Research In Motion's loyalty problem
by Volker Weber
According to data released Monday from Nielsen, only 42% of BlackBerry owners want their next phone to be a BlackBerry. A full 29% want an iPhone next, 21% want an Android phone, and 7% fall into the "other" category.
Comments
I can upgrade my Blackberry Bold 9700 some time in January. I am currently considering either the Blackberry Torch 9800, or an Android based phone. Hopefully something similar to the HTC Evo will be available on AT&T early next year.
I am very happy with my Bold 9700, and I am sure I will be delighted with the Torch. So why am I even considering Android?
Only because of this: http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/
As a developer, I would like to build some applications for my phone, but using the Blackberry Eclipse plugin and SDK is something I am trying to avoid, not being a Java developer.
Hopefully RIM will come up with a simplified way to develop applications for Blackberry.
Maybe I have news for you at the end of September. Not that I know anything ...
Karl-Henry, have you checked out the widget sdk? No java required...
@Karl-Henry:
I second Ben's suggestion of the BlackBerry Widget SDK... but with BlackBerry OS6 and the adoption of a HTML 5-supporting webkit-based browser, the only reason to create device platform-specific apps is to leverage the on-device features... and more of those features (like access to the camera, etc.) are becoming available via APIs.
@Volker: Being a long-time BlackBerry user, I find myself looking to the "other side". Even with the Torch browser aside, the specs on the 9800 leave a LOT to be desired. Processor and RAM specs are comparable to Android and iOS-based devices from years prior. Sad really...
@Ben: I did see something about that a while back, but did not look closer at it. Perhaps that could be something, but I had been hoping for something more like say Domino Designer or VB for Blackberry... :-)
@Volker: That sounds interesting. :-)
The problem with BBs is they've been so successful at pandering to the needs of the enterprise that they're just not fun. Users view them as yet another locked down service from IT.
When I was deciding on my next smartphone, I didn't even consider a BlackBerry. I went with an Android, and have been very happy with the choice. I have to agree with Colin; they are no fun and are a device for corporations.
The Blackberry data plan is twice the comparable iPhone or Android plan. The very moment I get hands on an Android phone with a decent keyboard and an option to remove cripleware I jump ship.
I think Colin is right. I have used a BlackBerry Curve 8900 without any restrictions over 9 month and was relatively happy with it. Than the firm rolled out Bold 9700 to everybody and started to deploy security policies from hell.
I cannot use the AppWorld, neither the original FaceBook and Twitter, or any othe value added applications like FourSquare or Gowalla. Their argument is data traffic cost. But I can use the mobile Web applications of those services.
Latitude was not working for over 6 month, any weather application is still not working. GPS is so scary!
And for over 99% of the users they have forbidden to use BlackBerry Messenger. And complain that E-Mail is used privately and SMS is used at all.
