Carriers like Verizon Wireless already offer device-management services, and some companies have management software for their corporate-liable smartphones, noted Lisa Pierce, an independent wireless analyst with the Strategic Networks Group. What RIM's announcement does is expand "the market for BlackBerry device management to individuals, small organizations, and even individuals/families who buy phones and services through corporate discounts" but are not protected under corporate-liable plans, Pierce said.

Backing Up and Restoring Data

The Blackberry Protect beta slated for release this week will initially be offered by invitation to selected members of RIM's BlackBerry Beta Zone. "If you're a member of Beta Zone and don't receive a download code, you will be able to try it out when it reaches open public beta later this year," said BlackBerry Protect Product Manager Michael Accettura in an interview posted Monday on a company blog.

Beta Zone members who are invited to test BlackBerry Protect will be given the option to back up whatever smartphone data they wish -- from contacts, calendar, memos and tasks to browser bookmarks and text messages.

"You will even be able to choose how often your BlackBerry smartphone is automatically backed up: Daily, weekly and monthly," Accettura explained. "Once the first backup is completed, only incremental data is backed up to reduce data usage."

In the event that a BlackBerry is lost, stolen or damaged, users will be able to wirelessly restore all backed-up data on a replacement device. "So, even though I've lost my BlackBerry smartphone, all of my information can be transferred to my new BlackBerry smartphone," Accettura said.

Finding Lost Phones

Users who forget where they left their handsets around the home or in the office will be able to "ring" the phone remotely over an Internet connection. "Simply log into the BlackBerry Protect web portal" and "activate the loud ring feature," Accettura said. This will make the smartphone ring loudly for one minute, even if the phone's profile was set to silent, he added.

To prevent a lost or stolen BlackBerry from yielding any personal information, the user can remotely lock the device from the BlackBerry Protect web portal. "Set the 'lost and found' screen with a message and contact information in case the device is found," Accettura explained. "This way they know who owns the device" as well as how to get in contact with the owner, he said.

BlackBerry users also will be able to activate the app's "view current location feature" to access the GPS functionality built into most of RIM's smartphones to display the current location of the missing handset. The portal also provides access to a remote wipe feature for deleting "all the information off the device, including the data stored on the device and on the microSD card," Accettura said.

The advent of RIM's BlackBerry Protect beta suggests that apps featuring similar security capabilities may one day become universally available. Pierce thinks Apple has already made capabilities like this available for the iPhone 4. "If the two most popular OSes are offering this, can Android-based devices be far behind?" she asked.