Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made an appearance at BlackBerry World 2011 yesterday to announce a partnership between Microsoft and RIM that will integrate Bing search functionality into BlackBerry products. And not just as a bundled app package, either: Bing will not only be the default map and search provider for BlackBerry, but will be integrated at the operating system level, allowing for expanded services such as location-aware and voice search and panorama stitching. 

RIM also announced its BlackBerry servers for the enterprise will soon be supporting other platforms, ^[1] including Android and Apple’s iOS. RIM’s leap into multi-platform support will come from Ubitexx (which it announced, almost in the same breath, that it was buying).

Interesting to note the Bing partnership announcement also comes on the heels of the newly revealed Apple iPhone-fighting BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 models. Looks like RIM is taking on all comers. Read more from Engadget ^[2].