[Robin Lim]

Before you flame me, I love my Z10 and have no regrets. This is the best user interface I have encountered. The Hub really is a killer feature. I have gotten to like the Keyboard more than my previous one, SwiftKey. I like the browser better than Chrome. I even use Remember for tasks and notes. Despite some issues, I love this phone.

But I am just wondering if BlackBerry might not have been better off coming out with their own flavor of Android. We would have Google Maps and Play. BlackBerry 10 also seems to use more memory than Android. This will make it hard for BlackBerry to come out with lower cost BlackBerry 10 devices for some time.

I am probably ignoring some important under the hood security features.

Just some thoughts on a lazy Friday afternoon.

Posted from my Zed 10

[len pothier]

I think the biggest problem with that is that they would then limit themselves to being a hardwaree company essentially and I don't think, neither does BB, that the real money isn't in the hardware but in developing the software and services to go along with it. Hardware has become commodotized now so unless you are a rerally big player like samsung its hard to differentiate yourself in any meaningful way. IMO its why Nokia went with Windows, they needed something to stand out with since it seems everybody and their chinese brother is making handsets now a days.

[Robin Lim]

I see your point. When I said Play, I should have said Play apps. BlackBerry could have maintained a separate app store. Google Play is a mess. I found some interesting apps here on BBW which I never installed on my Android. Out of curiosity I checked out Google Play and there where alternatives there. A number of Android users might want a better curated app store.

As for the services, BlackBerry could have given its devices free BBM, while charging a dollar per year for other platforms.

But I am a happy camper. I love the phone and have all the apps I need. I trust the issues will be worked out. Moving to a first generation phone, I did know to expect things would not be perfect.

Posted from my Zed 10

[austerus]

In a way, yes, but only if they would have offered access to existing app platform.

However, I was really looking forward to QNX-based system. Theoretically it should be faster, lesser hardware requirements (it comes from the embedded Unix world after all) thus it has much higher potential to offer a flawless user experience than a Unix kernel which runs a JVM as an application container.

Blackberry managed to technically botch its QNA implementation (yeah, I love the design, but ...) resulting a new platform, with little developer support, no backwards compatibility for the existing user base and with hardware requirements out of this world (Heins said BB10 won't work properly on PB which has a dual core with 1Gb RAM). All new phones use 2Gb of RAM and various powerful CPUs and in BB's vision this seems to be close to minimal specs for a flawless experience.

I don't see how (from a technical point of view) this situation is sustainable. I don't see developers engaging on this platform that seems to demand expensive hardware as a bare minimum.

In hindsight, yeah, perhaps choosing Android might have been better technically, but the Android market is already overcrowded.

However, for Nokia, WP8 seems to have been the right call. The market is much more relaxed, Nokia is back on profit, going slowly but steadily and WP8 has lots of rooms for improvements and innovation. Also, it runs perfectly on cheaper hardware (single core, 512Mb RAM and still flies decently). The app market is going well and it's easy to get into (nothing new to learn, the knowledge about .NET platform is out there). BB could have gone the WP8 way or joined in the Tizen efforts.

[joeybee]

BlackBerry is known for security. Android is not secure and would require a massive amount of changes to make it secure. QNX is a much better choice as an underlying OS. It runs on many mission critical systems and is extremely secure.

Posted via CB10

[Robin Lim]

About Windows Phone 8 on 512MB of RAM, a lot of Marketplace apps won't run on those specifications, but it is better than BlackBerry situation.

BlackBerry will have to sell BlackBerry 7 devices for another year or two, on the lower price points. I don't see that as being feasible.

With out a low cost BlackBerry 10 device, I think BlackBerry's market share is going to seriously drop in the next year.

BlackBerry 10 so fluid, who knew it would require so much RAM.

Posted from my Zed 10

[serbanescu]

I think the biggest problem with that is that they would then limit themselves to being a hardwaree company essentially and I don't think, neither does BB, that the real money isn't in the hardware but in developing the software and services to go along with it. Hardware has become commodotized now so unless you are a rerally big player like samsung its hard to differentiate yourself in any meaningful way. IMO its why Nokia went with Windows, they needed something to stand out with since it seems everybody and their chinese brother is making handsets now a days.

I agree. Going Android would dilute the brand and would draw off hardcore fans, with no clear differentiator to atract new customers.

--------------------

Calorie Monitor Pro for Z10, Q10, Q5 and PlayBook

[Mo Cat]

No, personally I came (back) to BlackBerry for all its strong features, not gonna mention them now. I'm glad i'm away from android, never use many apps and so no need for them. I use my Q10 as a communicator and not to play games or other nitbits.

CB10 - Q10