BlackBerry phones and the app issue
- First let me say this, I have bought both the q10 and the z10. My first smartphone was a blackberry curve, then I went to the htc evo then after that I got a samsung s3 when I got the Samsung I had every intention on getting the blackberry 9900 but my wife was with me and she liked the samsung s3 and they had a special on them when you buy two they were half price so I gave in and we both got the Samsung s3, I never really liked the way the Samsung felt in my hand it was way too light feeling and I couldn't stand the plastic feel it just plain felt like a cheap piece of crap , the built-in calendar felt childish and I constantly was searching for a good calendar app nothing compares to the blackberry calender. I could go on and on but I won't, the point I'm trying to get to is I love the way the new blackberry os works but this whole app thing is getting really frustrating I own a small business and blackberry is supposed to be a business phone but all the apps that are being built are for iPhone or Android. Sometimes you can find the android version and some work and some don't or they are ridiculously slow. I keep telling myself that maybe this fall when they release 10.3 everything will get better. Right now I need a PayPal credit card reader app and there's no signs that they will make one. I tried emailing paypal asking them why they don't have an app for BlackBerry, according to them there's not enough blackberry phones for them to justify building an app. It's just plain frustrating. Why can't they just make apps compatible with all phones? I don't want to go back to a android phone but I might have to if blackberry can't get this app thing figured out, I don't care how badass of phone os they build if there's no apps to go with the os how do they expect people to want to buy their phones ,you might as well have a flip phone.
Posted via CB1008-14-14 09:34 AMLike 0 - You are not alone... many of us really like the way the HUB works.
But the App problem is a problem, and too be honest... long term it is most likely only going to get worse.
Apple nor Google have any interest in their apps really being cross-platform. Google is even now working toward closing their ecosystem so the all these new comers with their RUNTIMES can't access future apps. The non approved Chinese Devices, Sailfish, Tizen, BlackBerry Runtime and even Amazon may find the future not very friendly.
And sadly many developers just don't see supporting every mobile OS that comes along as profitable. I look at the Kindle platform with over 50 million devices and the new phones, and then the developers of Instagram.... at some point I guess you have to say no more, and that is what Instagram did.
And HTML5 Apps that work on any device... just doesn't seem to be happening like so many expected.08-14-14 10:06 AMLike 4 - What I cannot understand is why people are complaining so much about the app gap and not simply move to iOS or Android, if they are not finding the right apps for them on a BlackBerry. Why feel miserable and not take the phone suited for your needs? Nobody is forcing anyone to keep using a BlackBerry.
I have a Z10 because I like it. If I didn't like it I would have bought other phone.08-14-14 10:16 AMLike 10 - Maybe because they are in a long term contract....
Or some may view the features of BB10 enough to stick with the platform even tough there are apps they wish they could get....
Possible their BB is a company issued device that they have no choice but use.....
But yeah those that have a choice are getting other devices - thus the poor sales and current marketshare. Just as you too will be force to get another device if BlackBerry doesn't fix the problems. Enterprise uses apps too, that is one of the big points with the IBM/Apple deal, Apple want to be the platform that IBM builds for. Security is important, but productivity usually wins out.08-14-14 10:26 AMLike 4 - Maybe because they are in a long term contract....
Or some may view the features of BB10 enough to stick with the platform even tough there are apps they wish they could get....
Possible their BB is a company issued device that they have no choice but use.....
But yeah those that have a choice are getting other devices - thus the poor sales and current marketshare. Just as you too will be force to get another device if BlackBerry doesn't fix the problems. Enterprise uses apps too, that is one of the big points with the IBM/Apple deal, Apple want to be the platform that IBM builds for. Security is important, but productivity usually wins out.08-14-14 10:29 AMLike 0 - What I cannot understand is why people are complaining so much about the app gap and not simply move to iOS or Android, if they are not finding the right apps for them on a BlackBerry. Why feel miserable and not take the phone suited for your needs? Nobody is forcing anyone to keep using a BlackBerry.
I have a Z10 because I like it. If I didn't like it I would have bought other phone.
This will be a reason why I am very interested in the Passport.
Now that doesn't stop me to complain, because it is indeed a huge issue for the majority, and even I would like (not need) some apps (like banking, public transport, travelling, a better maps application,etc).
But you can bet that the moment I see the NEED for apps, I'll buy an iPhone.
Posted via CB10haringfish likes this.08-14-14 10:50 AMLike 1 -
- There is no universal language for apps. Each platform uses its own programming language, its own APIs, and has its own style and layout guidelines.
- HTML5 apps, which are (mostly) universal, have many, many limitations compared to native apps, which is why apps are preferred. For example, security and encryption can be much higher, preferences can be stored, resolutions and screen sizes can be adjusted to more quickly and easily, etc. HTML5 apps also are limited in their access to the phone's hardware, so many apps simply could not be made in HTML5. That's why, for example, you need an app to do an online check deposit, and can't do that with a bank's HTML5 website interface, even if that looks very close to the app.
- The companies that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars or more investing in their platform's ecosystem (all of the developer programs, API enhancements, conventions, etc. cost a ton of money) have no intention of letting other companies come along and help themselves to those hard-won apps for free.
- And as for developers, they have a very good idea of which platforms are likely to be profitable for them, and which would not. Any platform that is not profitable means that developer would incur a loss by developing for it, and that's not good business. Many developers are barely getting by, and need to spend their limited time continuing to develop their apps on the platforms that are making them money, vs. a platform with very limited profit potential (or, worse, a loss).
All of these things were discussed back in 2010 when BB bought QNX rather than, say, adopting Android. It was well-understood even then that developers could only afford to support a limited number of ecosystems, and that that number was likely to be 2 or maybe 3, but definitely not more than that.
Had BB spent the last 4 years making a secured version of Android instead of investing literally more than a billion dollars in developing on QNX, BB would have the whole Play Store ecosystem available to it and would have saved a huge amount of money in the process (all the money they spend to promote and develop their own ecosystem). Of course, there are people who will argue that QNX is better, and I'm not disagreeing - for BB's purposes (i.e., security), it probably is better. But being better isn't likely to save BB's handset business - that's likely to end by 2016, because of a lack of sales that is a direct result of the lack of an ecosystem for BB10. Mike and Jim (mostly Mike) arrogantly assumed that BB could build a rival ecosystem that BB could profit off of, even though they were many years late to the game and had much less in the way of resources compared to Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Clearly, that was a poor assumption, and BB is still paying dearly for that mistake.
I would prefer that BB stay in the handset business, because the more competition there is, the better it is for everyone, but no company can continue to support a division that isn't profitable and isn't projected to become profitable in the near future. BB doesn't have the bankroll to continue the handset business if it isn't making money, and it hasn't been for BB since before the launch of BB10.08-14-14 10:59 AMLike 8 - Basically if you have it Black, there is no going back.
Most people don't see it that way. They've not had it black before. After you've used a BlackBerry, you'll find it really frustrating to go back to iOS or Android.
However you'll need to settle with the lack of Apps problem with your Blackberry. I see that there are plenty of alternatives but sometimes there aren't any because you need to use some proprietary apps & the company producing these apps think that BlackBerry has already closed down so they are not willing to support them.
Posted via CB1008-14-14 11:06 AMLike 0 - Basically if you have it Black, there is no going back.
Most people don't see it that way. They've not had it black before. After you've used a BlackBerry, you'll find it really frustrating to go back to iOS or Android.
However you'll need to settle with the lack of Apps problem with your Blackberry. I see that there are plenty of alternatives but sometimes there aren't any because you need to use some proprietary apps & the company producing these apps think that BlackBerry has already closed down so they are not willing to support them.
Posted via CB10
Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android08-14-14 11:16 AMLike 2 - I just don't see an app issue. Native and Android between them cover most eventualities and the Android ones run absolutely fine almost always. May be a Z30 attitude because as far as I can see it's the other devices where the complaints come from mostly.
Posted via CB1008-14-14 11:23 AMLike 0 -
- If people would simply do a bit of research before they commit to a platform.... there would be no app issue.... if you simply list the top 10 apps you use or want and half are not avaialble... why go to that platform..... go to the one that has it.,... It is not that BB has a reputation for abundance apps... so why it is an issue... a cursary google search would inform even a novice user that apps availablilty is an issue to many... percieved or actual..... so why people insist on creating threads like this to rehash what is basically a personal preference issue... For me I find no app gap.. everything I need is in BB World... which is why I bought a BB in the first place... how many time are we going to flog the preverbiable dead horse.... Taking the OP view... Apple and Google are deficient because they do not have the HUB which to me is crucial.... guess I need to go over rail at them....08-14-14 11:45 AMLike 5
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Troy Tiscareno make the very good point that the question of the decade is: How many app platforms can the market really support? It looks like the answer is: at most 3, and WP in that third spot is in doubt.
For people like myself, with very modest app needs, BB10 is a great experience. But I think I/we are a dwindling segment. To a large extent, running apps is what smartphones are for. And as our expectations rise, the resources needed to build really good apps rise too. This is a natural progression. I'm old enough to remember MS-DOS (CP/M too, but never mind), when there were some pretty decent word processing apps (we didn't call them apps back then, of course) being produced by individuals, working on their own. They were soon blown out of the water by the large software houses that had the resources to build stuff that no lone software whiz could hope to compete with.
We're in that part of the cycle now with smartphone apps. The smaller developers will gradually be crowded out by the larger ones, and the larger ones, to compete with each other, will have to ignore the fringe platforms.
In my opinion, the only way BB10 can stay in the game for more than a few more years is for the Android runtime to get so good that it really does rival a native Android experience -- and developers have to stay interested enough to build generic versions of apps that don't need Google Play Services. That is, the Amazon app store has to get stronger.
I don't know what the odds of either of these things might be, but that's the position BB10 is in.08-14-14 11:59 AMLike 7 -
We're in that part of the cycle now with smartphone apps. The smaller developers will gradually be crowded out by the larger ones, and the larger ones, to compete with each other, will have to ignore the fringe platforms.
In my opinion, the only way BB10 can stay in the game for more than a few more years is for the Android runtime to get so good that it really does rival a native Android experience -- and developers have to stay interested enough to build generic versions of apps that don't need Google Play Services. That is, the Amazon app store has to get stronger.
I don't know what the odds of either of these things might be, but that's the position BB10 is in.
Blackberry's main problem now is not really an app gap, I believe that it's main problem is marketing & that is why the number of devices are still low. Most people don't know that BlackBerry is still around anyway.
Posted via CB10eyesopen1111 likes this.08-14-14 12:12 PMLike 1 - I chose door #3 - a BlackBerry phone and a Windows tablet. Between the two of them, I have all the apps I need. If Windows didn't have the apps I was missing, I would have bought an iPad mini. Why is this such an insurmountable obstacle for so many people?
Posted via CB1008-14-14 12:13 PMLike 4 - First let me say this, I have bought both the q10 and the z10. My first smartphone was a blackberry curve, then I went to the htc evo then after that I got a samsung s3 when I got the Samsung I had every intention on getting the blackberry 9900 but my wife was with me and she liked the samsung s3 and they had a special on them when you buy two they were half price so I gave in and we both got the Samsung s3, I never really liked the way the Samsung felt in my hand it was way too light feeling and I couldn't stand the plastic feel it just plain felt like a cheap piece of crap , the built-in calendar felt childish and I constantly was searching for a good calendar app nothing compares to the blackberry calender. I could go on and on but I won't, the point I'm trying to get to is I love the way the new blackberry os works but this whole app thing is getting really frustrating I own a small business and blackberry is supposed to be a business phone but all the apps that are being built are for iPhone or Android. Sometimes you can find the android version and some work and some don't or they are ridiculously slow. I keep telling myself that maybe this fall when they release 10.3 everything will get better. Right now I need a PayPal credit card reader app and there's no signs that they will make one. I tried emailing paypal asking them why they don't have an app for BlackBerry, according to them there's not enough blackberry phones for them to justify building an app. It's just plain frustrating. Why can't they just make apps compatible with all phones? I don't want to go back to a android phone but I might have to if blackberry can't get this app thing figured out, I don't care how badass of phone os they build if there's no apps to go with the os how do they expect people to want to buy their phones ,you might as well have a flip phone.
Posted via CB10southlander likes this.08-14-14 12:22 PMLike 1 - It's basically gotten to the point where Blackberry users need to also get an android or iphone device to get all the apps they want. I can live without apps myself. Never had any need for any of them. But I can understand those who live and die by them. And if you live and die by your apps, but still want to use a Blackberry for your communication needs, well the only way to go is to get a second device. Android phones are so cheap now, may as well pull the trigger.sentimentGX4 and KingOfQwerty like this.08-14-14 12:27 PMLike 2
- It's basically gotten to the point where Blackberry users need to also get an android or iphone device to get all the apps they want. I can live without apps myself. Never had any need for any of them. But I can understand those who live and die by them. And if you live and die by your apps, but still want to use a Blackberry for your communication needs, well the only way to go is to get a second device. Android phones are so cheap now, may as well pull the trigger.
Posted via CB1008-14-14 12:30 PMLike 0 -
Posted via CB1008-14-14 12:39 PMLike 0 -
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