BlackBerry's Core OS apps need to be fixed. They are lacking many features

Alright guys I'm meeting up with BlackBerry's Product Information Development Team here in Waterloo next month. I'm stokeddd I am compiling lists of what I should talk about since i have 1 hour. I'm not sure if they will listen to me about any recommendation I ask for but I'm going to open my mouth for sure.

This thread I will be compiling a list and taking other people's requests. I will list some threads I made underneath which I will also be bringing up at the meeting.

Tell me what you want and I will add it to the lists!!! Right Now i'm just listing all the Core apps which needs work. Yes, ALL of the Core OS apps needs works. They are all incomplete/lacking many features

BB maps:
- amazing turn my turn but it needs POI (the work around with Driveopedia and Foursquare works amazing but needs to be implemented into BB Maps some how).
- Offline Support.
-Better Traffic like BlackBerry Traffic
They seem to be fixing it a bit with the help of Yelp with reviews and POI so I'll definitely talk to them about that

BlackBerry Protect is useless now unless you lost your phone.
- needs the back up and restore to cloud option like before

Remember needs to sync with Outlook and Google Notes, maybe even OneNote DIRECTLY.

Facebook and Twitter need so much work so i will leave this off to the side for now. But feel feel to list your requests

Documents To Go: BlackBerry's version of Docs2go is featureLESS compared to any other OS.

Print To Go needs to be fully wireless printing like google print and air print

File Manager: Slow to load Cloud services pictures even on LTE. Needs more Cloud services.
- it's not 100% reliable to sync to my computer. I'm always guessing before i open it. it works 90% of the time though.
- I have a friend that can't sync her Z30 to her Macbook at all, I've tried as many ways as I could.

Voice Control/Universal Search (now Intelligent Assistant) needs to be more of a personal assistant like (Contana and Google NOW [Siri is also lacking like BB10 but who knows with iOS8]).
- Features from EasilyDo need to be Incorporated since this is a business/productivity phone. Or at least should be.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...easilydo&hl=en

Story Maker: Way too plain and needs to have better customization. There is nothing Special about it unlike Nokias and Sonys. (can't think of the names if you guys can let me know)
- Nokia Story teller http://www.windowsphone.com/en-ca/st...8-16b7ad872dd2

Contacts: Don't even get me started on contacts. Well I'll just name a few
- sometimes no names in my caller ID show up only the number
- duplicate contacts
- missing contacts that re appear sometimes or I have to BBM the person to ask
- "Linking Contacts" adds the same number under the old one so some people i have like 5 of the same numbers
- No perfect Gmail/Outlook sync that should sync all Contacts, Calendars and Notes. (BBOS could handle Calendars and Contacts seamlessly)
- When you "Link a Contact's" number to a Facebook contact and then you backup and restore. Sometimes you lose that contact's number on the restore.
TBH you need to tell BlackBerry on "Beta Zone"
https://beta.webapps.blackberry.com/threads/view/23178

Link: can't even automatically sync to SD card

Calendar/Email:
- No seamless solution to sync with Gmail and Outlook, the 2 most used emails.
- Calendar multiple reminders. Very basic functionality and SMS is too (.700 sdk sms got much better).

BlackBerry App World is a cluttered mess

YouTube is just a wrapped up HTML5 site for a widely used app/site it needs more work

HUB
- Not even a dark themed HUB to go with the rest of the OS.
- Accompli is ripping features off it and making it better soo it should be getting updated in 10.3 not just the UI change like we have now

Beta Zone
- Downloads Tab is insanely slow.
- No push notifications (my discussions and downloads need to be pushed)

Express can't even support PowerPoint so what's the point of it?

Bridge not fully functional, hoping blend will fix this

BBM
- BBM groups is terrible, messages are always getting mixed up and i get notifcations for already read messages
- BBOS this was never a problem. This app definitely isn't anywhere close to being as reliable as BBOS.

Everything in this OS seems half a**ed

Note: The reason why I'm so hard on BlackBerry with this stuff is because this is supposed to be a business/enterprise, Utility and Productivity phone. They have been saying iPhone has been a toy for years and really it has more tools then BB does. iOS8 will bring the same experience like interconnected app activity and Bridge like function called Handover but is better.The Only thing they will have missing is the HUB but they have a Email like alternative called Accompli

Features from BBOS are STILL missing with 7 big updates (10.0.9, 10.1, 10.1 MR, 10.2, 10.2.1, 10.2.1 Bug Fix maybe MR). Dropping huge apps like Berry News (RSS feeds forgot what it's called), Traffic and etc.

BlackBerry needs to have a serious beta program. They should get 10 devs or more and spend a week-month per in house BB10 app. Read and take in all the ideas in Beta Zone. Create a super BB10 app then move to the next. They need to stop dragging their feet with these tiny updates once every 6 months.

Look how good Nemory is. He can bust out an app 1-2 months almost fully featured and he is: by himself, 3rd party dev that probably doesn't work on his apps 40 hours a week. These are NEW apps not just bug fixes and UI changes.

Other Things that needs to be fixed:

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...lopers-941304/

http://forums.crackberry.com/general...mpaign-939499/

BlackBerry should be ashamed having such native Apps . Just look at the Facebook App , loooool

RedBerry Z10 #00167 10.2.1.3175

Originally Posted by huungryshark

BlackBerry should be ashamed having such native Apps . Just look at the Facebook App , loooool

RedBerry Z10 #00167 10.2.1.3175

not even Chen is making the right moves look at the price of the Z3 in India. It`s going to be just as much at the Z10 with no LTE and cheaper hardware. How does that make sense?

Like wtf is the guy thinking..

Since he is a so called "software" guy then he needs to start at the ground up starting with the half as*ed core apps but I haven't seen a core app updated in months other then BBM.
Just 10 full time people, adding features to core apps and updating 1 app weekly would keep me happy.

What is BlackBerry Sweden currently doing?

In 10.3 all i'm seeing is UI enhancements and little features.. (it's unfinished but still)

Sounds about right for the most part. They need to prioritize what is most important to their end users and fix each and add more functionality. The Hub should be a main focus and so should Docs to Go, Contacts, Protect, and Link. I also like that you mentioned Express. They need to make that the go to PowerPoint application. That would be sweet. It is really cool as is but lacks so much compared to just a regular powerpoint. I agree with you that they have to focus on Business/Enterprise applications and knock them right out of the park. It would be a big step in the right direction. let Amazon deal with those missing consumer apps. The only social apps that BB should take care of are the ones they already have. Though, to me, Facebook and Twitter are not as important, but that doesn't mean they don't need work. They most certainly do. Good on you khehl. Have at 'em. If you can help them get there then all power to you. They need to prioritize and focus on their applications. They should finish getting the UI out of the way, add BBOS options back in where they can, and get these main applications perfected.

Why are they going to listen to you... especially with that tone of voice? Well anyway:

My suggestion: pick a few Core apps and stick to them for suggestions. And Core being Contacts, Calendar, Remember, Maps, Voice assistant, File Manager, D2G. I agree with most of your points for these.
An additional point: make it so that any international address/number format is recognised, or stuff like adding locations to Contacts/Calendar is useless (cannot open them).

Things like FB and Twitter are not Core apps, no matter how you look at it, I would prefer their effort to go to the OS functions.
As far as Print2G and Express are concerned, they are an alternative to Print/Presentations, they are not meant to be a Print/Powerpoint-clone. It would of course be nice to get WiFi printing or PPoint export built in, but it would not really make much sense to me. Especially if they should focus on more basic parts first!

The point here being: better to give some detailed feedback on a few points, than overwhelming them with shallow points and requests.
And make sure your feedback is accurate. For example I can sync files from my SD card to my PC just fine, and I have no real problems with BBLink, Gmail sync or Contacts (anymore).

Comparing the BlackBerry development team to devs like Nem0ry is not fair either, you have no idea how much workload their team has, or how thinly spread they are.

Again, not really sure how you got a meeting like that, but asking for a load of criticism here might not be the best way to decide what to mention.


BlackBerry 10 signed.

haha the tone is more of a keyboard warrior thing. In person I will be much nicer about it.

Most people use Facebook, even businesses. So it's known as a business tool.

Print to go/express are business tools they need to be on a business phone.

Blackberry link does not sync to SD card, there is no option. Sure it overflows onto it but there needs to be an option ONLY to sync to SD card. Most people keep their media on their SD card.
I don't want to be copying and pasting my new music from file manager or use a 3rd party app for it. As of now that's the only way to only get media onto my sd card.

I am not saying FB/Twitter are not important, but when you say Core apps I just think more of the built-in stuff like contacts/calendar; the BlackBerry unique apps.

Oh and I forgot to mention, YouTube is not an app at all, it literally a Homescreen bookmark that opens the actual browser... so I am not sure how they would improve on that. ;)

I do not sync music through Link, but whenever I select a folder of photos/videos to sync to my Q10, it always puts it on the SD card. Then any additional stuff I put into that folder gets sync'ed the next possible time.
And you can manually edit the sync'ed locations as well. But maybe not for music...

BlackBerry 10 signed.

Originally Posted by khehl

not even Chen is making the right moves look at the price of the Z3 in India. It`s going to be just as much at the Z10 with no LTE and cheaper hardware. How does that make sense?

Like wtf is the guy thinking..

Since he is a so called "software" guy then he needs to start at the ground up starting with the half as*ed core apps but I haven't seen a core app updated in months other then BBM.
Just 10 full time people, adding features to core apps and updating 1 app weekly would keep me happy.

What is BlackBerry Sweden currently doing?

In 10.3 all i'm seeing is UI enhancements and little features.. (it's unfinished but still)

I'm not all that worried about pricing. Yes it is a bit higher than expected but it is difficult to compete with Android manufacturers that put little in the way of OS development and Software development. Most of that is all taken care of by Google and Open Source developers which are everywhere. The cheaper Samsung devices are sold at losses to flood these markets and they make plenty of money off of high-end devices, tablets, computers, televisions, washing machines, large appliances, small appliances, etc. It is not easy to get into a pricing war with that. What other companies have such low priced 5" smartphones that are using their own built in-house OS? How cheap are those iPhones in India? $260USD? I don't think so. Would I have liked it closer to $200? Yeah, absolutely, but it isn't such a big deal. I don't think Foxconn is really producing that many Z3s anyway.

Originally Posted by eddy_berry

I'm not all that worried about pricing. Yes it is a bit higher than expected but it is difficult to compete with Android manufacturers that put little in the way of OS development and Software development. Most of that is all taken care of by Google and Open Source developers which are everywhere. The cheaper Samsung devices are sold at losses to flood these markets and they make plenty of money off of high-end devices, tablets, computers, televisions, washing machines, small appliances, etc. It is not easy to get into a pricing war with that. What other companies have such low priced 5" smartphones that are using their own built in-house OS? How cheap are those iPhones in India? $260USD? I don't think so. Would I have liked it closer to $200? Yeah, absolutely, but it isn't such a big deal. I don't think Foxconn is really producing that many Z3s anyway.

Chen said himself the Z3 will be 200$ and the iPhone is LTE and is known to stay expensive. They don't go after the low economy markets anyways. This phone is. iPhone should not be compared to the Z3. 12000 rupees would be a fair price for everyone

Originally Posted by MrGlenn

Oh and I forgot to mention, YouTube is not an app at all, it literally a Homescreen bookmark that opens the actual browser... so I am not sure how they would improve on that. ;)

I know I would probably leave YouTube out. I was just on a role (me being a keyboard warrior again, i guess), listing all the preinstalled/made by BlackBerry apps i can think of to get my point across.

And yes I know I should have left out twitter as well. From my understanding twitter actually took over that project but my not quite sure.

Originally Posted by khehl

Chen said himself the Z3 will be 200$ and the iPhone is LTE and is known to stay expensive. They don't go after the low economy markets anyways. This phone is. iPhone should not be compared to the Z3. 12000 rupees would be a fair price for everyone

There is already a thread about that...wait, two threads now.
http://forums.crackberry.com/news-ru...l#post10518680
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe.../#post10518599

Regarding OS features, Android is 10 years old and iOS is 7 years old. Yet iOS is just implementing (iOS 8) features that BB 10, which is less than two years old, has since day one!

Not really sure what the fuss is about or problems are with Google contacts or calendar syncing. Mine has synced and works perfectly fine after adding my google account to the phone and having a calendar that is shared. Are you sharing the calendar or allowing it to be seen within google settings?

Originally Posted by eduzojordan

There is already a thread about that...wait, two threads now.
http://forums.crackberry.com/news-ru...l#post10518680
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe.../#post10518599

Regarding OS features, Android is 10 years old and iOS is 7 years old. Yet iOS is just implementing (iOS 8) features that BB 10, which is less than two years old, has since day one!

Z3 was just a point on a stupid move and I will not be bringing that up to the Dev team obviously. It's just me thinking out loud.

that's great that you are trying to defend BlackBerry, I have since 2005. I'm been a huge fan and I have talked to all the big guys. I have been in Ballsillies house multiple times for his sons parties and I've talked to Jim about BlackBerry at those parties. Since I live in Waterloo. Hence why I am getting a meeting...

That aside this isn't a defending BlackBerry thread. This is a thread that I am compiling info to talk to the dev "team" (not just 1 person).

Originally Posted by hellomoto921

Not really sure what the fuss is about or problems are with Google contacts or calendar syncing. Mine has synced and works perfectly fine after adding my google account to the phone and having a calendar that is shared. Are you sharing the calendar or allowing it to be seen within google settings?

shared calendars works but contacts doesn't really.

But to be honest I got tired of trying earlier on (last march, 2013) and just ended up syncing calendars to my Yahoo Mail account then started using my rogers.com account. So i don't know how about the gmail thing as much anymore but from what I see in the forums there still is problems.

If the techies on these forums still have problems, the general consumer will more then definitely have problems.

Originally Posted by khehl

shared calendars works but contacts doesn't really.

My contacts worked. Yes there were some doubles from ones I added manually but I think alot of the problems are due to way different systems store or save contacts. Just a little clean up and merging/linking same contacts made it fine for me.

Originally Posted by khehl

that's great that you are trying to defend BlackBerry, I have since 2005. I'm been a huge fan and I have talked to all the big guys. I have been in Ballsillies house multiple times for his sons parties and I've talked to Jim at those parties. Since I live in Waterloo. Hence why I am getting a meeting...
That aside this isn't a defending BlackBerry thread. This is a thread that I am compiling info to talk to the dev "team" (not just 1 person).

I don't care about you going to parties o visiting BB offices. Good for you!
BB 10 is less than two years old. If you expect it to have everything that others, very "old-mature" OS have, then you have no idea about developing software.
I'm not defending BB, I just pointing a fact!
I like were BB 10 OS is headed. Last nite, I installed leaked 10.3, lots of improvements. Just a matter of time.
Yet, people will be unhappy with 10.3...give it a rest already ja ja ja!

Originally Posted by hellomoto921

My contacts worked. Yes there were some doubles from ones I added manually but I think alot of the problems are due to way different systems store or save contacts. Just a little clean up and merging/linking same contacts made it fine for me.

I edited my post actually just above yours with more info.

I will try later on before I go in to make sure what I'm saying is 100% accurate with no workarounds.

Originally Posted by eduzojordan

I don't care about you going to parties o visiting BB offices. Good for you!
BB 10 is less than two years old. If you expect it to have everything that others, very "old-mature" OS have, then you have no idea about developing software.
I'm not defending BB, I just pointing a fact!
I like were BB 10 OS is headed. Last nite, I installed leaked 10.3, lots of improvements. Just a matter of time.
Yet, people will be unhappy with 10.3...give it a rest already ja ja ja!

actually we are now going into 4 years of development and they are missing A LOT of the old features from BBOS which should have been mandatory at launch. But past is the past

Thats great that you like where BB10 is heading but where they are heading with this whole dev team situation isn't going to win the general consumer or even businesses.

Sure business' will use BES10 because they are dumb not to with the pricing and functions of it. But those business' will keep using their iPhones and Androids because they are actually better business tools as of now.
The only thing BB10 has on them is the unified HUB for basic messaging. Accompli took the HUB and pi*ped it out, except it's only for emails for now at least.

BlackBerry needs to sell hardware and in house software is part of selling hardware, if they don't do that then there is no point in selling hardware.

those 65 dev relations people who got laid off definitely could of helped at least for another month with Core apps.

There isn't really any excuses. Yes, BB10 has the best "base" OS then anyone else now, they need to pick it up with updated in house apps.

Hello,
absolutely. I use BB (Q10) for business (not for games or watching movies) and from this perspective it would be enough to implement the following two points :

1) possibility to create Remeber items directly from all HUB items (like emails, SMS, calls etc.) including their headers (e.g. SMS sender number, name, time received and content) and including their attachements (from MMS, emails etc.) It would be breakthrough feature for business users ! To have HUB as "inbound queue" and Remeber as follow-up "to-do" tool.
2) fix the bug in HUB searching - it fails (no matches) when you search against string containing underscore symbol (e.g. searching for BOREK against items [email protected] returns "no results" ! :-(
Well. Hopefully. Good night.
Ivan

I totally agree @khehl. I don't get how ppl try to defend BlackBerry talking about "new" os and all sort of rubbish. Make no sense after having a mature os replace it with with a half baked try. They can't say they don't know these features and how to implement them because bbos had them. I've said it b4 and I'll say it again bb10 should only have been released after at least all bbos +ve features were implemented. The only thing bb10 has over bbos is elegance, when it comes to features bbos is still way ahead over its "upgrade "

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Would be nice to remind them of all the stuff people posted and commented on https://blackberry.icanmakeitbetter.com/nextgen/ideas
I think they are already compiling lots of feedback into their future releases!

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Originally Posted by teostar

I totally agree @khehl. I don't get how ppl try to defend BlackBerry talking about "new" os and all sort of rubbish. Make no sense after having a mature os replace it with with a half baked try. They can't say they don't know these features and how to implement them because bbos had them. I've said it b4 and I'll say it again bb10 should only have been released after at least all bbos +ve features were implemented. The only thing bb10 has over bbos is elegance, when it comes to features bbos is still way ahead over its "upgrade "

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Totally agree!

I don't why most of people hind behind "new OS", "you can't have it because of 100 percent security" and other excuses and BS.

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Thanks for the offer!

Yes, Contacts, Contacts, Contacts! Just have them look at the entry fields from Legacy phones and add the choices from the drop-downs back in for a start. Then I don't know why backing them up or restoring them is such a mess.

Next, I want a way to export/share/email/send whatever I have in Remember. I'm glad I'm able to remember things but its a one-way door as is. What goes in, is difficult to get back out.

Finally, I'd have them fix Bedside Mode to allow being enabled once plugged in and add the swipe to select to your snooze time, as was also available with BBOS. I could swipe snooze and select whether I wanted to rest another 5 minutes or 30 minutes after the alarm went off. There's been more than a few threads about it in the forums. And for kicks, getting the flip-clock back would be nice!

Biggest things I want:

1) Ability to hide files in file manager.

2) Making it easier to develop apps with hub integration

3) a more customizable lock screen (widgets, nicer looking messages, cleaner way to get to a notification rather than double tapping, etc)

4) Holster profiles and custom LEDs for notifications are a must-have as well.

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