[omniusovermind]

Daniel Rubino, Editor in Chief over at WPCentral wrote what I see as one of the most opinionated hit pieces I've ever seen. Now I understand that WPCentral is not The Verge or Engadget. However if you read the "article" you're not going to get very far into it before you discover that it's riddled with mistakes, and outright prevarications. That's the part that bothers me the most. Not that it's unfavorable, but that most of the points he wrote about are actually not even true! It frustrates me that someone would go to the effort of writing up something like this but rather than using facts, just fill each paragraph up with opinions, speculation, and flat out untruths.

And it only gets worse. Yesterday someone was discussing their displeasure at BB10 announcing it was getting Skype. Rubino chimed in with this comment:

They said Skype is "committed" to BB10.

Read that carefully.

Not sure where you are getting "and Skype is apparently super dedicated to it". All they did was show an app icon

What I find sad and disturbing is that it literally only took me 30 seconds to find this:

"We are excited about our plans to bring Skype to smartphones running the brand new BlackBerry 10 platform," said Bob Rosin, VP & GM of Business Development for Microsoft's Skype division. "We are working closely with BlackBerry to ensure Skype runs great on BlackBerry 10 devices. This will give BlackBerry 10 users a great Skype experience, including free voice and video calling, sending instant messages and text messages, sharing photos, videos and files, and calling to landlines and mobiles at Skype's low rates."

Why couldn't he know this? Clearly for the same reason he couldn't be bothered getting most of the facts before writing a hit piece on BB10.

I really don't have the time or energy to break down his entire article, which is why I linked it to you above to break down. But here were a couple of "highlights"

say what you will about BlackBerry but much like Palm, their hardware is generally quite good. Not Apple good. Not Nokia good. But better than many Android phones on the market and that bold, almost garish BlackBerry logo emblazoned across the Z10 and Q10 is a reminder that they stand behind their work.

Really Dan. I'd love to see your source for this "in depth reliability study". This was supposed to be one of his compliments by the way...

The OS is boring. Yeah, we’re going there. While our friends at CrackBerry are gushing over the new OS and its functionality, we think it’s quite bland. It’s your typical “Icons everywhere” UI that looks very much like iOS, Android and even MeeGo, is nothing to get excited about.

Will it work well? We haven’t had extensive time with it but we’re confident BlackBerry did a good enough job that most users will get things done, but it’s not a game-changing UI but rather another retread. That may have worked 3 years ago but in today’s market you either innovate or move on

Peek/Flow, cascading screens, Active Frames... Are you kidding me Dan? I need a quadruple facepalm for this one. There's a lot more misinformation in there but he ends his article by saying WP is "prettier".

Dear lord.

[dbmalloy]

Just backs up the old saying.... look at the source....

[playbookster]

Kevin better get on him

[Shanerredflag]

Seems he pulled allot of his info (and non original impressions) from other peoples work...yeah, I'm going there.

[bitek]

do you seriously expect that he would write that bb10 is better than windows phones ? obviously he needs to make bb10 inferior somewhat.

[Kevin Michaluk]

Ahhh Dan. I feel the need for a cross site Mobile Nations Podcast soooon. Debate!

[bizzyqu]

he's just threatened, I mean WP8 is good for 2 things 1. office (but bb10 has a passable alternative baked in) and 2. Lumina 920 camera. Did I miss anything?

[rjshahan]

I have been saying that Kevin should fire Dan for a while now. Here is something i posted in another thread a few weeks ago, my opinion of him has only dropped lower since then.

It just reminds me why I think [Dan Rubino] is a complete tool on any mobile nations podcast. While Renee and Derek are very thoughtful and self aware of the whole industry as is Phil, Dan seems like a blind fanboy who I wish would just shut up. Dan's posts, podcasts and general write-ups lack properly constructed arguments or well thought out analysis, they just pander to equally blinded fanboys. All other mobile nations sites are critical of their own platforms where needed and recognize how the market and industry fits together and moves. Dan's WP site is definitely not the place to visit for objective windows phone analysis and I am disappointed that none of the Mobile Nation's ethic and class have rubbed off on him.

[drummer_god]

obviously, he's gonna bash the phone that will be the end of his beloved microsoft phone.
he's threatened and scared.

[omniusovermind]

do you seriously expect that he would write that bb10 is better than windows phones ? obviously he needs to make bb10 inferior somewhat.

Kevin's review of WP8 was pretty neutral, but more importantly it wasn't full of misinformation about the OS or devices.

[Vorkosigan]

Ahhh Dan. I feel the need for a cross site Mobile Nations Podcast soooon. Debate!

Excellent! And add in some pudding wrestling.

[playbookster]

Lumia 920 is a camera with a phone, Z10 is a smartphone with a camera.

[TomJasper]

That thread there is basically dead, obviously somebody there is feeling the Blackberry 10 heat,lol.

Every time I read a Blackberry 10 review they compare it to iOS and droid. So I can understand the garbage article, they are lonely and want/need responses so they think they matter, I ignore it myself.

[Masahiro]

Ahhh Dan. I feel the need for a cross site Mobile Nations Podcast soooon. Debate!

If you two get into a fight, at least he won't be able to grab your hair anymore.

[The Me]

Ahhh Dan. I feel the need for a cross site Mobile Nations Podcast soooon. Debate!

We need this ASAP!

[TomJasper]

Ahhh Dan. I feel the need for a cross site Mobile Nations Podcast soooon. Debate!

Kevin, Dan is feeling lonely with wp8 and just looking to stir the pot,lol.

Don't let them ride on our Blackberry 10 launch coat tails.

In other words he is looking for eyeballs on wp8 because most of the reviews out in cyberspace exclude wp8, they compare Blackberry 10 to iOS/droid. That compare trend is actually an excellent thing for Blackberry 10, means iOS/droid have concerns bout Blackberry 10. Wp8 who?

[Shanerredflag]

I heard WP8 is going to suffer the same fate as the Palm Pre...lol

[InvalidUser0510]

You're absolutely wrong! That doesn't even come close to this:

Why the Z10 and Q10 will not save BlackBerry

Why the Z10 and Q10 will not save BlackBerry | The Social Analyst - CNET News

It basically says that 10 year olds and instagram control the smartphone industry. Funny, Android had hundreds of millions of users and just got Instagram in April. Worth a read and comment. CNET is complete trash.

[Daniel Rubino]

@omniusovermind

My editorial/opinion piece was just that an editorial and opinion piece. The last thing on earth I'd expect is for people at CrackBerry to agree it with it. It wasn't written for you, it was written for our audience--Windows Phone users. Everyone is biased and favors something--the fact that you're posting in a CB forum is evidence for that. There's nothing wrong with it at all either. The curse is when people pretend to be objective.

When Kev writes

"Then there's Windows Phone, if you can even consider it as viable competition. Aside from the clean interface, there's no solid stance for Microsoft's mobile platform - most consumers don't understand its value proposition and why they would buy it over the competition"

Do you think our audience was nodding in agreement? Or that was not opinion open to challenge? But that's written for you guys, not us, so no one notices or challenges it.

Besides the Skype comment that was early in the day and which I did not write in my editorial, I'm not sure what "facts" I got wrong. All you did was make a hit piece against me, not what I wrote which I find ironic due to your complaint. But that's your opinion, fine. I'm don't write at Windows Phone Central to convert fans of BlackBerry.

But let's look at my main points, all bolded, from the original article:

• Does BB10 have an app advantage over Windows Phone? No.
• Does BB10 have a larger ecoysytem (gaming, desktop, cloud, enterprise/Office) than Windows Phone? No.
• Is BB10's UI more interesting than Windows Phone? Opinion, no. You can't call me wrong for my opinion on something, sorry.
• Does BB10 face the same obstacle as Windows Phone, namely iOS and Android momentum in the marketplace? Yes.
• Does BB have a strong legacy to rely on? Yes.
• Do carriers prefer BB to Microsoft? Yes.
• Is BB hardware good and often better than Android? Yes (once again, opinion)
• Has the media been more jubilant and positive about BB than their Windows Phone coverage? Yes (even Kevin was noting the positive media buzz just last week).

Those were my main points in the article, none of which you challenge or proved incorrect. Some are opinion so I'm not even sure how you would go about doing that.

Look, I get it. You don't like what I wrote. Whenever Kev writes an editorial here, do you think everyone agrees with it? No, but that's the point. It's opinion and it's fine to disagree.

But step back for a second: do you think anyone outside of CrackBerry treats what is written here as objective? This too is a fan site and the articles here are slanted. That's why you visit and it's why we disagree often on Mobile Nations. That's the point.

[Daniel Rubino]

I have been saying that Kevin should fire Dan for a while now. Here is something i posted in another thread a few weeks ago, my opinion of him has only dropped lower since then.

You don't cite anything, just personal attacks. You call me a "tool" "blind fanboy" you wish I'd "just shut up" my posts lack "proper constructed arguments or well thought out analysis" (no citations, evidence).

That's not an argument. That's what children say to each other on the playground. And we're very critical of Microsoft and Windows Phone, like our recent series on how MS is screwing up gaming on Windows Phone.

You just don't like me. That's fine, I can live with that. But to quote yourself is a bit much, I must say...

[collinc93]

people are going to write stuff whether it is true or not.....

[Shanerredflag]

@omniusovermind

My editorial/opinion piece was just that an editorial and opinion piece. The last thing on earth I'd expect is for people at CrackBerry to agree it with it. It wasn't written for you, it was written for our audience--Windows Phone users. Everyone is biased and favors something--the fact that you're posting in a CB forum is evidence for that. There's nothing wrong with it at all either. The curse is when people pretend to be objective.

When Kev writes

Do you think our audience was nodding in agreement? Or that was not opinion open to challenge? But that's written for you guys, not us, so no one notices or challenges it.

Besides the Skype comment that was early in the day and which I did not write in my editorial, I'm not sure what "facts" I got wrong. All you did was make a hit piece against me, not what I wrote which I find ironic due to your complaint. But that's your opinion, fine. I'm don't write at Windows Phone Central to convert fans of BlackBerry.

But let's look at my main points, all bolded, from the original article:

• Does BB10 have an app advantage over Windows Phone? No.
• Does BB10 have a larger ecoysytem (gaming, desktop, cloud, enterprise/Office) than Windows Phone? No.
• Is BB10's UI more interesting than Windows Phone? Opinion, no. You can't call me wrong for my opinion on something, sorry.
• Does BB10 face the same obstacle as Windows Phone, namely iOS and Android momentum in the marketplace? Yes.
• Does BB have a strong legacy to rely on? Yes.
• Do carriers prefer BB to Microsoft? Yes.
• Is BB hardware good and often better than Android? Yes (once again, opinion)
• Has the media been more jubilant and positive about BB than their Windows Phone coverage? Yes (even Kevin was noting the positive media buzz just last week).

Those were my main points in the article, none of which you challenge or proved incorrect. Some are opinion so I'm not even sure how you would go about doing that.

Look, I get it. You don't like what I wrote. Whenever Kev writes an editorial here, do you think everyone agrees with it? No, but that's the point. It's opinion and it's fine to disagree.

Way to man up Dan...well done!

[Daniel Rubino]

I heard WP8 is going to suffer the same fate as the Palm Pre...lol

The Palm Pre was solid hardware with an OS that never realized its potential. Palm's problem was mismanagement (the early split of the company), poor launch partners, being screwed by Verizon, running out of capital and of course being bought by HP.

Microsoft has billions and their stubborn as ****. Evidence: Xbox (they lost an estimated $6 billion before turning a profit).

Even if Windows Phone doesn't catch on, it won't stop them because they know how important mobile is. In a war of attrition for third place, Microsoft has the advantage over BlackBerry--after all, Microsoft's entire business is not riding on mobile.

[bitek]

I find this funny

The App Gap. Lots of attention was focused on how many apps BlackBerry 10 is supposedly launching with. Actually, what we heard a lot of were announcements and companies being “committed” to BB10. That’s a bit different than actually having the apps ready. Here are the “big title” apps announced today:

“Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare, Whatsapp, Amazon Kindle, New York Times, The Economist, MLB At Bat, ESPN Scorecenter, CBS Sports, PGA Tour, NHL Gamecenter, SportsTracker, ATP, UFC Cisco Webex, Bloomberg, Evernote, SAP, Citrix, Soundhound, The Weather Channel, BBC Top Gear, eMusic, Slacker, Songza, TuneIn Radio, Paper Camera, Box, DropBox, ooVoo, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Dictionary.com, Flixster, and Stubhub”

Not bad but not amazing either.

There is no Instagram, no Pandora, Amazon Mobile, CNN, USA Today, Groupon, Netflix, LastPass, uTorrent Remote, Audible, eBay, Fandango, UrbanSpoon, Foodspotting, GroupMe, IMDb, YouTube, TripIt, PayPal, MyFitnessPal and we’re guessing a ton more apps that you use on an everyday basis.

i did not realize instagram, paypal or even facebook or twitter apps are available on windows mobile. i do not own windows phone but i own windows 8 and i cannot find any of these apps in metro.
so how is that any better on windows phone ?

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

dont see why he had to bring palm into it