After a three-day service outage that left BlackBerry users around the world without the ability to make calls or access protected business accounts, police in the United Arab Emirates are saying the blackout "definitely contributed" to fewer accidents and deaths on the roads.
Abu Dhabi-based news source The National is reporting that the outage made the roads 20 to 40 percent safer to drive on around the United Arab Emirates, a country which almost banned the devices altogether:
In Dubai, traffic accidents fell 20 per cent from average rates on the days BlackBerry users were unable to use its messaging service. In Abu Dhabi, the number of accidents this week fell 40 per cent and there were no fatal accidents.
On average there is a traffic accident every three minutes in Dubai, while in Abu Dhabi there is a fatal accident every two days.
Also, following the outage, Research In Motion is offering up an app package worth around $100. Let me ask you this: if I held out $100 with one hand and a collection of apps in the other, which would you reach for?
Either way, RIM is planning to make the titles directly below free for a limited time on its BlackBerry App World site sometime during the next few weeks, with the possibility of more down the road. The company is also promising certain corporate users a free month of tech support.
- SIMS 3
- Bejeweled
- N.O.V.A.
- Texas Hold'em Poker 2
- Bubble Bash 2
- Photo Editor Ultimate — Ice Cold Apps
- DriveSafe.ly Pro
- Drive Safe.ly Enterprise
- Nobex Radio Premium
- Shazam Encore
- Vlingo Plus: Virtual Assistant
The National, via Autoblog and CNN
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