[DPanacci]

http://blogs.blackberry.com/2013/09/...W_TW1379807723

Over the course of the past few days, I realized something. Everyone hates blackberry. Yesterday, smartphones owners were in a chicken coop panic, as BBM for Android leaked, and the official BBM for iOS began rolling out in several countries. Before the end of the day however, this operation was put to a screeching halt by Blackberry, and to my surprise everyone turned on the blackberry hate.

But really, why was I surprised? Many people, especially here in the Caribbean, feel betrayed by the company? And have since been bitten byThe Brand Loyalty bug unleashed by rival smartphone companies. I?m very much against brand loyalty as I think it means less choices for consumers. I believe that that?s why yesterday, into today, instead of realizing the faults of the android platform, everyone turned on blackberry .. Saying things like ?dem ain ready yet? ! On the contrary, I think this displays more than anything, why the Android platform is still not quite ready.


Yesterday, at 7 am, many things happened, but none was the official BBM for Android release as promised. Android users couldn?t wait any longer, and managed to get their hands on a BBM .apk file, which then spread like wildfire. According to Blackberry, 1.1 million users got their hands on this unreleased BBM which was riddled with problems. All Android users had to do was put this .apk file on their smartphones and hit install. Since BBM was never officially present in the Android Google Play Store , there?s no way to know for sure that this was the same version of BBM that Blackberry planned to release that day. Additionally, the Google Play store was flooded with fakes, which some unwittingly downloaded.

Let?s pause for a second. Imagine you?re a bag designer, about to unveil your bag at a merchandising chain for the first time. The dayyou plan to unveil your bag, this store allowed people to not only sell mediocre bags, but call it a similar or the same name as your bag, which people in turn flooded the store and clamored to buy. To make matters worse, you hear there?s a couple of your own bags floating around which may or may not be bags you designed, but noted had problems and since fixed. Would you still unveil your bag?

Undoubtedly, this can lead to many problems for you as the designer. Fakes floating around means that people can leave dissatisfied fully convinced its your product. Faulty and unauthorized leaks can also cause similar confusion. Thus, for Blackberry to release their Android app among that would have led to even greater chaos. In fact, right now, there are still people who think Blackberry released an Android app. I am all for Android?s open-source style, and have always thought this would propel the platform way past Apple, but this shows that openness comes with a price. It is alarming how easy it was for developers to put fraudulent apps in the Google Play store, which speaks to some underlying issues with the administration of the store. It is also of equal concern how easy it is to pirate software on the Android platform; i.e simply obtaining the .apk and installing. Notably, iOS users who downloaded the app before it was pulled are still able to use the app, while Android users have been blocked.

While this may the unpopular opinion, and even the other members of ThaDailyGeek team may disagree. Its hard for me not to blame this delay mostly on the vulnerabilities of the android platform. Though its easy to see why most people are distracted by Blackberry?s recent track record of failure (hey, you don?t expect reform from an ex-con) but I?m pointing my fingers elsewhere.



Sound off on this opinionated piece in the comments below.

Geek Jan

Posted Via CB10 from my Z10

[fragment137]

Epic read... And extremely true.

Now if only we could get everyone and their uncle to read this blog.

[cwalt2166]

BBM for Android and iPhone Update �Inside BlackBerry - The Official BlackBerry Blog

Additionally, the Google Play store was flooded with fakes, which some unwittingly downloaded.

Rubbish..the fakes had no access to BB server so stop dragging this red herring around....all these excuses are pathetic

[PauloPImenta]

I fully agree with your view. Nevertheless I have a question that I didn't find an answer so far: if it is/was an android/google store problem why BBM is not launched for iOS?

[fragment137]

Rubbish..the fakes had no access to BB server so stop dragging this red herring around....all these excuses are pathetic

He didn't mention that the fake's were related to the server load... He was speaking to the point of Android's vulnerabilities and the Open Door policy of the Play Store.

I fully agree with your view. Nevertheless I have a question that I didn't find an answer so far: if it is/was an android/google store problem why BBM is not launched for iOS?

I asked this question myself... It could be that BlackBerry made the executive decision to halt the rollout en mass because they'd get more flak if they were to continue the rollout for iOS when Android isn't ready..

An "All or Nothing" sort of attitude, whether for good or bad...

[LostOnThePianoRoll]

Interesting read...
I believe the Google play store needs some kind of blacklist with names of already existing apps to start with, Or even better an approval team that checks them, even without seeing the content of the app he could have spotted the countless BBM fakes from unknown dev names...

The can't launch it in the middle of this choas... non the less it's still mostly their fault because they didn't prepare and negotiate with Google about this rubbish before the last hour prior to launch.


Still I'm BlackBerry supporter for as long as they exist

Posted via CB10

[iN8ter]

Google play has nothing to do with BBMs problems.

The OP is ignorance shrouded as wisdom, and of course you people are still trying not defend this incompetent company. This is part of the reason many of us don't touch their devices (outage fears, weaker infrastructure for services, etc).

Given their history and track record I'm surprised people are blaming Google.

Also people load leaked OSes and sideload apps all the time on blackberries. That hasn't shut down any other companies services. Did instagram go down cause you used an unofficial side load for you BB10 phone? What about Skype? What about BB services due to leaked OSes? Nope...

Get real, and take the blinders off.

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 4

[anon(5828343)]

A nice piece of prose only that:

a) the "fake bags" at the Google Play store didn't look, feel or appear like the "real bag" since it couldn't access the BBRY servers.

b) the "bags" that took BBM4ALL down this weekend were built by BBRY and for which , as we saw in their subsequent release, they still had ultimate control by being able to shut them down.

I would say that this is more like a bag designer announcing to the world that their hot new bag would be available by the end of the summer and after producing a large inventory of the bags and getting ready to unveil them at the retail outlets discovering that the stitching along the seams couldn't keep the contents in so they had to make up some excuse about the fake bags floating around.

Furthermore, everybody "hates" BBRY because BBM4ALL is only the latest of a long string of epic fails that BBRY has authored.

Has "everybody" forgotten the enthusiasm generated by BBRY's announcement of a date for BBM4ALL? How about the 2 million people who signed up for BBM4ALL notifications from bbm.com?

When you go to the market and hype up your product you take the risk that if you screw up, you have some pissed off consumers out there who will be as annoyed as they were excited.

[travaz]

I just find it incredible that everyone thinks Android is some less than quality half A$$ operating system. I have had 4 BB devices including a Z10. I also have a Droid maxx. It works perfectly well and does somethings better that BB10. Some things are not as good. But Android works well. Maybe we don't have Netflix or Instagram or SnapChat or KIK or............ because BB10 is not ready for them yet.

[nnik]

the haters don't realize what it takes for a release of this magnitude (bbm) especially through a joke like the playstore

Posted via CB10

[wuulfy]

No really on topic but since when did it become acceptable to type fail instead of failure? Come on people it's only three extra letters and makes you seem less thick.

Posted via CB10

[bekkay]

Argument 1 - Fakes caused the problems.

Counterargument 1a - There is no indication that the fake BBM apps caused the problem. There is, however, an official statement that says it's BlackBerry's OWN unreleased apk that allegedly did the damage.

Counterargument 1b - All Blackberry needed to do to fade fakes out was to be proactive: ready the servers, reserve the Blackberry name in Google Play, and, most importantly, release the app on time. It's not like BlackBerry didn't know the Google Play submission procedures/process, is it?

--------------------------

Argument 2 - It's the ability to sideload APKs that was the culprit. "It is also of equal concern how easy it is to pirate software on the Android platform; i.e simply obtaining the .apk and installing."

Counterargument 2 - Can't really help myself but laugh. Does the author know that BB10 also has the ability to sideload apps? The pot calls the kettle black.

--------------------------

Argument 3 - The blame is on Android/Google Play. "I think this displays more than anything, why the Android platform is still not quite ready." and "Its hard for me not to blame this delay mostly on the vulnerabilities of the android platform."

Counterargument 3 - Yeah, sure. Android/Google Play vulnerabilities (as far as app launches are concerned) manifest themselves only when it comes to BlackBerry.

---------------------------

Conclusion: In light of the available information, blaming anyone but BlackBerry is utterly stupid.

[anon(5828343)]

the haters don't realize what it takes for a release of this magnitude (bbm) especially through a joke like the playstore

Posted via CB10

Literally hundreds of thousands of apps released many by companies far smaller than BBRY and yet the biggest screw up in recent memory belongs to...BBRY.

So Google Play Store which successfully hosts the content is the "joke".

BBRY is the poor little victim again like it always is.

[BlackStormRising]

I actually think I'd feel silly to search for an enterprise grade application in something called a play store.

Posted via CB10

[bekkay]

I actually think I'd feel silly to search for an enterprise grade application in something called a play store.

Posted via CB10

You must be kidding, right? Anyone who argues that BB10's offerings of apps (be it productivity, "enterprise grade" or not) are better than that of iOS and Android must be kidding.

[BlackBerry Guy]

Always someone else's fault, never their own. Bottom line is BBM is not available/working on other platforms right now...and somehow it's Google Play's fault? Or even CrackBerry's as some would suggest?

[pantlesspenguin]

I actually think I'd feel silly to search for an enterprise grade application in something called a play store.

Posted via CB10

Do you feel equally as silly doing business on a tablet called the PLAYbook?

[anon(5828343)]

I actually think I'd feel silly to search for an enterprise grade application in something called a play store.

Posted via CB10

Feel silly all you want -- millions of people are perfectly fine with the Play Store.

What about the brand "blackberry"? Before that word became synonymous with a handheld device, it conjured up images of fruit...like...hmmm..."Apple". Did you feel silly when you started using a "blackberry"?

[Tre Lawrence]

People, I've said it before: no entity in the WORLD has fans like BBRY. No matter what BBRY does, no matter how culpable BBRY is, these folks will not believe it. They will literally dive in front of the logo to stop it from being shot.

BBRY can hold a press conference announcing that the whole thing was a indeed it's a BBRY screw-up (as indeed it has, minus the "leaks" red herring), some folks will proclaim that Apple and Google forced them to say it. Seriously.

Even today, in the face of plenty of evidence to the contrary, there are STILL people counting fakes in the Play Store.

It's fascinating to observe.

[westcoastit]

If the beta app was causing so many problems why not disable the servers for a short period, release the correct app and flood social media with the message that the official app is available and that as soon as it reaches X number of downloads compared to the leaked one the servers will go live. The only reason people were downloading the leak is because the official one wasn't available -- piracy is a service problem.

Rhetorical question, the reason they shut the servers down was because the app itself wasn't ready. This is just spin.

[Tre Lawrence]

If the beta app was causing so many problems why not disable the servers for a short period, release the correct app and flood social media with the message that the official app is available and that as soon as it reaches X number of downloads compared to the leaked one the servers will go live. The only reason people were downloading the leak is because the official one wasn't available -- piracy is a service problem.

Rhetorical question, the reason they shut the servers down was because the app itself wasn't ready. This is just spin.

I tend to agree.

Whatsapp has an app in the play Store, and they host the apks themselves.
Tasker has an app in the Play Store, and host the apks themselves.
HanDBase has... you get the idea.

Evernote? Rovio? Skype? EA? All thriving on Google Play, but also use alternate means to ensure that their apps are available through alternate means. Rovio deals with more fakes than a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, and still makes it happen.

[anonymous293847]

I think were all super lucky to have the electronics and smart phones that exist today!

[pantlesspenguin]

Rovio deals with more fakes than a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, and still makes it happen.

Well, there goes that perfectly good mouthful of tea.

[Tre Lawrence]

Do you feel equally as silly doing business on a tablet called the PLAYbook?

And getting programs from BBW...

[pantlesspenguin]

And getting programs from BBW...

OK, I just need to put this cup down for a bit.