BlackBerry 10's New Features Shown Off; Jury Still Out
As Apple and Google are debating how divide the smartphone market among the two of them, and as Microsoft tries to figure out how to rain on their parade with Windows Phone 8, RIM is reminding us that they are not dead yet.
At the company's BlackBerry Jam developers conference, RIM gave developers an update about BB10, which carries the hope that RIM can return to old glory. The short news is that the OS is still very much in development and the key features are met with doubt and, in some instances, with the conclusion that RIM is building functionality no one needs.
BB10 will be presumably advertised on its new interface as well as anchor features such as BlackBerry Hub and BlackBerry Balance. The former is a new approach to integrate core BlackBerry applications such as Messenger (BBM) and Calendar. Balance is aimed squarely at the business world with the ability to support two user profiles - one for your private life and one for your business life.
The profiles are completely separate and even use separate ways to access RIM's application store. The big news for Calendar is that it now interfaces with social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. BBM gets an interface described as "one-thumb navigation", which plays into the successful history of BlackBerry phones when they were especially useful when used with just one hand. BBM also got a dedicated emoticon key, if that is important for you.
Much of BB10 seems to be revealing how RIM is trying how to create a consumer/business devices from the perspective of a business user, while its competition has consumer devices that are moving into the business world. RIM believes that BB10 will be key for RIM to establish itself as the third-largest smartphone platform. BB10 needs to be much more disruptive and revolutionary than what the company offers today.
I think there is a fair bit of pent up demand in the business world for BB10 and companies will be upgrading in droves to the new platform when it comes out.
RIM should have no problem wiping the floor with Microsoft to become the third largest platform. If that even matters.
You don't have to be #1 to carve out a sustainable niche and put food on the table.
IB
I loved my BB curve - e-mail, messages, phone ... though the internet access on it was poor to say the least.
It did the big three well though ... and that's something I need as a priority.
The Galaxy is all bling ... but I have lost my contact list twice when Outlook doesn't update.
I get updates and messages about updates and downloads all of the time ... which is fracking annoying to say the least.
When VLing decided to install itself ... without my consent ... it nailed my contact list.
The battery doesn't last all day if the screen brightness is turned up ... which you need when the sun is shining brightly ... or your getting old like I am.
Power saving features cause the phone to switch off unless your using the touch screen ... annoying to type 1234 in everytime you want to finish something.
Don't start on my password either ... I use it for everything from the my pin for the corporate American Express card I have to the suitcase I carry to fire nuclear missiles at Iran ... and my safe with the stolen Chinese missile codes and Cuban Cigars.
The phone is too big ... who cares about all of the extras I don't use??
I feel ripped off and I want my Curve back.
Gues what ... we disconnected from the BB Enterprise server service so I can't ...
Sincerely,
Old guy.
P.S. The HTC Desire is still a better phone.
You IT dept should have gotten you the SGS3
Looking at Lumia 920 as my next phone. Don't know if I'll wait around to see if BB10 is going to do well.
Even if it is better than iOS (which isn't that difficult) and better than android, it still might be enough to make it successful.
Gonna miss my keyboard.
Until they can get their new OSes out with their competition, or even ahead of them, and they stop locking OSes to hardware they will continue to fall behind and eventually into obscurity.
Please read reviews on Windows 8 and then come up with comments. " Microsoft needs to be reborn to hold a share on the smart phone market "