[web99]

Hello guys,

I am a newbie in this forum, but yesterday while looking at our sister WPCentral.com, I came across an interesting post by contributor, brMiller1976. It seems that the imminent launch of the BB10 phones has caused quite a stir among some Windows Phone users. I apologize if there is already a thread on this topic.

What do you guys think? Will BB10 give Windows phone a serious challenge and knock them out of the 3rd place spot? Do you think BB10 will stop the momentum behind the Windows phone or is the market big enough for both platforms to thrive and provide an eventual competitive alternative to the IOS and Android platforms?

http://forums.wpcentral.com/blackber...ows-phone.html

I'm starting to worry a bit.

I played with a colleague's "Developer Alpha" version of the BB10 OS, and I had a couple of observations:

1) In Alpha form, BB10 is more complete and less buggy than release-day WP8 was. It has a better music player, and the experience is just as smooth and sexy.

2) RIM took its time to "get everything right." They've ramped up hardware production, they have every major carrier in the US and worldwide supporting their launch (unlike WP) and there are unlikely to be device shortages, regardless of demand. They also spent time to fix and tweak every element of the software experience.

3) RIM is launching with over 100,000 apps in the BB10 store.

4) RIM is making it easy for Android apps to be ported over to native BB10. That means that apps like Instagram and others will be reasonably easy to develop for BB10, and will arrive for that platform long before we get them.

5) RIM, the principal hardware company for BlackBerry, is profitable (as of last quarter) and cash-flow-positive. Nokia, the principal hardware company for Windows Phone, is bleeding cash fast.

6) RIM is supporting carrier-independent OTA updates, just like Apple and Google. That means that any bugs that do occur can be fixed quickly, without a Portico-style "is my phone going to get it or not" mess.

I was super-impressed with the UI, slickness, and overall polish of BB10. I am getting worried... this OS could be good enough to push Microsoft out of third place.

Microsoft needs to step up its game. Third place is NOT guaranteed

[GTiLeo]

BB is the third place smartphone, not windows, the question that is better asked is can BB10 hold off WP from taking their spot

but my personal opinion is, based on what i've seen from the demos of the dev alphas i would have to say yes RIM can stop Windows i personally believe they can balance out the top three spots also and retake some subscribers from Android and Apple, more so from Android as its pretty scattered

[DJM626]

BB is the third place smartphone, not windows, the question that is better asked is can BB10 hold off WP from taking their spot

but my personal opinion is, based on what i've seen from the demos of the dev alphas i would have to say yes RIM can stop Windows i personally believe they can balance out the top three spots also and retake some subscribers from Android and Apple, more so from Android as its pretty scattered

I have no doubt in my mind, and I am sure I am not alone in my thoughts and opinion about this. Sometimes taking your time to do something right can be a very profitable thing

[BBThemes]

BB could easily of come out with a dev alpha as a phone this time last year, but they learnt from the M$ mistakes and didnt want to release a half baked OS (wp7). was it the right thing to do? well looking at WP7 sales you`d have to say yes, although hindsight is a wonderful thing, because everyone said it was the wrong thing to do lol.

[BB10FTW]

Truth be told, I don't think that Microsoft is the only one who needs to be a bit worried about their WP8 platform vs. BB10, I think everyone should be worried about their OS vs. BB10.

[Roo Zilla]

The China Mobile subsidy deal gives WP the momentum. Soon, you can get a Lumia 920T for about $0.16 with a 2 year contract. That should be good for a couple million units until the subsidy runs out.

[RubberChicken76]

Why does it need to?

iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian all have sizeable bases now. Why isn't there room for 4 OSes?

[Admorris]

With Blackberry's aweful reputation, they are going to have to make an absolutely amazing phone, not just a good one. Anything less than a top shelf product will be a total failure. BB has pissed off enough loyalists over the years that there is a large contingent actually hoping they will go under.

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[robtanz]

Why does it need to?

iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian all have sizeable bases now. Why isn't there room for 4 OSes?

Totally agree. Why can't each platform exist. The only thing that all this media-driven smart phone war is doing is depriving the consumer of choice.

[BBThemes]

Why does it need to?

iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian all have sizeable bases now. Why isn't there room for 4 OSes?

because symbian is THE burning platform.

[w0lfgang]

Time will tell, but I found it more interesting that, according to a CNBC snippet today, Microsoft thinks (is delusional?) there is an enterprise market for their Surface tablet at $899!! Wow, that's a set of brass ones!

[w0lfgang]

Totally agree. Why can't each platform exist. The only thing that all this media-driven smart phone war is doing is depriving the consumer of choice.

totally agree with your totally agree
I can't imagine ANY market with only two players....seriously....can anyone name one? I would like to know

[GTiLeo]

With Blackberry's aweful reputation, they are going to have to make an absolutely amazing phone, not just a good one. Anything less than a top shelf product will be a total failure. BB has pissed off enough loyalists over the years that there is a large contingent actually hoping they will go under.

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to win people over up front yes, but in the long run good tech is still good tech and people will buy it reputation or not.

i'm also a firm believer in mind over matter and that negative press have an large influence on user perseption of a product, i have never bought into the BS surrounding RIM and BBs and i have loved my experience with all my BBs

[GTiLeo]

totally agree with your totally agree
I can't imagine ANY market with only two players....seriously....can anyone name one? I would like to know

computers are heavily dominated by Microsoft and Macs are slowly gaining ground with the "Apple is cool " mindset

[kbz1960]

Why does it need to?

iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian all have sizeable bases now. Why isn't there room for 4 OSes?

The one thing is app people. There will be room but how profitable will they all be? We have seen what happens when there isn't an app for that.

[scalemaster34]

to win people over up front yes, but in the long run good tech is still good tech and people will buy it reputation or not.

i'm also a firm believer in mind over matter and that negative press have an large influence on user perseption of a product, i have never bought into the BS surrounding RIM and BBs and i have loved my experience with all my BBs

graveyard is full of good tech that got beat out by lesser quality gadgets.

RIM will need more than middle grade hardware and a slick new OS to beat anyone. But I'm not sure MS has much of a better shot.... now maybe together?

[GTiLeo]

graveyard is full of good tech that got beat out by lesser quality gadgets.

RIM will need more than middle grade hardware and a slick new OS to beat anyone. But I'm not sure MS has much of a better shot.... now maybe together?

when you really think about it Apple has lower grade hardware and a slick OS yet they are beating out a lot.

[Taigatrommel]

I doubt Microsoft can afford to let Windows Phone get "killed off" by some other OS. The mobile computing business is getting more and more important, especially in terms of phone devices. Microsoft simply has to keep their foot in this door, otherwise they'll lose big time on a market which will be crucial in the future. On the same time, the traditional desktop plattform will lose ground in the future. If Microsoft wants to stay a big player, they simply need to get back to their old strength in mobile computing. Looking back a couple of years, Microsoft was doing fine with their Windows Mobile system, powering many typical PDAs and many popular smartphones.

Everyone should also keep in mind, that this "smartphone" market is still rather small or should I better say is getting bigger and bigger. There are so many potential smartphone customers out there, who don't own such a device at the moment. These people will need to make a choice.

[dtango]

Contrary to popular believe on this forum, Lumia920's have been selling out everywhere.

[Admorris]

when you really think about it Apple has lower grade hardware and a slick OS yet they are beating out a lot.

It's all about momentum....Blackberry is only beating anyone because of the hangers on from when blackberry was ahead of the curve. If current momentum continues, BB will be a thing of the past within a couple years if not sooner.

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[Gerii]

Contrary to popular believe on this forum, Lumia920's have been selling out everywhere.

That's not hard if there's only limited supply.

[GTiLeo]

It's all about momentum....Blackberry is only beating anyone because of the hangers on from when blackberry was ahead of the curve. If current momentum continues, BB will be a thing of the past within a couple years if not sooner.

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and currently BlackBerry is ahead of the curve, hardware wise they are on par but software wise the are ahead, and their future plans with M2M with QNX and their NOCs make RIM a great turn around story. weather it happens or not is a different story but momentum as you stated is on the shift, with BB10 the news about it is a total turn around from the doom and gloom stories of the past

[travaz]

MS has somewhat of a preception problem. They are the big company people love to hate while Apple was the little guy trying to slay Goliath. MS is also precieved to be a "Computer company" by a lot of the public. Apple is precieved to be "The Smartphone" company that also sells computers. I think MS has some natural resistance to thier mobile reputation. Look at WP7 it was not that great. I read a lot of comments over at WP Central about the WP8 OS being "half baked", the lack of Apps. They do seem to have a better relationship with the press than RIM, but MS has been panned for WP8 in some circles. I think RIM has a great chance to gain stability and regain thier reputaion with a slick, beautiful OS. The public is a funny market. Whats bad today can be killer tomorrow. Lets hope the public loves BlackBerry again

[kemj]

"Could BlackBerry 10 kill Windows Phone?"

Absolutely.

[Neely2005]

It's all about momentum....Blackberry is only beating anyone because of the hangers on from when blackberry was ahead of the curve. If current momentum continues, BB will be a thing of the past within a couple years if not sooner.

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I'm not sure you know what 'Momentum' means.



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