IBM overhypes Lotus Notes for mobile, swipes at Android

Exec cites Microsoft's lawsuit against Motorola as proof that Big Blue was smart to build a native Lotus Notes client for Android

IBM is taking a new tack in its ongoing effort to convince the world that its Lotus Notes collaboration package is gaining ground on Microsoft Exchange. In a couple of recent blog postings, Ed Brill, IBM's director of product management for Lotus software, celebrated the fact that, per IDC, IBM Lotus Notes Traveler is No. 3 among mobile collaboration platforms in terms of mobile subscribers.

Further, he boasted that IBM had the wisdom and foresight to build from scratch a Lotus client for Android that not only compensates for what he describes as the platform's subpar enterprise-class collaboration capabilities, but also doesn't infringe on any Microsoft patents in the way that Motorola's Android phones allegedly do.

[ Also on InfoWorld: Microsoft has ramped up its Windows Phone app store | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights with the Mobile Edge blog and Mobilize newsletter. ]

Brill appears to have cherry-picked his facts when he trumpeted Lotus Notes Traveler's standing among fellow mobile collaboration platforms. In IDC's announcement about the report, the research company stated that two players dominated the market in 2009: RIM and Microsoft. RIM secured "a commanding 57.2 percent market share (based on revenues); Microsoft finished the year with a 71.5 percent share of the subscriber market. In 2010 and 2011, Microsoft is poised to continue this growth with the explosion of the Android OS and the launch of Windows Phone 7."