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Apr 01, 09 - 03:56 pm Comment from: Mac Daddy

You know, if they are going to copy something, they should at least try to do it better, since they didn't have to spend any time innovating.

Apr 01, 09 - 03:57 pm Comment from: ericdano

It is going to fail. $2.99 for crappy apps? Come on.

Apple creates; other companies imitate, poorly.

Pay more, get less! BAW BAW Blackberry AppWorld.

Apr 01, 09 - 04:45 pm Comment from: John E

it's enough to keep the 'crackberries' addicted. but it's not enough to compete with iPhone and expand RIM's niche market to the general public. and soon, the 3.0 apps will make it quickly obsolete.

Apr 01, 09 - 04:48 pm Comment from: Chip

RIMM is a decent company and they're not going to be in serious trouble anytime soon (not yet, at least), but boy that sounds like a major rush-it-out-the-door, hobbled-together effort. You can practically see the duct tape holding everything together. I'm actually taken aback at how bad this sounds.

Apr 01, 09 - 05:09 pm Comment from: alansky

Steve Jobs called RIMM a good company that makes good products, and I believe him. But RIMM is not the visionary company that Apple is. Even if RIMM follows Apple, they're still stumbling in the dark. Personally, I think we'll look back in ten years and realize that the iPhone really was Apple's and Steve Jobs' crowning achievement. It will take the rest of the industry at least a few years to catch up to where the iPhone/App Store is now.

Apr 01, 09 - 05:34 pm Comment from: ken1w

That storing to internal memory limitation will obviously limit sales. It will also limit how capable a RIM app can ultimately be, until RIM revamps its OS (and probably hardware) design.

Apr 01, 09 - 05:37 pm Comment from: sparkplug

"You can only save apps to the BlackBerry’s limited internal memory, not to a roomier flash memory card..."

In his article, Uncle Walt also said RIM addresses this limitation by allowing a user to store more apps ONLINE, but you have to be connected to the internet to access them. This seems like a crude workaround at best.

What is the internal memory of the Blackberry OS? I've heard it's 256 MB. If so, this is a major limitation to having lots of apps on a Blackberry. I'm probably an "average" iPhone user and my apps total 450+ MB.

Anyone care to provide more technical details on this issue. Are most Blackberry users aware of this limitation and if it's true or not?

Oooh... Me too... Me too...

Apr 01, 09 - 05:52 pm Comment from: monkeybiz

The whole app store phenomenon will not end up being a huge competitive differentiator. It just becomes one piece of a puzzle that you have to have to compete as a smartphone platform. Smug folks here will never ever believe that, but that's fine, use and love your iPhones, but recognize others will also use and love their blackberries, androids, winmos, and even palms with those respective app stores. Apple is the gold standard in this dept, but it's so easy to replicate. Has anyone here actually used rim's store? I have, and i have to tell you it's really easy and straightforward to use. is it the appstore? no. but it doesn't have to be. think like the layperson, not the tech geeks we are visiting these blogs. Remember when shazam was this unbelievable example of the iphone's power? well, now any blackberry user can download it as well, along with many other apps. An iphone with 3 days of battery life would be a huge competitive differentiator, not 100 ways to fart on the iphone, especially now that a blackberry can fart just as loud. just trying to let a little reason creep into this board. of course, it won't be seen that way, but it's all monkey business to me anyway.

Apr 01, 09 - 05:55 pm Comment from: monkeybiz

sparkplug and ken1w, there are a few utility type apps that allow you to store apps on the memory card. not as fluid as an iphone, but it can be done easily.

Apr 01, 09 - 06:01 pm Comment from: sparkplug

@monkeybiz

Thanks for the info. Seems like RIM should provide one of these utility apps free to its users to address this limitation.

Apr 01, 09 - 06:22 pm Comment from: Jubei

@monkeybiz

That is a good example why RIM fails with this exercise of copying Apple. You have to run a utility to store apps on a memory card. If this was done by Apple, there would be no need to run a "utility" to store on a external card.

RIM should simply rename the BlackBerry the DingleBerry.

If people were familar with the Blackberry platform they will know it already has a number of twitter apps. TwitterBerry being the best. Go to m.google.com and pretty much every app they make is available on Blackberry. There are a large number I was surprised were not there at launch. Possible the paperwork needed didn't process in time for launch or they don't want to be part of AppWorld as anyone can still setup a OTA installtion url (*cough* no need to be walled into the store *cough*)

Did anyone expect a 8700 or 7290 to work? Sure some apps will work but come on trackball devices are coming on 3 years old. That is a long time in the mobile world. They have even less memory, less screen resolution etc. I highly doubt any developer is coding for that as their standard. There is a reason carriers like you in a 2 year plan, usually by the end you need a new device. Even the mighty iPhone 1st gen is being phased out and not able to run some of the new functionality.

Likely Blackberry OS 5.0 due on new devices later this year and an upgrade to older devices will have the AppWorld preloaded so it's not a huge deal and I had zero issues with download speeds all day.

Is it as smooth as AppStore yet? No
Does it have as much apps as AppStore? No - I doubt it ever will

What I do know is to joe/jane consumer it's a compelling reason to consider Blackberry when they offer multiple device models, available on every carrier and now the bulk of the popular apps are being ported (that's how developers make money). Pandora last week, Shazam today, many of the others already on Blackberry so it comes down to personal preference/carrier preference/price.

I'm not a fan of the price points but as we've seen with AppStore a huge portion of apps are free and likely developers will either have to adjust their price point or be happy with the sales they make. I will not spend over $9.99 for any mobile app.

Apr 01, 09 - 07:22 pm Comment from: Avoman

RIM needs a simple domain name change from:
http://www.blackberry.com/appworld

to:
http://www.blackberry.cra/appworld

I think that would set it apart from ALL the competition.

Apr 01, 09 - 07:28 pm Comment from: zmarc

That awkward payment process is killer. Who wants to go through all the trouble of paying via Paypal just to buy a $2.99 app?

I would guess that well over half of the App Store's paid apps happen because Apple made the buying process so easy and transparent.

I am shocked that RIMM couldn't even copy such obviously critical functionality. For mobile you want simple and easy and cheap, not complicated and difficult and expensive.

Back to the drawing board, RIMM!

Apr 01, 09 - 08:07 pm Comment from: mossman

You need Paypal to use RIM's store?

Pffft. Even if I had a Blackberry and wanted to try their app store out, they lost me right there. And that's before even seeing the price gouging on the apps.

PayPal?

OUCH.

Apr 02, 09 - 12:39 am Comment from: twilightmoon

"App World has other limitations and oddities. You can only save apps to the BlackBerry’s limited internal memory, not to a roomier flash memory card.."

Can you say CRAP?

Yes, I knew you could.

What a sorry joke. Try again RIM, that's not good enough.

Apr 02, 09 - 12:48 am Comment from: ken1w

The problem with the RIM phones is that they use an old PDA-level OS that has been shimmed and reinforced to be more functional.

The iPhone's OS is essentially Mac OS X, slimmed DOWN to be a more efficient smartphone OS. The iPhone is a fully-capable tiny mobile computer. The Blackberry is a PDA pretending to be a mobile computer.

Opening an app store is easy. Totally redesigning your hardware and OS, so that it can take advantage of an app store and dozens of third-party apps, is hard. Just ask Palm. Palm's current smart phones have the exact same PDA-centric limitations as the Blackberry. The Pre, if it actually makes it to market, is Palm's answer. Where's RIM's answer?

Apr 02, 09 - 04:19 am Comment from: twilightmoon

"The problem with the RIM phones"

More like the problem with every phone besides the iPhone. The entire "smartphone" industry is literally in the stone ages compared to Apple.

It's going to take a lot more than a few years for them to even realize they've been pantsed, not just catch up but to realize how badly they've been beaten, their pants hanging around their ankles. Watch when we start seeing UBIQUITOUS hardware integration with iPhone/iPod touch. I mean cars, stereos, TVs medical and scientific equipment, everywhere. You'll be able to go to McDonnalds or your favorite fast food and order your meal from your phone, you'll be able to use your phone to pay at the grocery store.

The kinds of things we'll see for the iPhone in just a few years will blow your mind.

"The iPhone's OS is essentially Mac OS X, slimmed DOWN to be a more efficient smartphone OS. The iPhone is a fully-capable tiny mobile computer. The Blackberry is a PDA pretending to be a mobile computer"

"More like the problem with every phone besides the iPhone. The entire "smartphone" industry is literally in the stone ages compared to Apple."

And yet the iPhone is not capable of running applications in the background unless you jailbreak it? You guys crack me up with the drivel you toss around. There is STILL many features of a "stone ages" smartphone not on iPhone.

iPhone is certainly nice but reality is sales have slowed to a crawl. Sales will increase for the new hardware (likely all from current iPhone users upgrading) and then fall again. Like your computers sales you live in a vaccum and keep thinking you have the best product.

Apr 02, 09 - 05:46 am Comment from: twilightmoon

Background apps? Is that the best you MS astroturfers can come up with?

Oh no, my PHONE can't run a dozen apps in the background!!

Have you ever actually USED an iPhone you retard?

The iPhone OS is perfectly capable of running dozens of apps in the background, it's just a stupid thing to do for battery life and for the limited mobile processor. Terrible user experience.

Yes the iPhone is dramatically better than RIM, Android, Palm, Nokia, MS windows mobile crud, far ahead of all. Even WITHOUT cut copy and paste or MMS which are coming soon.

Apr 02, 09 - 05:46 am Comment from: ken1w

@ Yawn ..

> iPhone is certainly nice but reality is sales have slowed to a crawl.

Apple reportedly just doubled iPhone production, most likely to account for the intro into the Chinese market. And then there's the likely product refresh around June, when the first of the original two-year contracts expire. Anyone predicting a faltering iPhone is an absolute idiot.

And the reason given for not allowing background processing is clear and logical. It chews battery power. When the technology catches up to Apple's OS software, the iPhone will be ready for background processing as well.

Apr 02, 09 - 05:48 am Comment from: twilightmoon

Oh and thirty million devices in the field between iPhones and iPod touches is "slowed to a crawl" I'm sure RIM would love to have such a slow selling product.

And lets see by the end of this year who cleans up on REVENUE (you know actually making money? You heard of this concept?) Not just purely on # of devices sold. I'm betting Apple will clean up here leaving the rest of the industry in its dust.

Where are the 'competition is good' morons?
I always stated that 'boisterous claims' seem to be easily mistaken for 'competition' by the less analytical. Competition requires similar levels of innovation and results among rivals.
RIM, Android, Windows Mobile - they are great products - in a vacuum. Not only did iPhone pwn them, but it showed these products to be incapable of growth. If you act like a 7 year old 20 years past your 7th birthday - that's a problem. Apple. and iPhone is developing into maturity and proving itself a more than competent adversary. People who think these other companies are in the same ballpark, should heavily invest their life savings in these 'competitors', it will teach you a good lesson. Too many companies overpay CEOs and lack innovation. The 'competition is good' cheerleaders cheer them on. Unfortunately, these companies go under, people lose there jobs, then everybody wonders 'how'd that happen?'
PAY ATTENTION AND YOU'D KNOW! Just like GM, how long can you make crap before it all comes to an end? Nowadays, most things we own are made in China, even at Neiman Marcus, it's not just crappy goods anymore. Our country needs workers to work hard at progressive companies to make better products, and a better way of life. Stop cheering for the losers.

Apr 02, 09 - 09:00 am Comment from: monkeybiz

please remember the difference between cool technology and market acceptance. it's easy to talk about the future of the iphone and get all wet, but it's much harder to predict how that translates into mkt success (not here of course, everyone is a genius on this board). example: mac vs windows. hasn't apple pretty much always had the better product? yet why the low mkt share over the last 20 years? some of the comments on this board are stunningly ignorant, driven by an emotional attachment to electronic devices. weird, but true. i'm mainly talking to you twighlightmoon, but it really applies to most of the vitriolic folks here. but hey, who cares, it's all monkey business to me anyway.

It continues to amaze me to realize how the iPhone is the culmination of apple technology developed and evolved over the years. The iPhone just so leverages OSX AND iPod/iTS that we take for granted things that are, actually, hard.

Competitors want to position the app store as this little closed system. But the truth is that Apple has done an amazing job of eliminating many many friction points involved in acquiring, selling/purchasing and installing software.

As much as they are positioned against each other, I see the Crackberry and iPhone as very different devices. The CB is an advanced, mature, special purpose communications device. The iPhone is an always connected pocket computer.

Can CB grow into being a true computer? Probably. If your users stick with you, you can even grow DOS into... ummmm... Vista. (Okay NT/95/XP... back when Windows users actually liked their OS.)

I think that the companies who do NOT have RIM's loyal user base face a much different future. They are going to have to exceed the iPhone experience for a significant amount of users--in other words, they have to be iPhone killers.

The big "why android?" takeaway is because it "isn't Apple." History repeats.