The BlackBerry is about to get a serious run for its money from rival smartphones. Dell, which launched a series of smartphones this year, is planning to replace the BlackBerry with its own Venue Pro for 25,000 employees, The Wall Street Journal's Shayndi Raice reported. 

In perhaps an even more aggressive move against BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM), Dell plans to encourage its own enterprise customers to use the Windows Phone 7-powered Venue Pro. The manufacturer wants to facilitate companies in dropping the use of BlackBerry servers in favor of Dell's business services.

Meanwhile, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) reportedly are both in the midst of testing the iPhone for employee use. The two banks, which have a combined workforce of approximately 542,000 people, are looking into whether the devices are sufficiently secure for company email, reports Bloomberg's Hugo Miller.  

The iPhone tests include more than 1000 employees, and at Bank of America a pilot project will follow, Miller reports. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has taken several measures to enhance the iPhone's security, including beefing up encryption tools and enabling remote lock-out or wipe-out for lost devices. To make greater inroads into the business market, Apple recently joined forces with Unisys to facilitate integration with enterprise systems.

Research in Motion continues to defend the BlackBerry as a device that enjoys growing usage in corporations. The manufacturer insists that it still offers the best platform when it comes to security and manageability.

For more, see:
- see Shayndi Raice's article at The Wall Street Journal
- see Hugo Miller's article at Bloomberg

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