RIM: Rumors About BlackBerry 10 Problems "Simply False"
by Volker Weber
John Paczkowski on AllThingsD:
Research In Motion has a simple rebuttal to rumors claiming it hasn’t been truthful about the reasons behind the delay of its forthcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system: They’re bogus.
We haven't seen a mail client on PlayBook so far. The OS 2.0 betas are just the underlying operating system, not the application suite. Here is the problem: BES can only serve one device per user. You cannot have more than one BlackBerry per mail account. It's 1:1. One BlackBerry, one corporate mail account.
As it stands BES cannot serve the PlayBook. Today RIM could only provide direct access to mail servers or BIS. Since RIM has indicated that PlayBook 2 will be manageable, they need to provide BlackBerry Fusion real soon now. That is the management console that unifies BES with their Ubitexx acquisition.
This is the money quote:
Whatever the case, it’s easy to believe the worst, and that’s sadly telling in itself.
RIM has 65 days including Xmas to ship what they promised. And they better don't delay.
Comments
Do you know what, I never realised that about BES, that it's one device per user. I suppose I knew it but never really thought about it and the implications (I've had enough BlackBerries and switched from one to another to another, but one at a time was always enough). That simple fact goes a long way to explain what I considered to be a major shortcoming with the PlayBook, that being the only way to get your e-mail and calendar was to link up a BlackBerry phone.
Pick up any other tablet, be it Android, iOS or Windows, and there'll be a choice of e-mail options - with Android and iOS it's plumbed right into the OS settings. For all of the good things about the PlayBook - I like the user interface and the form-factor - the fact that the e-mail felt like a separate bolt-on really ruins the experience.
For the PlayBook 2 to be a success they have to bring out something not just good but amazing. Really amazing. The days when RIM will sell devices based on their reputation have gone. Personally I wish them well - they've been a big part of the mobile world and the competition created by a number of strong players can only be a good thing.
