5.0 OS Launch (If I were RIM...)

[The_Engine]

Here is what I think (Hope!) RIM is doing. At least it is what I would do If I were them...

• Shut down any Leaks. I would want very close control of who is seeing the OS and what they are seeing. i.e. No bad builds/No bad press
• Work Closely with Carriers to get 5.0 through their test labs and address any and all issues they identify
• Create a launch event, or at least some sort of PR Announcement
• Make sure that when the announcement drops, the Carriers of Devices ready for 5.0 (9630, 9530/9500, 9000, 8900 etc.) are ready to release 5.0 upgrades within 30-60 days of announcement and that those dates are part of the announcements.

Call me naive but I have some faith that RIM is planning to do this the right way, and that is why the leaks are locked down.

[chuk1005]

That would be smart, but im doubt RIM puts as much thought in to OS releases on a PR level as apple or palm...although I beleive this would work in their favor and renew some confidence in the company from those that lost confidence.

[Techark]

You are assuming that 5.0 is going to be something to make every one go wow over.

I have a feeling unless you are a BES user that 5.0 is going to another ** Hum so what OS release.
I don't think it is going to be something to that will be the PR bonanza to stop the presses over.

[philip.stinger]

Why would you waste funds to PR an OS that you give away for free...? What percentage of BB users to you think really give a crap about the OS they run as long as the device does what they need?

The carriers won't push the update all at once, either; they'll do a progressive release like they did with .148 for the BB. Keeps their system from overloading, and cuts down on TSR load. The users who would upgrade via downloading the file, etc. are the ones who won't need TSRs because they've done it before or have someone to help them.

The average BB user is a simple creature. They need email, they need phone, they need PIM... beyond that they don't care. It's the 'prosumer' market that cares about the OS; that's a small market. RIM has little, if anything, to gain my PRing 5.0.

RIM's dev team has built 5.0 and the carriers are testing 5.0; when the carriers find a build they like they'll push it. Leaks will happen if someone decides their job isn't worth the cloak and dagger secrecy.

[howarmat]

Originally Posted by Techark

You are assuming that 5.0 is going to be something to make every one go wow over.

I have a feeling unless you are a BES user that 5.0 is going to another ** Hum so what OS release.
I don't think it is going to be something to that will be the PR bonanza to stop the presses over.

BIS users will get some nice upgrades too that the BES users have had in the past. The new BBM with threaded SMS will be a good thing too. I dont see many huge updates and i doubt many visual enhancements but it will still hopefully be very solid.

To the OP. I like the thinking that you have come up with. Especially having RIM work with vendors to push and get 5.0 through. many people have mentioned several times about how they need to guide the vendors on which version to test perhaps. I agree it would be beneficial i think.

[The_Engine]

We all read the BGR article so no need to re hash those points there... but the OS and software sells the device these days, at least that is the trend, and it is starting to hit the business community.

RIM needs to Promote the OS, even if it is Free because the OS will sell the devices. Particularly when they are being compared more and more to I Phone and Android Phones. RIM stepped into the consumer market with the Pearl, Curve and now Storm. So they ante'd in.

Yes carriers release OS's updates over time, etc. but that is why I said 30-60 days after an announcement. Basically just having OS 5 leak out into public a carrier and a phone at a time, little by little would be so underwhelming.

In General I can think of another company who focused on Hardware, and just tweaked their OS....Palm. RIM needs to look at what competitors are doing, and figure out how to maintain their strengths, but bring some of that to the table. If they can't they will die out.

So trying to coordinate some sort of Launch of OS 5, while challenging, would be worth it for them. If they don't want to Showcase the results of a project they spend years, and millions of $$$ on then why did they bother? Just integrate with Android and call it a day.

[David522]

Originally Posted by Techark

You are assuming that 5.0 is going to be something to make every one go wow over.

I have a feeling unless you are a BES user that 5.0 is going to another ** Hum so what OS release.
I don't think it is going to be something to that will be the PR bonanza to stop the presses over.

He's right

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[dd214]

"No bad builds/No bad press"

I don't know what percentage "we" make up of the overall Storm users, but I feel, especially now, that the constant flow of new OS's was an extremely appealing aspect of the Storm.
People get bored quick so having something new, even if the changes are almost unnoticeable (kind of a placebo effect) then that keeps people going. I guarantee Storm users who would have never considered switching a few months ago, are now seriously considering if they haven't done so already. Unless you are dead set on the touch screen click feature, or are on Verizon and have to have a SIM card compatible phone with a camera, there is ZERO reason to stay with the Storm, vs the Curve or something similar......

My 2Centavos

[rizzzzoooo]

Originally Posted by The_Engine

So trying to coordinate some sort of Launch of OS 5, while challenging, would be worth it for them. If they don't want to Showcase the results of a project they spend years, and millions of $$$ on then why did they bother? Just integrate with Android and call it a day.

I completely agree!

[markdental]

The big problem is that RIM does not control when their OS is released. They may be able to influence things with the carriers, but ultimately it is the carriers' decision as to whether and what build to release.

They don't have the control that Apple has when it comes to OS releases. This is one of the major reasons why Apple never came to Verizon in the first place.

It would be great if things worked out the way the OP said, but it seems they don't.

Instead, RIM simply posts builds (and they don't seem to care how good they are) to Partners website and the carriers take it from there. VZW tests pretty much every build that RIM puts out and here we are waiting for the grass to grow.

I do, however, agree that leaks have been locked down, but that is more a function of VZW, not RIM. RIM has been doing what it can about leaks since the 4.7.0.12X builds. It's VZW changing their approach to leaks that has truly stopped them.

[JRSCCivic98]

Originally Posted by The_Engine

Here is what I think (Hope!) RIM is doing. At least it is what I would do If I were them...

• Shut down any Leaks. I would want very close control of who is seeing the OS and what they are seeing. i.e. No bad builds/No bad press
• Work Closely with Carriers to get 5.0 through their test labs and address any and all issues they identify
• Create a launch event, or at least some sort of PR Announcement
• Make sure that when the announcement drops, the Carriers of Devices ready for 5.0 (9630, 9530/9500, 9000, 8900 etc.) are ready to release 5.0 upgrades within 30-60 days of announcement and that those dates are part of the announcements.

Call me naive but I have some faith that RIM is planning to do this the right way, and that is why the leaks are locked down.

OK, you're naive.

4.7.0.148 is an official carrier release and it's riddled with bugs. 4.7.0.122 is an official carrier release and it's riddled with bugs. So, be it a leak or official, bad press happened because IT WAS A CRAPPY BUILD, not because it was a leak.

Glad we got that straight.

[The_Engine]

Originally Posted by JRSCCivic98

OK, you're naive.

4.7.0.148 is an official carrier release and it's riddled with bugs. 4.7.0.122 is an official carrier release and it's riddled with bugs. So, be it a leak or official, bad press happened because IT WAS A CRAPPY BUILD, not because it was a leak.

Glad we got that straight.

Civic - I am not saying there won't be bugs, I just don't want bad Press prior to announcement. That as well as the fact that not all leaks ended up being official. So if your first experience with 5 was akin to some of the bad builds in the 80's and 90's, what would you be thinking? I am saying I don't want bad press prior to release. Today all software is released with bugs. I think the ability to deploy patches and updates with little overhead compared to 5 years ago has made software engineers somewhat sloppy. When you had the expense of physically delivering code on disc, it was a lot less forgivable to ship with errors because the cost to correct them was prohibitive at the least.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[The_Engine]

Also Civic, please note my second point about working with carriers to test and fix code before deploying it. Just don't want anyone thinking I am endorsing a smoke screen method.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[The_Engine]

Originally Posted by markdental

The big problem is that RIM does not control when their OS is released. They may be able to influence things with the carriers, but ultimately it is the carriers' decision as to whether and what build to release.

They don't have the control that Apple has when it comes to OS releases. This is one of the major reasons why Apple never came to Verizon in the first place.

It would be great if things worked out the way the OP said, but it seems they don't.

Instead, RIM simply posts builds (and they don't seem to care how good they are) to Partners website and the carriers take it from there. VZW tests pretty much every build that RIM puts out and here we are waiting for the grass to grow.

I do, however, agree that leaks have been locked down, but that is more a function of VZW, not RIM. RIM has been doing what it can about leaks since the 4.7.0.12X builds. It's VZW changing their approach to leaks that has truly stopped them.

Good points all. I guess just my hope that way the game is changing RIM might adapt some new methods amd while they can't control the OS lease the can partner better with the major carriers and work to ensure the code is meeting their standards. *sigh* I am a dreamer.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[JRSCCivic98]

I think the issue is RIM's not pressing the carriers enough to test better code. Perhaps a quick answer would be for RIM to prune through the older releases (when they know something better was written) and take them off the partner portal (in essense forcing the carrier to test newer releases). I mean seriously, I don't think it would take a genius to realise that with color banding gone after .15x releases, it wouldn't have been a good idea to take the previous ones offline. Come on. Again, I don't have issues with bugs being there, what irks me is that the carriers are releasing 4 month old builds (with bugs) when something newer is available. That's the problem I have. Well, that and the fact that VZW apparently is still under the idea that some bugs aren't there... until "detailed" docs are submitted and all of a sudden they're like... oh yeah, there it is.