It's time for RIM to abandon BlackBerry 10 and adopt either Android or Windows Phone. It doesn't matter that PlayBook 2.0 received some better-than-expected press coverage at CES last week, or that there have been some interesting hints here and there about what the first phones running RIM's new mobile OS will look like. And while it's bad enough that the first phones running BlackBerry 10 won't ship until sometime around the end of the year, the real problem is that even if RIM started shipping phones tomorrow with an OS that could hold a candle to iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference. RIM would still be in very serious trouble.
Why? Because the market has coalesced around iOS and Android, and the network effects (primarily, but not only, around apps) those two platforms have created is proving difficult for even a worthy competitor like Windows Phone, which has already been available for over a year, to gain marketshare.
Microsoft may yet pull it off and cement Windows Phone as top tier competitor alongside iOS and Android. If they do, it's going to be in part because they landed the largest mobile phone maker in the world as a partner and are spending billions of dollars to compete. The scary thing for RIM is that they won't have those kinds of advantages to draw on, and that by the time they ship the first BlackBerry 10 phones there's a good chance Microsoft will have made enough inroads that they'll be fighting not two, but three, major players for the allegiance of smartphone customers and developers.
You can dissect the reasons for iOS and Android's success, but short of BlackBerry 10 being some phenomenal leap forward that's years ahead of the competition -- and I don't think anyone honestly believes RIM has the chops to pull this off anyway -- it's just hard to see any scenario in which RIM delivers a mobile OS that attracts significant usage.
Remember that it's not longer enough to be about as good as what else is out there. It's not even enough to be a little bit better, or to be better than everyone else at a couple of things. To have a successful mobile OS in 2012 you have to offer a clear and compelling case for what is distinctly different and significantly better about your platform. I think this is something that would challenge any technology company today. Simply creating a world-class mobile OS isn't a trivial matter; going beyond that and building one that leapfrogs its rivals is extraordinarily difficult. (This is why it was such a big deal when Apple introduced the iPhone.) We already saw what happened to webOS, which despite being well-regarded was simply not better enough than the competition in any meaningful way and failed to gain significant adoption. Is there any compelling evidence that RIM possesses the engineering and design expertise to avoid a similar fate for BlackBerry 10?
Given the low odds that BlackBerry 10 will be a game-changer, what should RIM do? Well, there are a few options:
1. Sell off the handset business
This would be tough for RIM psychologically, but there's no reason for a cratering handset division to take down a company that still has a profitable services business. Separating the two sides would be complicated, but analysts have suggested that given how sucky RIM seems to be at making phones people want to buy, the more attractive long-term opportunity lies with enterprise network services. They'd probably be able to get someone like Huawei to buy it, and get them to commit to using RIM's services infrastructure, to boot.
2. Go with Android or perhaps even Windows Phone
Either option will be a tough sell up in Waterloo, but it wasn't easy for Stephen Elop to force Nokia to abandon Meego and Symbian for Windows Phone, and he managed to push it through. Yes, the jury is still out on whether Nokia's move will be a success, but doesn't it say something that the Lumia 800 is the first Nokia phone in years that people are legitimately excited about? RIM needs to face the same reality Nokia did, namely that this is a battle of ecosystems and not devices.
Besides, when it comes down to it, most people who buy a BlackBerry do so because of its awesome keyboard, BlackBerry Messenger, and excellent (and secure) Exchange support. They don't care about the underlying OS, and there's no reason why RIM couldn't bring those same features to an Android device. (In fact, given how few Android phones with decent physical keyboards there are, there is probably a gap in the market that RIM could take advantage of.) Reproducing RIM's email and messaging infrastructure in Android wouldn't be trivial, but it might be better to direct the company's relatively limited engineering resources towards that more limited problem rather than trying -- and failing -- to develop a full-blown OS. If RIM introduced a messaging-centric Android phone with a world-class keyboard and great Exchange support you could certainly see them making inroads in the enterprise market, as well as attracting renewed interest from consumers.
3. Hook up with Amazon
There were some rumors last month that Amazon was looking at buying RIM, and while an acquisition is unlikely, they could end up collaborating anyway. There's no indication that this is happening, but it's not impossible to imagine a scenario in which RIM, realizing that BlackBerry 10 is a dead end, but not wanting to become just another Android OEM, uses Amazon's fork of Android on its phones and tablets.
Such a move would jumpstart RIM's Android efforts and differentiate it from its competitors, while offsetting some development costs. If Amazon were willing to give RIM some cut of the profits from digital media sales or Prime subscriptions sign-ups generated it could potentially even lead to some additional revenue for RIM.
Amazon loses money on each Kindle Fire sold, so the idea of them letting someone else use their OS for free is not at all far-fetched. All they care about is whether it increases the userbase for Amazon products and services. Do they need RIM? No, probably not. But hooking up with RIM could be a way for Amazon to spread its ecosystem and take on Apple. Not that I see any indication that anyone at RIM (or Amazon) is thinking along these lines, but it's fun to speculate about what they could do together.
Regardless of what they decide to do, RIM has to make the best of a bad situation. These three analyst quotes from a recent New York Times story (www.nytimes.com/2012/01/04/technology/rims-delay-c...) about RIM tell a grim story:
“They don’t have a firm grasp of the issues and realities of bringing these phones to market,” - Colin Gillis, analyst with BGC Partners.
“They can’t get the infrastructure and the operating system ready in time,” - Peter Misek, analyst with Jefferies & Company.
“Waiting for the chipset is a contributing factor in a number of factors that led to the delay. Creating the ecosystem for the phones is the bigger problem.” - Alkesh Shah, analyst with Evercore Partners
Years of poor decisions have led the company to a place where there are really no good options. The saddest part is that given the obstinance of RIM's co-CEO's, the most likely outcome is that the company will continue on the path its on, releasing the first BlackBerry 10 handsets around the end of this year to a largely indifferent market.
Discussion about
It's time for RIM to abandon BlackBerry 10 and adopt either Android or Windows Phone
This will end up like Nokia without the pot of gold at the end of the tunnel. At the end of the year they will realize BB10 it's not up to par and will commit to Android or WP7 but most likely Android as we all see how well Nokia it's doing with WP7.
Now is the perfect time for someone, Google, Apple, Microsoft or someone else to come out with an app like BBM.
Now is the perfect time for someone, Google, Apple, Microsoft or someone else to come out with an app like BBM.
This post has been removed.
This story is biased. RIM is not going down at all. That's because you're in the US. I'm sorry but, BB10 will be a hit. With the Android Player, people who still use BB and are starting to think of changing will have no reason to switch. QNX is such a smooth and pleasant experience compared to the broken ecosystem of Android; and BB's have a unique hardware that is consistent across devices. The phones are solid and built off strong materials, it will not break even if you drop it a million times, unlike iPhones, which are considered "premium" because they're made of fragile glass (not trying to troll here, I only own a crappy HTC Touch from 2006 on Windows Mobile 6.5). RIM is still going very strong here in Canada, UK, and a bunch of countries in Asia. Every single week there's someone on Facebook posting his/her BB PIN. It's not because they're not as successful as before in the US that they're crashing hard.. Just open yourself and think outside your country before doing such claims.
RIM will not die guys.
RIM will not die guys.
I would correct that to RIM will not die soon. I totally see your point that they are still big outside the US, but the problem seems to be that the other smartphone platforms are innovating much more quickly than RIM is. Seems that while they may survive for a while (years, maybe?), there doesn't seem to be anything on the horizon that will return them to their dominant position in the smartphone business. If you look at market share numbers, they've been losing share steadily for a couple of years now to Android and iOS. Doesn't look good for them in the long term.
I don't think your right... being a patriotic Canadian myself I have watched with disdain as RIM was bogged down in its own corporate culture; resting on its laurels.
As a developer who has worked on several of the major platforms, including Blackberry, I can tell you the Blackberry is by far the worst to work with. Nobody wants to do it. Not only in their API and tools, but they just don't treat the developers well!
They were the first to make a successful smartphone. they were innovative, but somehow they lost that.
Their only hope to not continue to lose market share is to do something drastic. They had time to do something about this a few years ago, but now they don't.
IMO - They should fork Android and make it their own. The article has a very good point that people who still use Blackberry devices like them for some of the features (like the keyboards).
It would be way easier for RIM to fork Android and modify it how they wanted it than to write a whole new OS (which is what they need). There is no way the OS architecture they current have will be able to keep up.. even the newer Tablet is a laugh.
As a developer who has worked on several of the major platforms, including Blackberry, I can tell you the Blackberry is by far the worst to work with. Nobody wants to do it. Not only in their API and tools, but they just don't treat the developers well!
They were the first to make a successful smartphone. they were innovative, but somehow they lost that.
Their only hope to not continue to lose market share is to do something drastic. They had time to do something about this a few years ago, but now they don't.
IMO - They should fork Android and make it their own. The article has a very good point that people who still use Blackberry devices like them for some of the features (like the keyboards).
It would be way easier for RIM to fork Android and modify it how they wanted it than to write a whole new OS (which is what they need). There is no way the OS architecture they current have will be able to keep up.. even the newer Tablet is a laugh.
Also, just a quick note: I almost disliked your comment solely based on the first sentence. I don't have a problem with you (or anyone disagreeing). Quite the opposite, in fact, as dissenting opinions lead to a better discourse. But maybe we can elevate the conversation a bit and get away from the name calling? Just my two cents...
I change the first sentence, thanks for your feedback! I shall be more polite next time.
But Android users are paying for an "Android" experience. You think RIM is going to have the time/funds to design a uniquely Android experience, market and sell these phones to start being profitable again? It's not going to happen as they've shown with their commitment to BB10. Moreover, we've seen how those "Custom Android experiences" have played out with the ever evolving and not-quite-getting-it-right HTC Sense and Motoblur. All based on Android with the OEM's twist on it and none getting it right. Jumping into a VERY overloaded Android market will just get them lost in a sea of Android.
Unfortunately, the Mobile OS ecosystem in the US is a very volatile one right now. We see iOS and Android dominate, which are basically facsimiles of each other and even something completely innovative and different not being able to survive (WebOS, Bada, Meego). If you go look at mobile provider's websites, Windows Phones are ranking VERY high with the consumers who have them. Better than their iOS and Android counterparts even. Nokia saw that Meego would NOT penetrate the US smartphone market, so they went WP. ZTE is doing the same, and it's starting to have traction. The Radar 4G is one of the highest rated phones on Tmobile, the Focus S on AT&T and the Titan on Verizon. All very highly rated phones not because of manufacturer design specs, as we all know the shortcomings of WP when it comes to spec boasting (even though it's not really that important for WP), but because of the OS.
All in all, RIM needs to ditch BlackBerry OS. Keep the BlackBerry name, and revitalize it with some WP goodness.
<-Admitted fanboy :D
Unfortunately, the Mobile OS ecosystem in the US is a very volatile one right now. We see iOS and Android dominate, which are basically facsimiles of each other and even something completely innovative and different not being able to survive (WebOS, Bada, Meego). If you go look at mobile provider's websites, Windows Phones are ranking VERY high with the consumers who have them. Better than their iOS and Android counterparts even. Nokia saw that Meego would NOT penetrate the US smartphone market, so they went WP. ZTE is doing the same, and it's starting to have traction. The Radar 4G is one of the highest rated phones on Tmobile, the Focus S on AT&T and the Titan on Verizon. All very highly rated phones not because of manufacturer design specs, as we all know the shortcomings of WP when it comes to spec boasting (even though it's not really that important for WP), but because of the OS.
All in all, RIM needs to ditch BlackBerry OS. Keep the BlackBerry name, and revitalize it with some WP goodness.
<-Admitted fanboy :D
I'm talking about forking it and creating a whole new OS... why would RIM be pushing "the android experience"?
It doesn't actually matter what os they use, they might even be able to make a deal and leverage webOS but the point is they need to ditch their current and get something else rolling, and they need to do it fast... what faster way than to use something that already exists, alter it to meet their own standards?
It doesn't even need to *look* like android even a little bit!
WP might be a viable option, but IMO that would be a mistake because MS would have far too much control over their product.
I suggest Android because it's under Apache license and can legally be forked and modified without having to give it back to Google. They don't even have to give away the proprietary parts (i think only the underlaying OS is Linux and GPL'ed, the rest is Apache).
It doesn't actually matter what os they use, they might even be able to make a deal and leverage webOS but the point is they need to ditch their current and get something else rolling, and they need to do it fast... what faster way than to use something that already exists, alter it to meet their own standards?
It doesn't even need to *look* like android even a little bit!
WP might be a viable option, but IMO that would be a mistake because MS would have far too much control over their product.
I suggest Android because it's under Apache license and can legally be forked and modified without having to give it back to Google. They don't even have to give away the proprietary parts (i think only the underlaying OS is Linux and GPL'ed, the rest is Apache).
Firstly, anything being developed for Android, Microsoft is getting a piece of. They've got just about every license/patent under the sun paying them back in some fashion. BB creating Android devices isn't "free", there is just no upfront cost of using it. Patents and licensing makes Android anything but free.
Secondly, creating a whole new OS from scratch?!?!? You're hilarious. The company would be bankrupt. They've been developing BB10 for some time now and they are looking at a Q4 release with ONE device. You think starting from scratch is viable? You're very wrong friend.
Microsoft is practically GIVING away money to support Windows Phone. The practically gave Nokia untold millions for their rollout overseas (which is extremely successful btw) and is giving them ungodly amounts for their US incursion. Yes, they'd have to conform to MS's hardware specs and practices but it's not like there restricting RIMs creativity. What it does is ensures an even user experience across all devices and carriers. One of the Smartest things they've done imo. Plus, would you buy a BlackBerry running Android, or a Droid RAZR Maxx? The choice is quite easy.
Secondly, creating a whole new OS from scratch?!?!? You're hilarious. The company would be bankrupt. They've been developing BB10 for some time now and they are looking at a Q4 release with ONE device. You think starting from scratch is viable? You're very wrong friend.
Microsoft is practically GIVING away money to support Windows Phone. The practically gave Nokia untold millions for their rollout overseas (which is extremely successful btw) and is giving them ungodly amounts for their US incursion. Yes, they'd have to conform to MS's hardware specs and practices but it's not like there restricting RIMs creativity. What it does is ensures an even user experience across all devices and carriers. One of the Smartest things they've done imo. Plus, would you buy a BlackBerry running Android, or a Droid RAZR Maxx? The choice is quite easy.
RIM needs to keep doing what they're doing in terms of developing BB 10. Do I wish it was coming out sooner than later? Yes, but if the wait yields a better product then so be it. Having owned a PlayBook since day one, I can't wait to see what QNX will do for phones.
Adopting Android or Windows Phone will just make RIM a "me too" company and will do nothing to help them. BB 10 is their future.
Adopting Android or Windows Phone will just make RIM a "me too" company and will do nothing to help them. BB 10 is their future.
My .02-
I have owned and used devices running Windows Phone, iOS, Android and BB. I have to say, for a phone, BB is is the easiest and most logical OS I have ever used. On the wicked responsive 9900 4G from Tmo I have had no problems, once in a blue moon it will hourglass, but it has way too many good features and ease of use to abandon. Though it is pretty to look at, iOS is critically flawed by it's reliance and association with iTunes. The singe worst scrap of software ever written. iCloud does not fix the fact that the OS itself needs some other piece of software(somewhere else) to work. The updating and backup system of iOS devices is the definition of frustration and I am glad (every day) that I do not rely or depend on iOS5 to handle my "must have" communication device. Not having an anytime menu with loads of options is a major flaw in all iOS devices.
Windows Phone is very quirky and does not have even simple menu options to send a video you just took on your phone. The layout is ok for a while, but isn't really optimized for productivity, file location and management can be a nightmare on windows phone (and iOS and Android frankly).
Android is perhaps the most promising but has shown to be horribly fragmented on both the hardware and software and app compatibility side of things. Memory management is bothersome and relies too much attention, app management is frustrating. It seems like you need 1 app to manage another whenever I use my Android device. Not to mention fragmented, slow, waiting, waiting waiting. Same with even the iphone 4GS. These phones feel slow. I'm sorry but they do. I think people are used to it. Typing "you get used to" but its never as fast as it is on a fully QWERTY and there are just so many more ways to do everything on my 9900. It is almost perfect for me. Not for everyone.
-A bit of background. I'm a working professional Chef who plays guitar and builds fast computers in my spare time. I am currently running a 2600k @ 5.2g @ 1.056v with 480s in SLI OC'd to 800 on a z68UD7. I love gadgets and computers. Peter you make some good points but ill keep my 9900 (give it another look) and my iPad as the perfect combo. -b
-PS. I don't think RIM has made "years of poor decisions" at all. Their first few touch phones were HORRIBLE and they lost all cred when at the same time iPhone came out and Android phones came out and had 100x the marketing dollars and "newness" about them and that is why RIM is in a bad way. imho. BTW STOP SOPA
I have owned and used devices running Windows Phone, iOS, Android and BB. I have to say, for a phone, BB is is the easiest and most logical OS I have ever used. On the wicked responsive 9900 4G from Tmo I have had no problems, once in a blue moon it will hourglass, but it has way too many good features and ease of use to abandon. Though it is pretty to look at, iOS is critically flawed by it's reliance and association with iTunes. The singe worst scrap of software ever written. iCloud does not fix the fact that the OS itself needs some other piece of software(somewhere else) to work. The updating and backup system of iOS devices is the definition of frustration and I am glad (every day) that I do not rely or depend on iOS5 to handle my "must have" communication device. Not having an anytime menu with loads of options is a major flaw in all iOS devices.
Windows Phone is very quirky and does not have even simple menu options to send a video you just took on your phone. The layout is ok for a while, but isn't really optimized for productivity, file location and management can be a nightmare on windows phone (and iOS and Android frankly).
Android is perhaps the most promising but has shown to be horribly fragmented on both the hardware and software and app compatibility side of things. Memory management is bothersome and relies too much attention, app management is frustrating. It seems like you need 1 app to manage another whenever I use my Android device. Not to mention fragmented, slow, waiting, waiting waiting. Same with even the iphone 4GS. These phones feel slow. I'm sorry but they do. I think people are used to it. Typing "you get used to" but its never as fast as it is on a fully QWERTY and there are just so many more ways to do everything on my 9900. It is almost perfect for me. Not for everyone.
-A bit of background. I'm a working professional Chef who plays guitar and builds fast computers in my spare time. I am currently running a 2600k @ 5.2g @ 1.056v with 480s in SLI OC'd to 800 on a z68UD7. I love gadgets and computers. Peter you make some good points but ill keep my 9900 (give it another look) and my iPad as the perfect combo. -b
-PS. I don't think RIM has made "years of poor decisions" at all. Their first few touch phones were HORRIBLE and they lost all cred when at the same time iPhone came out and Android phones came out and had 100x the marketing dollars and "newness" about them and that is why RIM is in a bad way. imho. BTW STOP SOPA
I couldn't agree with you more. My 9930 does everything I need it to do. A hardware keyboard will always be better than typing on glass to me. I have an iPod Touch and messed around with Android. Android does nothing for me. It's a mess to me. The iPod Touch is used for music and podcasts only. Everyone beats up on BB7 but it's so much better than BB5 and older. Give me a BB 10 phone in a Bold 99xx form factor and I'll be set.
I just recorded a video on Windows Phone, swiped to the left to review the video, then picked "Share" from the menu and it gave me a list of sharing options. Seems pretty straightforward to me.
As for Android, it requires absolutely zero manual memory management. If anybody told you otherwise then they were mistaken. There are a bunch of memory management apps in the market, but they're useless things downloaded by suckers who are desperate for better performance. They don't help at all because Android manages its own memory better than a human being ever could. The legacy of task killers is left over from early (pre-2.0) Android builds that weren't as sophisticated in their memory management and were generally running on massively underpowered hardware that prevented the system from being effective.
As for Android, it requires absolutely zero manual memory management. If anybody told you otherwise then they were mistaken. There are a bunch of memory management apps in the market, but they're useless things downloaded by suckers who are desperate for better performance. They don't help at all because Android manages its own memory better than a human being ever could. The legacy of task killers is left over from early (pre-2.0) Android builds that weren't as sophisticated in their memory management and were generally running on massively underpowered hardware that prevented the system from being effective.
You seem to be a bit out of date on your iOS knowledge.
- Neither iPhone nor iPad require iTunes for anything.
- The updating and backup is handled completely automatically with iCloud and OTA delta updates. Really don't see how it could be any better?
- "Not having an anytime menu with loads of options" is a feature, not a bug, to probably 99.9% of phone users.
I'm sorry do you not need itunes for anything on an iOS device? So I can delete the entire media library from itunes on my computer? And delete itunes altogether? And plug in my iOS stuff and it just works? It actually won't. It just won't. I've had to call Apple before because I deleted a movie I paid for from my hard drive and when I synced my device it erased it from my device. Apple did credit me and let me re-download. But sorry, it doesn't work perfect like you say it does. It never has. iCloud makes it better, but far from perfect. 99.9% of iOS users, possibly. That is about 15% of everyone in the world with a phone. The other 85% have phones with an anytime menu. Android, Windows Phone, BB, Symbian...
I think you'd be right, except for the fact that the consuming public don't agree with you. Do you know anyone in their 20's who wants a Blackberry over an iPhone or Android phone?
Don't forget that those 20 year olds will grow up and make policy for every single company on the planet.
Yes. I do know some people who still prefer Blackberries over iPhone or Android.... there are about 2 or 3 in hundreds and one of them carries both a Blackberry and an Android.
The blackberry users go up if you include those that are required by their companies to carry Blackberries, but their personal phones are something else.
Don't forget that those 20 year olds will grow up and make policy for every single company on the planet.
Yes. I do know some people who still prefer Blackberries over iPhone or Android.... there are about 2 or 3 in hundreds and one of them carries both a Blackberry and an Android.
The blackberry users go up if you include those that are required by their companies to carry Blackberries, but their personal phones are something else.
You're right, they still don't allow you to redownload movies and that's a big missing piece at this point. Music (at least with Match) and apps can be redownloaded infinitely. They've yet to allow that with movies.
Everything else doesn't require iTunes anymore: Activations, music, backups/restores, podcast downloads, picture downloads, etc.
Everything else doesn't require iTunes anymore: Activations, music, backups/restores, podcast downloads, picture downloads, etc.
Actually ssstraub, you do need iTunes just to even enable the iPhone. I know that because I just went through it.
After that you don't really need anything else to make it work... but really you do need iTunes still if you want all the backup and syncing features.
However, it's Apple's phone... why shouldn't they have custom software that Syncs it?
I would like it it could hand my android phone as well!
For that I have to use Double Twist.
After that you don't really need anything else to make it work... but really you do need iTunes still if you want all the backup and syncing features.
However, it's Apple's phone... why shouldn't they have custom software that Syncs it?
I would like it it could hand my android phone as well!
For that I have to use Double Twist.
Going with ssstraub here, you don't need iTunes to activate the phone anymore. And while I'm sure if I went through every option in iTunes there maybe something that's not available, for must users iPhone + iCloud will work just great.
Maybe I should make a video to prove that iTunes was required for me to access the phone.
I literally did it not more than 3 hours ago.
It's possible that there is some sort of setting the carriers can turn on to force it, but all I do know is that syncing with iTunes was *mandatory* if i wanted access to the phone.
I literally did it not more than 3 hours ago.
It's possible that there is some sort of setting the carriers can turn on to force it, but all I do know is that syncing with iTunes was *mandatory* if i wanted access to the phone.
You're absolutely wrong. You do NOT even need a computer to activate any recent iPhone. It's all done online through the cloud. This includes sync of everything, backup, app downloads, etc. There's not a single thing you need iTunes for anymore that you can't do in other ways. You can throw your iPhone in a river, buy a new one, sign in with your Apple ID, and everything is downloaded and restored from their servers. Stop insisting on something you're simply wrong about.
@mjoundi
Dude... you need to modify your attitude. Your tone sucks and your making yourself look like an idiot.
As for needing iTunes; I have direct recent (read hours) experience with this.
I was not able to access the phone without connecting it to iTunes after to doing a reset.
Period.
If I thought it was worth the trouble I could even do it again an video it for you, but I'm not going to bother.
I did not try some sort of hack though, which might be what you are referring to.
Dude... you need to modify your attitude. Your tone sucks and your making yourself look like an idiot.
As for needing iTunes; I have direct recent (read hours) experience with this.
I was not able to access the phone without connecting it to iTunes after to doing a reset.
Period.
If I thought it was worth the trouble I could even do it again an video it for you, but I'm not going to bother.
I did not try some sort of hack though, which might be what you are referring to.
Don't fully agree that Apple necessarily leapfrogged the competition with original iPhone. Yes, the interface was smooth, and Safari, although limited in other ways, could display a mutli-column page well. The OS was also intentionally limited vs the competition. Remember, the original iPhone had no 3rd party apps, and no plans for them; all apps were to be web based. What do many iOS users rave about now - 3rd party apps which were not part of the original plan. A big selling point was an iPod in your phone, and the iPod halo effect certainly helped.
What Apple leapfrogged the competition in was effective mainstream advertising. Before the iPhone, smartphones were rarely advertised in the mainstream media. Carrier advertising emphasized the network, and any phones mentioned were secondary. With the introduction of the iPhone, we were inundated with iPhone network TV commercials, advertising kiosks, bus waiting area end panels. free mentions in the radio / TV newscasts whenever a new version was released, and the overall salivating bordering on orgasmic reviews in the tech press. In addition, the radio talk show host with the largest audience is an avid Apple fan, a segment or two of the show resembles a free infomercial when a new iOS product is announced, and then again when released.
Android did not start its meteoric rise until the large mainstream advertising campaign for the Droid. Don't remember any mainstream advertising for Palm, or Window Mobile. Any advertising for the existing competition in 2007 was in a tech, or vertical market publication.
Have not really used Blackberry so cannot comment on what RIM should, or should not do.
What Apple leapfrogged the competition in was effective mainstream advertising. Before the iPhone, smartphones were rarely advertised in the mainstream media. Carrier advertising emphasized the network, and any phones mentioned were secondary. With the introduction of the iPhone, we were inundated with iPhone network TV commercials, advertising kiosks, bus waiting area end panels. free mentions in the radio / TV newscasts whenever a new version was released, and the overall salivating bordering on orgasmic reviews in the tech press. In addition, the radio talk show host with the largest audience is an avid Apple fan, a segment or two of the show resembles a free infomercial when a new iOS product is announced, and then again when released.
Android did not start its meteoric rise until the large mainstream advertising campaign for the Droid. Don't remember any mainstream advertising for Palm, or Window Mobile. Any advertising for the existing competition in 2007 was in a tech, or vertical market publication.
Have not really used Blackberry so cannot comment on what RIM should, or should not do.
Wow, I'd have to strongly disagree. Just about every single smartphone on the market has come to resemble the original iPhone for a reason. They had to in order to remain relevant. If that's not proof it leap frogged the competition, then I don't know what is.
It made the rest of the smartphone industry instantly appear out dated. Not just after the app store came out, I mean instantly.
It made the rest of the smartphone industry instantly appear out dated. Not just after the app store came out, I mean instantly.
Respect your opinion, but disagree. I favored the bigger screen devices, and even before the iPhone, used finger navigation 95% of the time with Palm and WInMo. Classic WinMo out of the box still does more of the tasks I need than a new non-jailbroken iPhone. The original iPhone took 74 days to sell a million if I remember correctly, I expected bigger sales from the Apple faithful alone, and I realize it was US only. So that is not instantly, and Apple was still the only major company with mainstream advertising until the Droid which started Android's eventual surpassing iOS. Alternate browsers were available for WM which displayed multi-columns pages as good as the iPhone, and single pages much better without reading with a small font, or horizontal scrolling each line. Not saying Apple did not improve things (while negatively limiting for my use), just disagree about the leapfrog comment. I do respect other opinions, and realize others have different needs. In 2004, used a Sony Clie TH-55 PDA with a 3.5" screen, 480 x 320, tablet format (sound familiar) with a supplied NetFront browser which could display just about any page of that era with user desired font size, appropriate text rewrap, and the minature version of the entire page.
The iPhone originally had a price tag of $600. That was the major reason it was slow to sell, not because people didn't want it over anything else on the market (especially WM6--oh my GOD are you kidding me?!)
I had a Sony Clie and there was no comparison between the web browsing experience on that and the 2007 iPhone. Sorry, but if that's what you think then we might as well stop this conversation right now because we aren't going to agree on much. Definitely an Interesting opinion though!
I had a Sony Clie and there was no comparison between the web browsing experience on that and the 2007 iPhone. Sorry, but if that's what you think then we might as well stop this conversation right now because we aren't going to agree on much. Definitely an Interesting opinion though!
Wm 6 was great for me, stable, reliable, did what I needed, reset iPhone / touch as often as Wm, your mileage may vary. Did you have a TH-55, or earlier. Th55 had very good browsing on web pages of that era as did NetFront on WM. I purchased NetFront on WM due to positive experience on Clie. On WiFi, or tethered Bluetooth, web was fine as long as you had a signal that could deliver the bits.
Your comment supports my original post. Apple launched very successful, advertising campaigns to persuade people with regular, and feature phones to upgrade to smartphones. Meanwhile, the competition at the time (Palm, RIM, and WM) advertised almost exclusively in tech, and vertical market publications. Non-tech consumers had the iPhone brand in their mind when they decided to buy a smartphone from seeing / hearing all the iPhone ads in the mainstrean media showing the iPhone doing cool things while seeing neglible to zero mainstream ads from the competition. The iPod halo effect certainly helped as well which was enabled in large part by the previous massive mainstream advertising campaigns for the iPod while the music player competitors did no mainstream advertising. Smartphone competitors made the same mistake as the mp3 competitors. If you want to sell to the non-tech consumer, you must advertise in the media the non-tech consumers see / hear.
No, you are totally wrong.
Apple absolutely changed the game and leapfrogged everyone with iPhone. The form factor has not changed substantially nor the interface and it is STILL the benchmark.
Yes - Apple are marketing geniuses.
Yes - everything Apple is over hyped.
But the iPhone was way, way ahead of it's game that is 100% for sure.
Apple absolutely changed the game and leapfrogged everyone with iPhone. The form factor has not changed substantially nor the interface and it is STILL the benchmark.
Yes - Apple are marketing geniuses.
Yes - everything Apple is over hyped.
But the iPhone was way, way ahead of it's game that is 100% for sure.
We agree on two points, marketing geniuses, and over-hyped. :-)
Form factor is still in vogue, but was used before iPhone. Sony Clie TH-55 used a no physical keyboard tablet slab form with 3.5 inch, 480 x 320 screen in 2004. Sony supplied the excellent NetFront browser, and the main interface was a grid of icons (like all Palm OS devices of the era) with an optional more graphical interface.
When Steve Jobs held up the original iPhone at MacWorld in 2007, at first I thought he was holding up a 2004 era Clie TH-55. Others thought he has holding up a Dell x50 series PDA. I have a x51v, and see the resemblance.
Form factor is still in vogue, but was used before iPhone. Sony Clie TH-55 used a no physical keyboard tablet slab form with 3.5 inch, 480 x 320 screen in 2004. Sony supplied the excellent NetFront browser, and the main interface was a grid of icons (like all Palm OS devices of the era) with an optional more graphical interface.
When Steve Jobs held up the original iPhone at MacWorld in 2007, at first I thought he was holding up a 2004 era Clie TH-55. Others thought he has holding up a Dell x50 series PDA. I have a x51v, and see the resemblance.
I had the Sony Clie NZ-90 PDA - same 480x320 display with keyboard. It was great. I gave it up when the Treo 600 came out, in order to carry just one device. But it was a step backwards in hardware and it wasn't until the OG Droid that I felt a new device was a real upgrade. And yes, that includes the iPhone. I just didn't feel like the first models of iPhone were a real advancement.
Being a gadget addict, I did have the NZ-90 as well, what a top of the line, well engineered PDA that was. The NZ-90 was like the "Swiss Army Knife" of the PDA world. IMO, Sony was the innovator in the Palm OS world. Palm was kind of resting on their laurels, but Sony was constantly innovating. It was a sad day for Palm OS fans when Sony ended the Clie line, as it was a sad day for Windows Mobile fans when Toshiba ended their WM PDA's. Always considered Toshiba the Sony equivalent in the Windows Mobile world.
Oh i don't know... Blackberries do have some good features... but I don't think they need to ditch those in order to complete. the problem *is* the OS... not just what it looks like, but its internal structure, which as a developer I can tell you is one of the worst to work with.
They *do* need to change the OS... even QNX is not impressive... and i haven't touched on design yet..
I think they need to keep the hardware, but they need to adopt a better OS that can actually evolve with the consuming public.
They *do* need to change the OS... even QNX is not impressive... and i haven't touched on design yet..
I think they need to keep the hardware, but they need to adopt a better OS that can actually evolve with the consuming public.
I said back when they made the QNX grab that they should've gone with Android and customized it instead. Then they'd have the benefit of all the resources poured into Android by the OHA/Google and they could focus on the BB services that differentiate them. By doing the whole OS in-house they have to spend resources on the nuts & bolts that they'd get from Android. Sure, it gives them complete control, but is it worth the cost? I don't think so.
Jump into the modern age with dual-core GHz hardware, high-res screens, native Android app support - with RIM's deservedly well-regarded keyboards and services.
Years back they offered a package of BB services for Windows Mobile. It basically brought all of the flagship BB apps to WinMo as an app suite. They should do the same thing again with Android and iOS, and maybe Windows Phone. There are customers who are going to Android and iOS for the ecosystem, but still miss their BB services - just not enough to put up with RIM's weak HW and ecosystem. They'd be the market for a 'soft Blackberry'.
Jump into the modern age with dual-core GHz hardware, high-res screens, native Android app support - with RIM's deservedly well-regarded keyboards and services.
Years back they offered a package of BB services for Windows Mobile. It basically brought all of the flagship BB apps to WinMo as an app suite. They should do the same thing again with Android and iOS, and maybe Windows Phone. There are customers who are going to Android and iOS for the ecosystem, but still miss their BB services - just not enough to put up with RIM's weak HW and ecosystem. They'd be the market for a 'soft Blackberry'.
The only reason I still use my blackberry is because of blackberry messenger and email. I dont know what it feels like to have dual core, hd capable phones. I never switched because being in a foreign country, BBM and easy emailing capabilities is a must to be able to effectively communicate to the States. I think its pretty sad but there is no way BB10 can pull off such a miracle. We need to be able to use the same apps that are already in the wild on our phones. An android-fork would do wonders for them.
