence in mobile markup languages, including those developed by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA).

To view both new mobile web standards, head to the World Wide Web Consortium website.

(via Cellular-News)

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According to the latest study by Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, approximately 31% of U.S small businesses (or SBs, defined as companies with less than 99 employees) are now using smartphones, with an additional 11% who do not use them saying plan to purchase one — equating to approximately 400,000 U.S. small businesses using smartphones.

What do these growth numbers mean? Money, and lots of it. AMI-Partners forecasts that U.S. SBs will spend a total of US$375 million on these devices alone (without services expense) in 5 years. This is a rate 6 times greater than the estimated spending of medium businesses (MBs, or companies with 100 to 999 employees).

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Read the rest of Are small businesses the next target for smartphone companies? (224 words)

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Our good friends over at Sharpcast, creators of SugarSync, sent us a line today to let us know their solution was selected as the Top Innovator in the category of Most Innovative Consumer Application or Service, and a Global Semi-Finalist in the Americas leg of the 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition, as part of the GSMA’s Mobile Innovation Marketplace.

SugarSync combines secure online backup, remote access, mobile synchronization, and online file sharing into one solution, giving users seamless access to all the content stored on their computers from a mobile phone. Expect a review up from us soon, but until then a 45-day free trial is available at www.sugarsync.com.

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JetBlue Airways has agreed to buy Verizon’s Airfone business to offer e-mail and messaging services aboard planes. Verizon has been shedding businesses lately to focus on its wireless service. The purchase lets JetBlue expand an in-flight messaging service it started testing on one plane in December and plans to add to other aircraft and carriers. JetBlue won a U.S. government auction of airwaves this month to provide Web service on flights.

While this won’t allow us to use our BlackBerrys yet for email goodness, JetBlue has said they’re studying ways to allow passengers to use them during flights. The wait continues…

(via Bloomberg)

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Looking to keep its legal winning streak alive, RIM filed a preemptive suit yesterday against German patent troll IP Com, asking a Texas federal court to declare that RIM hasn’t infringed on three IP Com patents. RIM has also asked the court to issue an injunction preventing IP Com from using the patents to sue RIM for infringement.

Not to be outdone, IP Com has countersued RIM in Germany, and IP Com managing director, Cristoph Schoeller, had this to say:

IP Com had been negotiating a license agreement with RIM when RIM filed its lawsuit, Schoeller said. “We thought we were in negotiations,” he said, adding that he believes RIM may be trying to intimidate IP Com.

Good. You’re a patent troll: you make money solely by suing other companies for patents you hold. You deserve everything you get.

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CN is reporting that after two weeks of bidding, the auction for Canada’s newly available wireless spectrum has reached CA$2 billion, far surpassing previous estimates of 1.5 billion with several weeks of bidding still to come. Importantly, 40% of the available radio capacity has been reserved for new entrants, and it’s widely expected that a new national carrier will emerge from the process.

For now, Shaw Communications is leading the way, with Quebecor in second and MTS third. Telus is the top bidder amongst current carriers. Hopefully a new Canadian carrier will provide the competition needed to lower data prices to US levels. We’ll keep you informed as this story develops.

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