Blackberry 10. What needs to be done
Hey there fellow BB addicts
Let me start by saying that this thread is purely my opinion which I have formed by reading a lot of the articles surrounding Blackberry and RIM. Many of you will disagree, all I ask is that any comments remain constructive rather then abusive.
Now we all know Blackberry have fallen, maybe not quite as far as most would have you believe, but things are far from good. Blackberry 10 is almost here and is meant to lead Blackberry back to the good times. Except I dont think it will put Blackberry back on top.
Dont get me wrong, I think Blackberry 10 looks great, and I can not wait for it to be released. But so far I have not seen anything that can deliver a knockout blow to Android or iOS. Maybe there is a major secret that will be revealed in January, but for now i'm going to assume there isnt. Based on what i have seen so far, BB10 will not be enough to draw the dedicated Android and iOS users over to BB. BB10 will however give reasons for BB fans not to jump ship, and it should do enough to convincingly beat WP8. For this to happen however, RIM needs to get BB10 out into the world as much as it can. The L-series and the N-series needs to be cheaper than the iPhone 5 and the S3. It is worth RIM taking a hit in sales profits just to establish their OS amongst the markets. If the A-series comes along then that will be a true flagship phone and compete with the other systems dominant phone's on price. More importantly Blackberry needs an entry level Curve like device that they can use to retain their large teen followers. Make it easy to get BB10. Offer upgrades from existing BB's. Let the word spread.
If BB10 performs as well as i think it will, it will stabilise RIM's fortunes and put Blackberry in a healthy third position. But for Blackberry to really start chipping into iOS and Android, we need the OS to offer more. Now no new software is without its faults and a lot of time will be spent fixing the inevitable problems that BB10 will throw up.
Once that is done, i think BB10 will fulfil it's role, of stabilising Blackberry, fending off WP8, and providing a sturdy platform in which Blackberry can assault Android and iOS with perhaps BB 10.5 or even BB11.
I really hope Blackberry 10 succeeds, but i dont want to see RIM make the mistakes of the past and rest on their laurels. they need to keep moving forward, and while i admit i have suggested no new ways they can do this, i hope that after playing with BB10 i will have a firm idea of just how capable it could be.
Thanks for reading, and if you disagree or agree with my sentiments please feel free to discuss.