[s219]

That's great, but what they really need to do is release the native SDK before they ship their devices, not 7 months later and waiting�. That's the single biggest problem.

[BuzzStarField]

There was an article published recently which indicated BlackBerry PlayBook developers earn the most return on the purchase price compared to other platforms. I have no idea regarding the accuracy of the study but you must realize Research In Motion provides the web storefront and alleged approval process that is not without its own costs. All platforms charge a fee for each application sold with the exception being free applications. As the user base expands the earnings-to-development effort increases with each purchase. For free of purchase price applications the developers might have as their motivation a variety of factors other than monetary gain.

I have a few ideas for applications but need the time to see them to fruition. I respect those developers whom have already delivered top-drawer applications for this tablet despite the somewhat limited tools available.

The article in question applies to all BB devices not just PlayBook. Vendors who currently develop exclusively for PB do not earn a reasonable ROI (or even close thereto.) I can't speak for other devs, but the only reason that I am staying is the potential for growth. A lot depends on RIM's ability to improve the development tools and grow the number of PBs in users' hands. When the full potential of the PB has been achieved, RIM will have no difficulty at all attracting quality developers.

Your comments regarding the storefront are valid and I don't know of any dev who is complaining that RIM is taking more than a fair share. It should be noted that RIM recently removed their $200 vendor registration fee and concurrently raised their share of revenue from 20% to 30%. This is fair dealing - without the storefront (even with all its warts) I would not be selling many copies of my app.

[BuzzStarField]

Keep up the excellent work Buzz. It is applications such as those created by yourself that will demonstrate the functionality and utility of the BlackBerry PlayBook. As time permits I will be write a review for the applications, paid or free of charge, I use on a regular basis.

Thank your sir. Writing a review is the best way to support PB developers but only a small percentage of purchasers bother to do so. A lot of people don't realize that rankings with the categories depends on the quantity and the quality pf reviews (with a heavy emphasis on the quantity.) Unlike the top 25 list on the "Featured" page, number of downloads has no bearing at all on in-category rankings. By putting my app first in the Education category you have increased my app's visibility and have improved sales. Thanks again.

[grncherry1]

I've thought about this for awhile as I have waited for many of the US media Apps I use on iPad (USA Today, CNBC, WSJ etc)

While I agree larger sales will mean a larger user base both iPad and Android tablets started with no sales and everyone was tripping all over themselves to get something out. Yes even the same ebook rush occurred on AppStore.

So I have to wonder, are the DEV tools that hideous? Is the process to become a DEV that difficult. I realize not having the native SDK was a huge reason and it seems with the beta that some good Apps are trickling out now (Rueters Insider, QFolio, GrouponHD etc)

What I think RIM should do is change the standard incentive. They have never had a huge App market so drop or change the cut they take. Instead of the usual 70/30 split do 90/10 or have different tiers based on what the Apps can leverage in the AppWorld.

If RIM can get the top 100 Apps out (don't really care about games but understand many do) they'd be in a better place along with OS 2.0 and email / PIM

It would make no sense to develop an app for sales of 10 or 20 thousand, when they can develop one for Android or IOS and sell millions. Doesn't matter if they make a few pennies more for QNX or not, it is not worth it.

[BuzzStarField]

It would make no sense to develop an app for sales of 10 or 20 thousand, when they can develop one for Android or IOS and sell millions. Doesn't matter if they make a few pennies more for QNX or not, it is not worth it.

... and more to the OP's proposal, most developers would not view a $1000 incentive as being a worthwhile substitute for a couple of million potential customers (or half a million for that matter.)

The latter number is attainable in the short term - if RIM plays its cards right.

[corbintechboy]

... and more to the OP's proposal, most developers would not view a $1000 incentive as being a worthwhile substitute for a couple of million potential customers (or half a million for that matter.)

The latter number is attainable in the short term - if RIM plays its cards right.

It does spark a "what the heck" kind on incentive.

Giving a little something back shows that RIM is committed to developers and in it for the long haul. Of course a dev can go out and make a higher bottom line with another platform, but these others platforms give no incentive (aside from raw numbers).

Rim could do the right thing. They could drop the charge for apps, they could pay out a little, they could get ambitious about their products (watching the PB launch was horrible, it sounded scripted and without "punch").

Rim is trying to start a new chapter of its business. It needs to do something going forward to say "hey look at me, I am the new kid in town and will stand toe to toe with anything out there".

They need to broaden sales by going after what they can do better then other platforms (ie multi tasking) and stop just selling to the same ole people they have all along. Not that being a BlackBerry fan is wrong, but you do need to break that mold and go after more people or you are stuck with the same sales you always have.

[Skeevecr]

If you look at the stats, the top 50 or so apps on each platform tend to account for at least 2/3 of all downloads so rather than purely going for weight of numbers it would make far more sense to chuck money at the relevant developers to fill in the gaps of the top 50 headline apps so that would be games like angry birds, functionality like skype and all the various IM apps along with media apps like netflix, kindle, the various streaming audio apps etc.

Once you have the core in place it would make the platform more appealing, increasing sales and then you'd get more 3rd party devs taking a look.

This would be both a cheaper and more effective approach than purely going for a large total and is also one they should be taking with bbos too.

They don't need to try and buy exclusives either, they just need to ensure that if somebody wants well-known app X then they can get it on a playbook or blackberry too.

[guerllamo7]

They did purchase TAT. I am curious as to why we have only see the Scrapbook app from them thus far. Could they be working on the BBX secret weapon?

[guerllamo7]

I love my Playbook as is. If there were only additional apps coming in every now and then it would already do everything I need from it.
However, I would like to buy movies directly to my Playbook. I'm looking forward to BB Movies.