RIM hopes to distract punters with free pretties RIM is to hand out free apps to appease its beleaguered customers, along with free technical support so next time the network collapses a human being can tell you you're screwed. The free apps include SIMS 3 and N.O.V.A as well as the aforementioned Bejeweled and a dozen other time-wasting distractions. They'll be available …
That's pretty desparate - what next free pizzas delivered to your door. People want a phone that is easy to use and reliable - when I switched from a Blackberry to an iPhone a while back it felt like such an imrpovement I can't imagine going back.
Think the writing is on the wall for RIM - they would be lucky to get someone to buy them - hope the rumours that Vodafone were thinking of it are NOT true.
Everything you can do on a Blackberry you can do better on iPhone or Android these days - the hardware is clunky and their network is... well you know the answer to that.
You know it's got bad when they are paying you to use their device. I bet they wish they had spent more on their network than gimmicks like this. For many people it will be too late - we want reliability not a few games.
They may as well post out Apple store vouchers ;)
RIM are giving out free stuff, something that they don't need to do, and you're making it sound like a bad thing.
In a month or so most people will forget about the problems - everything was back to normal for Sony by a month after their server downtime, which lasted much longer (and was possibly more serious). It will all go back to normal soon.
I don't own a Blackberry, but for the whole business audience the security is the main thing about them (which they would have to ditch if they wanted to move to another phone). The other reason is BBM, which also doesn't exist on other phones (the main appeal is the lack of data usage, unlike Android's Google Talk and iOS's iMessage).
Now that Android et al can do all the things a blackberry can *for the home user* I think their time in the home-user market is limited.
As mentioned above by M7S@12:33 it is going to be difficult to switch the large enterprises away, but as an owner of an Galaxy S II and a Blackberry Bold 9700, both of which are connected to an Exchange server, the Android wins for functionality whereas the Blackberry wins for remote-manageability. Want assigning to a new mailbox? No problem - try doing that on an Android remotely though.
We will see what happens. I don't think RIM will die, but I think their home-user market will die in its current incantation and be reborn as something not connected to their infrastructure maybe...
...but it's available through iOS in another way (the Find my iPhone system can remotely wipe an iOS device, or just put up messages on its screen etc, along with geo-locating it, so you can decide if you've truly lost it, or if it's at your moms or work or whatever).
Don't know about Android, but I'd assume there was something out there that could make this possible - it's a standard need after all.
I should have perhaps referred to the rest of the package (remote wipe, application controls etc) that comes with the Blackberry service, and really, trust me, I would rather use the iPhone (and gain the wrath of the fanboi haters) for my users and myself.
I'm sure its all available but not so far as I know together in one neat package that meets the (relatively industry standard) security requirements that we have to adhere to and (more crucially) prove to the auditors. Its a very small IT setup here. When Apple come up with a commercially accepted equivalent, we'll be moving over (once bigger fish have taken the time to prove the product).
I am however grateful for the pointer at IMAP over SSL for Exchange and I'll look at that for trying on the "home" testing system shortly. Other suggestions gratefully received.
When iCloud went down momentarily as the new iPhone 4S was being released, no one cried foul. What is the "jesus phone," from Apple immune from criticism? When or if iMessage goes down, I'm sure no one will think twice about it.
As for comments about a "crappy network," that RIM uses for their cloud infrastructure. I'd bet the farm that their core switching costs probably cost more than you'll make in 10 years. Networking is not cheap, let alone one that sees the traffic they do based on their business model. Did you think it was hosted on Linksys gear?
What people are angry about is not the outage. This was just another "nail in the coffin, " so to speak. What people want is more modern phones, more multimedia features, shiny new stuff. Instead, RIM completely missed the boat; focusing on the Enterprise first, and consumer after. Add in outages, a failed tablet launch, very slow OS upgrades, carrier restrictions... You've got a company that has lost focus, consumer demand, and brand loyalty. Remember when Nokia was huge back in the late 90's and early 2000's? They are virtually non-existent these days, or at least not a contender in the pecking order of phone choices.
While I use a BB, It's now a 2+ year old model, it's showing its age. It however serves its purpose as a corporate phone with it's 2nd to none security measures in place. Though, first chance I get I'll probably be moving to an Android model if RIM doesn't do something to entice me with new models and features.
Blackberry needs to refocus on the corporate market. Consumers are too fickle and cannot recognize real value. If you think blackberries only do email and security then you or your admin is not doing a proper job. A blackberry provides local intranet access which translates to file share access, intranet web access, remote server management, customized java apps that can be pushed and not having to be published in some app store among other things without requiring a user to set up VPN access. All while reducing the number of attack vectors to your company. And lets forget a smartphone with a decent battery life and keyboard. It is fit for purpose.
were systematic, system-wide grafting of new surveillance code for those countries demanding RIM hand over the keys... Other countries not demanding the keys may have been knocked over for a day or so to distract the suspicous. Router error? Likely story...
The only way I'd use a Blackberry - phone or tablet, is if they gave the sucker away.
In the current climate, it isn't worth any money to me. It would actually be a hinderance to me, since the friggin' screen is too small.
Offer all the free apps you want. In the end, I'd choose Apple over RIM. And I hate Apple (the company) with a passion.
I until recently had both a BB Bold and an iPhone 3GS. The iPhone died, the Bold is still going strong at the end of an 18 month contract so now I'm on a bargain SIM only deal until whenever it finally gives up. But the girlfriend has an iPhone and it plays up somethin rotten - drops on and off the O2 network, drops on and off wireless, and ever since we got back from abroad it is doing something weird regarding Networks (which seems to be a known or common problem having done some google research). I think people have a very blinkered view of the iPhone. It's a cool, funky device - agreed, but it's not the best actual 'phone' in the world, let's be honest. I've seen that many iPhone 4's with cracked screens you'd think it was a standard feature! BB hardware is solid and until the other week I'd never had a problem with their network. For a communication device, in whatever form, the BB rocks. The iPhone is a very cool gadget though.
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