BIS for Android thwarted

data for non-BlackBerry hardware shortly before he resigned his position, new leaks uncovered on Friday, Electronista reveals.

The method outlined to Reuters would have let carriers offer Android and iPhone devices with cheaper data plans that limited Internet access to chat (possibly BlackBerry Messenger) and social networks, much like entry BlackBerry plans do today. RIM would presumably have made money from leasing access to carriers eager to get more smartphone customers and offload some of their bandwidth needs.

The company was supposedly "well along the path", having written software to enable the feature on Apple and Google platforms.

But Balsillie's plans were thwarted by the board and the new CEO, who believes that while “substantial change” is necessary within the company, such a move would not have proven successful, Mobile Syrup reports.

Instead, RIM intends to maintain its focus on releasing a superior BlackBerry 10 product later this year, and make improvements to its Mobile Fusion enterprise software.

While RIM is expected to sell upwards of 50 million devices this year, it will likely lose money in its handset division for the first time. Its share price has also dropped precipitously, losing 80% of its value since February 2011. Bringing BBM to iOS and Android as a subscription service may seem like a flash-in-the-plan fix for a more insidious brand erosion problem, but it would certainly align itself with Balsillie's supposed radical way of thinking.