[JasW]

As a number of us maintain, this is what RIM should have done (and what it should STILL do). Ball-dropping seems to be endemic to Waterloo, unfortunately.

Microsoft Is Writing Checks to Fill Out Its App Store
By JENNA WORTHAM and NICK WINGFIELD
Published: April 5, 2012

Nowadays, cellphones are all about apps. And Microsoft is so determined to have lots of brand-name apps for its Windows Phone app store that it is willing to pay for them.

All an app maker has to do is sign on the dotted line.

After years of struggling in the phone market, Microsoft teamed up with Nokia last year to challenge the dominance of Apple�s iPhone and Google, which makes the Android operating system. The latest fruit of their collaboration is a gleaming machine called the Lumia 900, which goes on sale in the United States on Sunday and is considered to be the first true test of how well the partnership will fare.

But the hundreds of thousands of apps that run on Apple and Android devices will not work on phones like the Lumia 900 that use Microsoft�s Windows Phone software. And many developers are reluctant to funnel time and money into an app for what is still a small and unproved market. So Microsoft has come up with incentives, like plying developers with free phones and the promise of prime spots in its app store and in Windows Phone advertising.

It is even going so far as to finance the development of Windows Phone versions of well-known apps � something that app makers estimate would otherwise cost them anywhere from $60,000 to $600,000, depending on the complexity of the app. The tactic underscores the strong positions of Google and Apple, neither of which have to pay developers to make apps.

More at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/te...checkbook.html

[kbz1960]

No doubt. If you build it and they don't come pay em.

[homer1475]

Same thing RIM is doing by giving away PB's to dev's who port over their android apps. Unfortunately all that did was fill up app world with 80% of the worst android apps ever made(yes BB's or rather PB's now have a selection of fart apps). Any of the good android apps people are screaming for have not shown up. Only difference is RIM isn't paying anyone actual cash, that we know of.

[El Cid]

There's nothing wrong with what The New York Slime -- All The Lies We See Fit to Print -- alleges Microsoft is doing, so what is the point? There's nothing more ironically sinister than the proverbial pot calling the kettle black, nowadays most major US newspapers derive most or a significant portion of their revenues from non-print subsidiaries and ancillary investments, many of which receive subsidies from one another or from the tax payers (without their knowledge or consent) but hey!, never let the facts get in the way of sensationalist headlines that point fingers at other entities while the finger pointers do their earnest best to not disclose that they do the same, after all, who needs transparency from the elite plutocracy controlled media? Such nuisance does not apply to them, only to everyone else who is beneath their arrogant class.

[OMGitworks]

There's nothing wrong with what The New York Slime -- All The Lies We See Fit to Print -- alleges Microsoft is doing, so what is the point? There's nothing more ironically sinister than the proverbial pot calling the kettle black, nowadays most major US newspapers derive most or a significant portion of their revenues from non-print subsidiaries and ancillary investments, many of which receive subsidies from one another or from the tax payers (without their knowledge or consent) but hey!, never let the facts get in the way of sensationalist headlines that point fingers at other entities while the finger pointers do their earnest best to not disclose that they do the same, after all, who needs transparency from the elite plutocracy controlled media? Such nuisance does not apply to them, only to everyone else who is beneath their arrogant class.

The NYT piece is a news article, not an opinion piece. They reported on it, it is newsworthy. I didn't see anything judgmental in the piece, just the facts.... I think you are blurring the lines between news and opinion.Granted that is hard to see sometimes in this media world, but the rant against the NYT and this piece seems a bit misplaced to me. Of course the other threads with conspiracy theories against RIM have died down so maybe its time to fire one up again.

[purijagmohan]

And that's what RIM should be doing.Instead of spending extra 100 million on useless advertising for a quarter since Q4, pay the same and get those apps people say they need to have : Skype, Netflix, Kindle, Hulu, Instagram, Zynga etc ... Best and most popular apps probably won't be more than a 1000.

All the while they should continue to do what they have been doing, build awesome tools to make the platform easy to develop unlike old BBOS .

Blackberry is running out of time though, they gotta move fast.

[Tre Lawrence]

The NYT piece is a news article, not an opinion piece. They reported on it, it is newsworthy. I didn't see anything judgmental in the piece, just the facts.... I think you are blurring the lines between news and opinion.Granted that is hard to see sometimes in this media world, but the rant against the NYT and this piece seems a bit misplaced to me. Of course the other threads with conspiracy theories against RIM have died down so maybe its time to fire one up again.

LOL... there was a lot of rage in that post.

I'm not seeing what NYT did wrong here either, but hey...

Mobile post via Tapatalk

[xandermac]

I've posted here many times that rim should be doing this. Finance the development of an application and maybe recoup their money with a higher appworld split, 80/20 rim/dev until it's paid back.


Sent from my iPhone4s using Tapatalk

[purijagmohan]

I've posted here many times that rim should be doing this. Finance the development of an application and maybe recoup their money with a higher appworld split, 80/20 rim/dev until it's paid back.


Sent from my iPhone4s using Tapatalk

Great post.Wonder why RIM hasn't thought about this? In fact this is way more sustainable model.Could you please tweet this to Alec saunders.

[anon(3896606)]

I agree, if they don't have big name dev's to announce at BB World, pay them to make the app's...

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using the CrackBerry Forums Application

[OMGitworks]

LOL... there was a lot of rage in that post.

I'm not seeing what NYT did wrong here either, but hey...

Mobile post via Tapatalk

Just part of the beautiful landscape that is Crackberry.

[sf49ers]

not many people know that RIM venture capitals a lot of start ups trying to build apps, they have had a $150 million fund to drive this and it is called Blackberry venture partners.

Cookies Must Be Allowed - IGLOO

[BlackBerry Guy]

You have to do what you have to do to build your app ecosystem. Nothing wrong if you have to pay for it. Maybe this will be in their plans as they try to attract more partners.

[johnyblaze]

RIM should definitely do this, you cant entice the top developers with a $200 tablet that's less then some make in 2 hours, especially for services such as FourSquare/FB/Twitter which have an API you might not even need to involve the company just hire a great dev studio to make Apps.

[cathulu15]

WTF has TAT done. Scrapbook? LOL! There is a "studio" for you... So instead pay developers directly. When good apps are released, the bloggers will advertise it.

Sent from my GT-I9100M using Tapatalk

[Tre Lawrence]

CB Kev talked about said app ransoms a few weeks back. Seems like a very necessary evil at this point.

[sf49ers]

WTF has TAT done. Scrapbook? LOL! There is a "studio" for you... So instead pay developers directly. When good apps are released, the bloggers will advertise it.

Sent from my GT-I9100M using Tapatalk

get your facts right, Tat was not acquired to build apps, Tat's specialty is UI and it's UI framework called Cascades. Like Apple has Cocoa framework RIM's focus is to build one like that using Cascades and you will more of that in BB10.

[lnichols]

Of course they are. Not many would want to write apps for WP for the same reason the Playbook is having issues: no market share! RIM will have to do the same to get the great apps on the platform. I mean look at BeWeather for Playbook is a freeking Android port. If BB10 takes off, developers will come without being paid, but until that point lubricating the developers with cash is what has to be done.

[purijagmohan]

get your facts right, Tat was not acquired to build apps, Tat's specialty is UI and it's UI framework called Cascades. Like Apple has Cocoa framework RIM's focus is to build one like that using Cascades and you will more of that in BB10.

Will cascades be as good as Cocoa?

[sf49ers]

Will cascades be as good as Cocoa?

google Qt vs Cocoa, Cascades is built upon Qt and hence so it enhances Qt with readymade APIs for animations, form elements, graphics, BB10 related hooks etc. Yes Cascades is capable of providing 60fps throughout the OS as in IOS or WP7

[sinsin07]

The NYT piece is a news article, not an opinion piece. They reported on it, it is newsworthy. I didn't see anything judgmental in the piece, just the facts.... I think you are blurring the lines between news and opinion.Granted that is hard to see sometimes in this media world, but the rant against the NYT and this piece seems a bit misplaced to me. Of course the other threads with conspiracy theories against RIM have died down so maybe its time to fire one up again.

Good point. Not only is it news, it's old news.
March 26 2012 - The Verge - Microsoft's plans to bridge the Windows Phone app gap revealed in leaked slides

"Windows Phone's lack of top applications has been discussed a few times before, but it appears that Microsoft has plans to address it. ZDNet has managed to secure slides from Microsoft's marketing group that reveal the company is setting aside $10 million to "ring-fence" the app developers behind Pandora, Bump, and Instagram, who aren't building Windows Phone versions of their popular apps.

Other information gleaned from the slides reveals a focus on quality apps, not quantity and for the company's marketing efforts highlight built-in Windows Phone functionality. Microsoft also details ways to "tie exclusive apps to appropriate devices" in an effort to "capitalize on exclusivity," and ways to price games at parity with the iPhone — one particular source of criticism from early Windows Phone adopters. Whether or not Microsoft's $10 million marketing effort will convince companies like Pandora and Instagram to focus on Windows Phone remains to be seen, but Microsoft aims to "close all gaps in top 25 apps" by the end of Q2, 2012."

Leaked slides in the link

[JasW]

Good point. Not only is it news, it's old news.
March 26 2012 - The Verge - Microsoft's plans to bridge the Windows Phone app gap revealed in leaked slides

"Windows Phone's lack of top applications has been discussed a few times before, but it appears that Microsoft has plans to address it. ZDNet has managed to secure slides from Microsoft's marketing group that reveal the company is setting aside $10 million to "ring-fence" the app developers behind Pandora, Bump, and Instagram, who aren't building Windows Phone versions of their popular apps.

Other information gleaned from the slides reveals a focus on quality apps, not quantity and for the company's marketing efforts highlight built-in Windows Phone functionality. Microsoft also details ways to "tie exclusive apps to appropriate devices" in an effort to "capitalize on exclusivity," and ways to price games at parity with the iPhone — one particular source of criticism from early Windows Phone adopters. Whether or not Microsoft's $10 million marketing effort will convince companies like Pandora and Instagram to focus on Windows Phone remains to be seen, but Microsoft aims to "close all gaps in top 25 apps" by the end of Q2, 2012."

Leaked slides in the link

The Verge is a niche tech blog that published this last week. The NY Times is the newspaper of record, notwithstanding the apoplecticrambling of one poster further on up the thread, and does not track all of the minutiae of the tech world. Huge difference in what this signifies. RIM has no excuses.

[playbookster]

Same thing RIM is doing by giving away PB's to dev's who port over their android apps. Unfortunately all that did was fill up app world with 80% of the worst android apps ever made(yes BB's or rather PB's now have a selection of fart apps). Any of the good android apps people are screaming for have not shown up. Only difference is RIM isn't paying anyone actual cash, that we know of.

not true at all. dozens of games and apps ive wanted are now on PB.

[Laura Knotek]

The Verge is a niche tech blog that published this last week. The NY Times is the newspaper of record, notwithstanding the apoplecticrambling of one poster further on up the thread, and does not track all of the minutiae of the tech world. Huge difference in what this signifies. RIM has no excuses.

The Verge happens to be one of the better tech blogs. I find their reviews to be well-written and unbiased compared to other blogs such as BGR.