[kelton]

I do remember some sort of $10,000 incentive early on, but given that people believe that the app "ecosystem" is the problem....

... why doesn't RIM just identify the 25+ most in-demand apps and pay, whatever it takes, to get those developers on board?

It might be cheaper to do that than to upgrade actual phone hardware!

Wouldn't funding app development be possibly the easiest solution? (if, indeed, the apps are the key problem)

No special R&D teams, no new construction or long term plans, no FCC approval process.... just write a frig'n check!

If nothing else, RIM has cash!

The deal could be done at highway rest stop.

[BergerKing]

I've seen this question posed a few times, but now in the correct forum.

[the_igg]

For the smaller indie developers, yes this method will work. But bigger companies want to see market share and a sizeable user base. So yeah, money doesn't mean anything for the bigger companies

[Shao128]

... why doesn't RIM just identify the 25+ most in-demand apps and pay, whatever it takes, to get those developers on board?

I agree. They should go all out now.

[Valdar729]

For the smaller indie developers, yes this method will work. But bigger companies want to see market share and a sizeable user base. So yeah, money doesn't mean anything for the bigger companies

Why do they want to see market share and user base? So they can make money. BlackBerry should be paying them so they make a profit, not just enough to cover development costs. Anything can be paid for, if you pose the right number.

Posted via CB10

[guygardner73]

Why do they want to see market share and user base? So they can make money. BlackBerry should be paying them so they make a profit, not just enough to cover development costs. Anything can be paid for, if you pose the right number.

Posted via CB10

My money's on 7

Z10STL100-2/10.1.0.4780 O2 Uk

[Gatmyer]

I'm sure Instagram would come on board if handed a 10 million dollar check. Truly a drop in the bucket considering how many people want this app.

[Richard Buckley]

I'm sure Instagram would come on board if handed a 10 million dollar check. Truly a drop in the bucket considering how many people want this app.

Use Kickstarter to raise the money.

Posted via CB10

[Valdar729]

Use Kickstarter to raise the money.

Posted via CB10

The point is that BlackBerry isn't doing this and it's hurting their platform. They should be doing it. Pay 10 or 20 million and reap the benefit in phone sales.

Posted via CB10

[JasW]

This has been discussed here on CB for almost three years now, back when people were carping about Netflix being made available for Android devices but not for the Torch 9800. Either BBRY /RIM decided they wouldn't pay or the big developers didn't want their money.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

[Troy Tiscareno]

The big players are ONLY interested in MARKETSHARE. Marketshare is what increases the value of their companies and their platforms. While, yes, they are in the business of making money, it's MARKETSHARE that is the force multiplier for making them REAL money.

$10M is chump change for what these companies could make by simply spending their efforts improving their existing iOS and Android apps, vs. building for BB10, because there are orders of magnitude more users on those platforms.

Plus, as I've written elsewhere, these companies are too big, too important, and value their reputations too highly to simply port over an Android app that isn't going to give an optimal experience on BB10. They'd need to code a brand new app in Cascades, which means hiring developers. They'd also need to hire support staff for the BB10 platform. They'd need more testers, and more management. They would have to spend money for changes in marketing, documentation, and legal fees. And it would slow the development process of adding new features to their product, as it would take more time to test the additional permutations and fix issues, potentially allowing competitors to steal their market.

That's a lot of expense and risk just to get some portion of 1% of the smartphone market, and even with a big check up-front, these companies simply don't see it to be worth the risk.

[AlexJH1992]

With what money haha

Posted via CB10

[MarsupilamiX]

I would fathom that for BlackBerry, their cash is one of their biggest assets, in the case of the company being sold.

They won't want to waste it now, if they are serious about a merger/acquisition.
Also, when going private, the cash is a very nice asset.

Since they haven't spend it until now, I don't think they'll be big spenders in the next few quarters.

Posted via CB10

[birdman_38]

If BlackBerry pays big absent moneymaking developers to come on board, how is that fair to the existing small developers who have already invested their time, money and effort into the platform?

[BerryPirate]

The policy of paying small time developers has nasty effects. It turns an app ecosystem into a junk store. Microsoft did the same, and their store is full of junk apps of dubious quality too.

[Richard Buckley]

The policy of paying small time developers has nasty effects. It turns an app ecosystem into a junk store. Microsoft did the same, and their store is full of junk apps of dubious quality too.

This. Just look at the $100 bounty for Application Builder apps (many of them still sport the goofy version number in the title (1) ). The Android portathons snagged a lot of crappy apps too.

[RubberChicken76]

How do you know they don't?

There's a reason why negotiations like this are held private. Every developer with a brain would come asking for 'funding' if it got out how much money was being paid for big-name apps.

[ranzabar]

It's not a charity. BlackBerry needs to have top apps to stay in business. Otherwise all are screwed.

Posted via CB10

[Thunderbuck]

I'm sure Instagram would come on board if handed a 10 million dollar check. Truly a drop in the bucket considering how many people want this app.

You don't know that for sure.

Some developers won't publish on BB10 period. The word on Instagram is that Microsoft is pressuring Facebook not to release on BB10 at all. There's no amount of money on earth that will overcome that (remember that Microsoft owns a piece of Facebook).

From the awesome PHYSICAL keyboard of my Q10

[DisturbedRocks31]

I just calculated how much RIM/BlackBerry spent for me to build my BFB app. Came to about $5200 in consumer price - I'm sure it didn't cost THEM that much, but to me, the benefit was equivalent of almost $5000.

My point is, I think they're doing almost everything they can to bring apps to BlackBerry and it shows because a new platform usually doesn't have 50 000 apps - especially when there are SO many nay sayers out there...

[urbanfarmer]

You don't know that for sure.

Some developers won't publish on BB10 period. The word on Instagram is that Microsoft is pressuring Facebook not to release on BB10 at all. There's no amount of money on earth that will overcome that (remember that Microsoft owns a piece of Facebook).

From the awesome PHYSICAL keyboard of my Q10

Agree 100%. As a developer myself, if someone came to me and said: Here's a blank cheque, fill in the amount and port your app to Android... they'd be shown the door. Out of principle we refuse to write for Android and there ain't no amount of money that's going to change our focus. We have a business model that works just fine -- and it doesn't include the Android platform.

Those of us with principles and business knowledge can understand it's not always just about the money and that there are other far-reaching impacts to a business that you just can't solve by throwing money at it. I guess that's only apparent to those of us that aren't "obsessed with instant gratification".

I ask this: Why doesn't Apple/Google/Microsoft/Sammy just pay developers to not write for BB10? (Or are they already doing that...???)

[RubberChicken76]

The word on Instagram is that Microsoft is pressuring Facebook not to release on BB10 at all.

Not sure I believe that ...

[anon62607]

Not sure I believe that ...

they would be better off pushing for an Instagram release on windows phone

[stackberry369]

Agree 100%. As a developer myself, if someone came to me and said: Here's a blank cheque, fill in the amount and port your app to Android... they'd be shown the door. Out of principle we refuse to write for Android and there ain't no amount of money that's going to change our focus. We have a business model that works just fine -- and it doesn't include the Android platform.

Those of us with principles and business knowledge can understand it's not always just about the money and that there are other far-reaching impacts to a business that you just can't solve by throwing money at it. I guess that's only apparent to those of us that aren't "obsessed with instant gratification".

I ask this: Why doesn't Apple/Google/Microsoft/Sammy just pay developers to not write for BB10? (Or are they already doing that...???)

and if they are in fact doing this:that is collusion and collusion is illegal.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

[birdman_38]

they would be better off pushing for an Instagram release on windows phone

They are.