Verizon: Z10 lack of Instagram, Skype, Pandora - "it's a shame"
- Make a long story short, I went to Verizon with the boyfriend today to help him pick out his new Z10 and when we told the rep (store manager, actually) that we wanted a Z10, the first thing she said was, "Do you use Instagram, Skype or Pandora?"
I spoke up and asked why she was asking that question, and she mentioned, verbatim, "We have so many people who love this phone but ultimately return it because it doesn't have Instagram, Skype or Pandora. It's a shame."
I know we all have plenty of "my rep said", "my friend who works for BB said", "I called my carrier and customer service said" stories, but this woman was very credible and honest. She said that since launch, they've sold probably 200 Z10s but had about 40 returns strictly for the lack of apps.
BlackBerry has been pretty bad about promising things they don't ultimately deliver, but if other stores and carriers are seeing similar return rates because of a lack of apps, that is a major problem for the company. We know that Skype is coming, but hopefully Instagram is not far behind.05-09-13 07:13 PMLike 6 - I can believe that and I'm also glad that the salesperson has the knowledge to let those users know there aren't those apps unless you side-load them(there's a third party client in the case of Pandora). There will always be those people who don't do the required research before buying phones. Too bad those people still don't do research after discovering those apps aren't "available." Instant gratification!j21jam6 likes this.05-09-13 07:41 PMLike 1
- It's a Catch 22 situation. Apps developers would be hesitant to develop apps if BB10 adoption is mediocre. But it's pretty hard to get the masses on board if there are no apps.
Question is, how can BlackBerry overcome this fundamental issue?
Posted via CB1005-09-13 07:41 PMLike 4 -
- And I mean the part where people love the phone but bring it back because of some nonessential apps.
Posted via CB1005-09-13 08:02 PMLike 21 - Skype is coming soon. Don't know what Pandora is and don't use instagram but it will likely come as well. People have been spoiled so much that the thought of not having something whether they use it or not is a disaster. Can't imagine what would happen if instagram was down for a few days? Some might jump off a bridge if they can't see people's cat and food pictures.
Posted via CB1005-09-13 08:07 PMLike 10 -
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Posted via CB1005-09-13 08:19 PMLike 0 - Skype is coming soon. Don't know what Pandora is and don't use instagram but it will likely come as well. People have been spoiled so much that the thought of not having something whether they use it or not is a disaster. Can't imagine what would happen if instagram was down for a few days? Some might jump off a bridge if they can't see people's cat and food pictures.
Posted via CB10
Posted via CB1005-09-13 08:20 PMLike 3 - 05-09-13 08:20 PMLike 41
- Netflix is pretty good on the device. The horizontal scrolling through the movies is somewhat choppy but it works.
Posted via CB1005-09-13 08:25 PMLike 0 - It is very seldom you meet a sales rep or store manager who is straight forward with their customers... a lot of them will lie just to make a sell and meet their quota...
We probably don't understand why some people wouldn't buy Z10 because their needed apps or favorite games are not available... in fact, it should be the basis - instead of buying it blinded, hoping BlackBerry will deliver their promises on time and end up in complaining and returning the unit...
Posted via Z1005-09-13 08:30 PMLike 2 -
Sorry, but it's unreal to me that there are still people who have been reading posts here and can't figure this out. It doesn't matter that you or I don't need these apps. BBRY decided to sit down at the big table, and in this game, you need to have apps because the vast majority of smartphone users have come to think of them as essential. Your characterization of them as 'non-essential' is the classic head-in-the-sand fanboi response. As in, the dictionary definition.
Anyone who doesn't get this doesn't understand the difference between quality of a product and quality of marketing. Did you think that every product with great design makes it?05-09-13 08:43 PMLike 22 - @mset had they spent more time with the Z10 they would of found out that they could side load those apps in the meantime. My head is not in the sand... when I have a problem with a product I find solutions.
Posted via CB1005-09-13 08:51 PMLike 3 - Check the blackberry dev site its pretty ******* obvious that blackberry is trying their best to get devs on BB10.
Posted via CB1005-09-13 08:53 PMLike 4 - Unfortunately, for the average consumer, sideloading Android apps isn't the most intuitive procedure. I'd reckon most consumers who use BlackBerrys don't even visit CrackBerry.05-09-13 08:54 PMLike 14
- ThunderbuckRetired ModeratorHere's the deal: when you look at iOS or Android you are looking at platforms that now have hundreds of millions of users. Many developers decided to build for Windows Phone because they figured that between Microsoft and Nokia that surely they could gain some traction in the market.
As for BB10, there's now maybe 5 million users, tops, and that's still a marginal platform. I think many developers are looking very closely at BB10 sales; if it's doing as well as early results seem to indicate then many will be jumping off the fence soon.
Posted via CB1005-09-13 08:55 PMLike 7 - Please see my sig. You can PM this guy and the two of you can get together and affirm each other's misconceptions.
Sorry, but it's unreal to me that there are still people who have been reading posts here and can't figure this out. It doesn't matter that you or I don't need these apps. BBRY decided to sit down at the big table, and in this game, you need to have apps because the vast majority of smartphone users have come to think of them as essential. Your characterization of them as 'non-essential' is the classic head-in-the-sand fanboi response. As in, the dictionary definition.
Anyone who doesn't get this doesn't understand the difference between quality of a product and quality of marketing. Did you think that every product with great design makes it?
Posted via CB10j21jam6 likes this.05-09-13 08:58 PMLike 1 -
sure there are the `techies` and such amongst us that will, but Id lay fair bets that's a very small percentage. in fairness you speak of problems and solutions, their problem was the app store on their device didn't offer what they wanted/needed. their solution was to go with one that did.
nobody said theres only one solution, and ultimately people will go with the path of least effort as they see it, which isn't always how you or I see it.05-09-13 08:59 PMLike 9 -
Unfortunately, though, no they can't sideload. Because they're not tech guys like you. They don't even know what 'side-load' means. More importantly, they don't want to know. You're a tech guy. You find solutions. The vast majority want things to work like the iPhone works, and as much as I dislike the iPhone, I had one for a while and it undeniably works.
I shouldn't have said your head is in the sand. It's more like it's in the clouds - you're too much of a tech guy to be able to analyze in terms of the average Joe (and Jane) on the ground and what s/he wants.
In addition, it is crystal clear from reading here that side-loading [can[/b] cause some issues. Maybe it doesn't always cause issues, but it can.
What Thunderbuck says above is right. Also, doesn't everyone here know who owns Skype? Why in the hell would Skype be working hard to perfect Skype for their direct competition (and let's face it, MSFT is looking to make sure BBRY doesn't gain a foothold as clear #3).
Do you not see that Apple skewed the field in the regard?Last edited by mset; 05-09-13 at 10:24 PM.
05-09-13 09:04 PMLike 5 - Simple solution would be to go with the phones that have these apps available if they are essential for a certain person. The apps will come, it takes time with a brand new OS. People have short term memories....there was a time that these essential apps either didn't exist or weren't available on android when it was launched.
Last edited by mset; 05-10-13 at 01:58 AM.
05-09-13 09:08 PMLike 3 - I totally agree, and I also think that there's plenty of time for BBRY to re-establish themselves and get the app situation up to the point that they can affoer a viable alternative for all those for whom the lack of these apps is a deal breaker. It just kills me when I see people claim it's 'so sad' and 'so dumb' that these iPhone/Android users in their hundreds of millions are somehow misguided because they want apps on their smartphones. Check my sig. 'There are no mandatory apps because this is a cell phone', as if this is 1999.
Posted via CB10j21jam6 likes this.05-09-13 09:16 PMLike 1
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Verizon: Z10 lack of Instagram, Skype, Pandora - "it's a shame"
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