Ah the joy of conference calls: dial-in numbers, access codes, endless keypad punching. RIM's new BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing app gives BlackBerry users the ability to connect to the call in one click -- and some other handy features, too. Frequent “teleconferencers” with BlackBerry smartphones take note: Research In Motion (RIM) today released a beta version of its new BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing application. With the app, which integrates with the BlackBerry OS, RIM handheld users can quickly and easily invite other BlackBerry users to a teleconference, add new teleconference info to their mobile calendars and connect to conferences with a single click. In addition, the software helps you quickly reconnect to an ongoing conference if you’re ever disconnected. BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing Conference Profiles If you craft a meeting invitation with the PC-based e-mail application that’s connected to your BlackBerry, and audio-bridge numbers and access-codes are embedded in the message, other RIM smartphone users with the BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing app will be able to join the teleconference with a single click, via a “Join Now” option. You can create up to five different “Conference Profiles” to include necessary teleconferencing dial-in information, such as phone numbers, and participant and moderator access codes. Then assign an individual profile to a meeting or other entry in your BlackBerry calendar. BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing Conference Profile Details When a teleconference is set to begin, a BlackBerry pop-up message appears asking if you want to join the conference. You never have to manually enter–or remember–any dial-in or access information. When you send conference-call invites with conference profile data, invitees see only the information necessary to joining the call, keeping your moderator codes hidden, according to RIM. BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing One-Click Join Options I haven’t really spent too much time with BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing, but I created a number of Conference Profiles, invited myself to a pseudo-meeting and joined with one click, and everything worked as advertised. Overall, I think the app is a great addition to a mobile OS already designed to help businesspeople get more done in less time. It’s little things like this that really set RIM’s BlackBerry OS apart from other popular mobile software like Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, at least from a business perspective. The 357KB BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing software requires BlackBerry OS 5.0 or higher, and it’s currently available for download from RIM’s BlackBerry beta zone. In related news, RIM is expect to soon announced an official BlackBerry videoconferencing application for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, but that application won’t likely work with BlackBerry smartphones any time soon. AS Al Sacco covers Mobile and Wireless for CIO.com. Follow Al on Twitter @ASacco. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook. Email Al at asacco@cio.com Related content brandpost Sponsored by NTT DATA Transform your technology and accelerate business outcomes with NTT DATA’s Technology Solutions By Miriam Murphy, Chief Executive Officer at NTT, Europe Dec 06, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by SAP How the cloud and AI will help more companies become future proof In a world where macroeconomic uncertainty has become the new normal, being future-proof is no longer a ‘nice to have’. It’s a must have. By Scott Russell, Customer Success at SAP Dec 06, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership feature 6 generative AI hazards IT leaders should avoid The opportunities to use generative AI will greatly vary for each organization, but the ways it can go wrong are turning out to be fairly universal. By Mary Branscombe Dec 06, 2023 11 mins CIO Application Performance Management Generative AI interview Delivering value through IT at Village Roadshow During a recent CIO Leadership Live session, Michael Fagan, chief transformation officer of Australian cinema and theme park company Village Roadshow, spoke with CIO’s editor in chief for APAC Cathy O'Sullivan about delivering value, colla By CIO staff Dec 06, 2023 8 mins CIO CIO Leadership Live Change Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe