Interview with Mr. Marc Tassin, Senior Product Manager, Ilium Software

Mr. Marc Tassin is Senior Product Manager at Ilium Software. Ilium Software has been designing and creating information management tools, such as eWallet and Screen Capture, for mobile devices since 1997.

1. Tell us a little about yourself

I’m Marc Tassin, and I’m the Senior Product Manager at Ilium Software. I direct our overall product development, greenlight new projects, and oversee the ongoing development of our existing product line. I live just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan where Ilium Software is located.

2. What BlackBerry do you use now and what PDAs have you used in the past?

I know there will be folks who strongly disagree, but I have a BlackBerry Storm which I personally feel is the best BlackBerry I’ve ever used. In the past, in addition to BlackBerry’s, I’ve used just about every device out there, from Windows Mobile to Palm to iPhone.

3. Why is the BlackBerry a good platform to develop on?

The BlackBerry offers us a market of people who are serious about their devices. BlackBerry’s are devices optimized for business use and the customers who have them are looking for strong business products. eWallet fits perfectly into this market.

4. Other than your own, name your three favorite applications for the BlackBerry.

Pocket Informant from WebIS is one I couldn’t live without. It’s a fantastic application and they’ve really covered all the bases with this app. Documents To Go from DataViz is another. Just an exceptionally useful piece of software. Last I have to list Sid Meier’s Pirates. The nostalgia factor is just too much to resist. I love this game.

5. What’s your favorite trick or feature that you use on your BlackBerry?

Honestly, I have to go with a feature – the Storm’s touch screen. I love it. It takes some folks a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it the experience is excellent. I especially like the tactile touch. I’m not accidentally tapping the wrong thing when I’m navigating apps. Very nice.

6. What’s the most important feature that the BlackBerry lacks?

Wi-fi. For me, this is requirement for a modern device. As much as I like the Storm, the lack of WiFi is just an enormous oversight to me. With luck, we’ll see this rectified come fall.

7. Where do you see the focus of third party programs for the BlackBerry going over the next few months?

I think AppWorld is going to really reinvigorate the market. It’s going to inspire a lot of developers to try BlackBerry, and that means the existing developers will get pushed to do even better work to stay competitive.

Ilium Software Website: http://www.iliumsoft.com/