What is RIM thinking?!?! I don’t know if anybody else has thought about this question like I have.
I was a very happy BlackBerry user. My first BlackBerry was an 8703e I purchased used on eBay. The device was great and worked flawlessly, it was fast and gave me what technology at the time could provide, instant access to my emails and “BBSesque” Internet access and applications. To this day I wonder if the “Lord Of The Realms” blackberry game was available and I was completely oblivious. Anyways…
Then one day came a crazy engineer out of the lab in Cupertino with an Apple symbol on his lab coat screaming “I have a phone that will kick your BlackBerry’s behind!”. After the awkward silence some people just laughed and said, “Yeah right! There is no way I will give up my Crackberry, but that touch screen is kinda cool!”. Sure enough a year later the BlackBerry faithful are presented with the “Storm” in the marketplace, complete with touchscreen. Not just any touchscreen but one you can actually push down on like a button!
Once the Storm was released I was convinced that RIM had acknowledged that Apple came up with a fantastic idea and they were going to make sure they would not be overthrown. So purchase a Storm I did. RIM released a new OS with this device, created a new “App World”, and developers were going to make Apps for the Blackberry OS just like they do on the iPhone. Oh Boy! My very own useless “Star Trek Tri-Corder” App just like all my work friends with iPhones have been showing off. Or, Even Better!, an app that simulates a cigarette lighter! Would the storm version of the App let me “blow out the fire” by blowing into the microphone too? Gosh I hope so!
So the Storm released, the hardware worked great (after installing the “post-it note fix” behind the battery of the device to make both sides of the screen level when pressing it down). Then came the App World and all the Apps, so download away! Sure enough, in two days I ran out of “Application Memory” and had to delete or “archive” apps that I wasn’t using to make room for new ones. Not to mention finding this great app called “Viigo” which I loved but just hated that it turned the phone into a sluggish nightmare. So I deleted it.
In the meantime I watch as iPhone is starting to make friends with corporate IT folk and Exchange and one by one people start choosing iPhones over RIM corporate standard issue.
Here we are a 1yr and 3 months since I purchased the Storm and the Storm 2 is out. Improvements made to the hardware (I don’t think the storm 2 needs the post-it note fix). Oh, and they bumped up the amount of application memory, but the 16GB sd card that comes with the device can still only be used by media, not apps. I still have my storm, still slow sometimes, still needs to have the battery pulled out to reset the device from time to time, and the camera no longer works (some software error comes up saying it couldn’t start the camera). I could get this all fixed and get a refurbished replacement storm, but i just don’t want to go through the hassle and will just wait until I can switch to an iPhone (hopefully on the Verizon network).
Which brings me to my concern about RIM. I have yet to see them acknowledge and respond to the iPhone device (and now Android) in a compelling way. The Blackberry OS needs a complete overhaul. From what I have heard about the BBOS 6.0 leaks so far it doesn’t seem like any earth shattering changes are coming. Still the same BBOS 5.0 icon/GUI style, and most likely will still be built on Java ME.
A couple of earth shattering changes I think RIM needs to consider:
- Tighter integration of the OS with Social Networking APIs. Social Networking is becoming increasingly important to businesses now and if BB wants to retain their home turf they need to play nice with Soc. Nets. A widget based home screen to interface with social networking sites would go a long way here. Not even iPhone does this yet.
- Move away completely, or minimize dependence on Java embedded as platform base. BB should look at a new base OS structure and make APIs which are easy for developers to incorporate and make better use of the hardware the apps are running on.
- On a broader note with my second point, work on something to increase developers’ desire to create applications for Blackberry. This may be the hardest to work on, as developers generally follow market share and revenue opportunities and iPhone w/iTunes provide both right now.
I am not convinced RIM’s Management gets the idea on how to move forward with the iPhone eating it’s lunch in the Marketplace. We will just have to see what RIM brings us for the 6.0 release and any new devices coming out in the near future. Can they regain the turf they have lost?
If you still use a BlackBerry currently, or, are considering a Blackberry over an Android phone or the iPhone, leave a comment. What makes you sway over to the BlackBerry side?
As we discussed on Twitter, I completely agree that a complete re-write is in order for RIM. Their OS is outdated and it will be extremely difficult for them to add advanced features. It is like putting a V-8 in a VW bug – looks cool on paper, but I would hate to drive it! (The fact that reboots are required when removing applications still kills me to this day!)
However, I am a BB user both now and into the foreseeable future. For me it is all about email and the keyboard. They have the best Exchange integration, email client and physical keyboards around. The other platforms still have not matched RIM in these three aspects, but have far surpassed RIM on the fun side.
Short summary: If your primary interest is email and business use, the BB is difficult to beat. If you care about other things like appstores, videos and other fun things then you are better served to look elsewhere.