What RIM should be doing.

This market coverage nonsense is ridiculous and damaging the BlackBerry brand.

There should be no 'low-cost' BlackBerry, nor should there be a premium one. There should be ONE BlackBerry. I'd go so far as to say they need to stop the Curve, Storm, Pearl and Bold lines all together. It should just be called "BlackBerry."

One piece of hardware, the same for all BlackBerry users: a unified experience, an easier platform for developers (one device, same specs - you know your app will be the same on all devices).

RIM's strength is the candybar format. It should be candybar only. On top of this, no other major (Apple, current Android hardware, Palm) smartphone device uses this format beyond RIM. It has, is and always will be their major strength/market advantage.

With ONE (and only one) device, RIM can then devote all focus to absolutely nailing software. Unlike others, I do not believe RIM needs to scrap everything and start from the ground up, but what RIM do need to do is RADICALLY update the UI/UEX. When you read all these comments about BlackBerrys running an archaic OS, very rarely do you actually read a knowledgeable comment from someone who can actually specify how it is archaic. The majority of end-users are commenting purely on UI. A radical shake up of the user experience should keep these comments at bay for 2-3 years, allowing RIM to rebuild the BlackBerry OS on top of a Linux-based kernel, thereby assuring its sustainability for years to come, staving off Android, and maintaining market dominance (ceteris paribus for all other competing smartphone development roadmaps).

The device should have a touchscreen, combined with physical keyboard. The menu, call, end and back keys should be part of the touchscreen, but not capacitive buttons. They should be an area of the UI reserved for those buttons, whose appearance changes depending on the context the user finds himself in. Difficult to explain and visualise, but try to imagine something along these lines:

User on homescreen: traditional BlackBerry buttons.
User in messaging app: the four buttons become: compose, reply, delete, back.

For additional menu operations, a long press anywhere on the screen will bring up an expanded menu, in draw format, which 'grows' out on top of the other 'buttons' already present. This creates a powerful adaptive UI - somewhat already seen on Android, iPhone and webOS, but not used in this capacity.

Mockup of the device below.

The end result of this is that RIM re-assert themselves in the smartphone market with re-invention and innovation, without having to drop support for older blackberry models and their current business practices. At the same time, with only one BlackBerry device being made (and updated yearly, with the updates focusing mainly on software), RIM will ensure that gradually both consumers and enterprises move to the new standard of BlackBerry for both easier support (identical hardware) and to keep up with the rate of change of technology. This will actually allow RIM to then drop support for archaic BlackBerry models more quickly, as there will only be one potential model to upgrade to in the future.

Time allowing, I'll create a UI mockup as well.

It wont really matter in anyway if the OS is the exact same across the board, with one or two features that are device dependent that is automatically turned off, or not installed when the App Loader realizes what that device is.

Linux is great, but its probably going to need a LOT more than 2 or 3 years.
Not only do you need the innards of the device redone, but you also have to have BIS, and BES backbones redone to talk, yack, and handshake. That is a MAJOR, MAJOR move that CAN VERY EASILY FAIL. Its dangerously risky, just as risky as one commenter said, go android. Which at that point, RIM might as well just pack up and fold in.

But if it DOES happen, then they could either go all in as one said--bad idea. Do you want to do 180 on the highway and hit that car that much faster?--or safely send out one or two devices on the new system, very controled, very strictly iron gripped so bugs can be worked out, and probably, we'll never see them for three years....

Right now the BACKBONES are fine. Utterly fine, so far our own complaint is the OS, which I've found no problems for. Sure its a JAVA base, its getting rather old, but thats what you'd expect.

At this point, I like the 9800 Slider design. It's a design that could very well work exceptionally well. As for the old design you showed, not fond of it, never was... I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't the only one that thought that way, and of course, theirs RIM's other issue.

Those devices offer a variety. If from here on out all devices maintained a similar hardware setup, but different usability result--touchscreen, Curve KB, Bold KB, Pearl KB, etc. THAT would be a significant improvement on RIM's part.

No no no no no...I'd say that would run RIM into the ground by the end of the year if they started doing that.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

This is unworkable and would be the death of RIM as we know it.

The ONE thing RIM has done right is adapt their product line so as to be appealing
to non-business users and they did that by creating a product line that is (A) no
longer viewed as a stodgy, old persons device and (B) providing consumers choices
of devices that appeal to personal taste and preference.

What you are proposing is RIM saying, "from here on out, THIS will be all you get,
take it or leave it." I assure you the mass of consumers who have a choice (those
who buy their own) will opt for the latter. Business and governmental agencies do not
"turn over" devices as frequently as consumers (cost prohibitive, depending on org. size)
so I doubt there is much to be gained there.

There are millions of people that like the slimness of the Pearl series, the size of the
Bold 9000, touchscreen only Storms, proposed sliders, etc and this would alienate
many of them. But hey, RIM will have a lock on those wanting a keyboard and touch.

the very first thing needed is not to lose the current users -- most people who are essentially happy & familiar with what they have stay with it. getting people back entails having something better than what they now are used to & happy with. The single biggest issue is WEB. Roll out WEBKIT (the web should just work on every phone, whether or not it can use OS6) & do it asap to every old & new machine that possibly can support Webkit. this is a bigger priority than os 6 (unless it will be out in 2 weeks!) If for the Curves onward (at least), not much will be "wrong with" Blackberry cause web is now working, & everyone knows that all the newer BB models have gorgeous screens, good to great qwerty keyboards, adequate to great battery life, etc, etc. the apps will continue to come, & it will be alot harder to lure people away. If the telcos offer older BB phones for next to nothing, & the experience is great, people will stay with it, pay to upgrade to the better ones rather than drool over something else... Keep a worldphone, a flip pearl-style for new users to feel comfortable with & or for those who are never without their laptops & use a phone mostly for communication. The candy bar as it is right now is a winner - IT ain't broke, don't fix it! Want to roll out a touchscreen -- ok, but don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. some of us need a reliable phone & want some fun, some of us just want a cool fun phone. there's room for both & profit to be made from both camps of users. Also please, allow consumers to use WPA -- Our personal security is as important to us as a business' security is to them! As time goes on, better security / identity theft prevention, offered in a simple to use fashion on consumer phones will be a major selling point. BB is very security conscious, & should be marketing the security along with the fun.

Absolutely nope.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Only one BB and Touch Screen at that. I get it. You're trying to distroy BB.

RIM was here before the rest and will be here long after they have faded away!

I'm in the Bad idea Camp.

My opinions differ greatly from yours

I can see RIM with 6 distinct lines
Bold, Storm, Curve, Pearl, Flip, Slider.

seeing yearly upgrades for each of the phones, or maybe 18 month cycles per line, seeing a New launch every 3 months. keeping Blackberry in the news, in the advertising, without putting out a heavy ad campaign like apple does.

The Problem with this for me would be, I really want to see a 9000 sized device, but many other users love the 9700 device, so you couldn't run a single Bold line and appease both groups of people unless they alternated years, large small large small, that way you get the 2 year upgrade cycle for the users of there respected form factor.

Now I'm rambling and thinking that could work with the Pearl and curve too, Alternate yearly Pearl/Pearl flip, Curve/Curve flip, and a slider/Storm alternating yearly making 4 device launches per year.

+1 for not a good idea. As was said above, RIM has a pretty good grasp of what the consumer wants, and I dont believe that it's one phone. That may work for Apple, but not for RIM. Granted, they are playing a little catch-up in their browser and OS, but I firmly believe OS 6 will at the very least, start to address these issues in a positve manner.

I think its a really interesting idea honestly. Not the linux OS but the one premium phone. Sort of what Apple has done really - this is our phone - take it or leave it. Mind you for apple it had paid off but for RIM it would be a huge risk.

I'm gonna say overall interesting, but not the best idea.

Originally Posted by jtom2343

I think its a really interesting idea honestly. Not the linux OS but the one premium phone. Sort of what Apple has done really - this is our phone - take it or leave it. Mind you for apple it had paid off but for RIM it would be a huge risk.

I'm gonna say overall interesting, but not the best idea.

Apple started out that way though so people are used to it. It would be a digression for RIM to cut back to one device and they would lose customers. It would be a marketing nightmare.

No, all RIM needs to do is standardize their OS so that the same OS works on all devices, much like how the same version of Android works on many devices. That's what OS 6 is bringing though...standardization.

I do agree that there is some streamlining to be done with the hardware, but I think they've already started that process with the elimination of the Tour (which never should have existed). They should simply have two versions of each model, two Curves, two Bolds, two Storms, two Pearls, two Sliders, etc representing CDMA and GSM, or in the upper end CDMA+GSM.

So, I think RIM is headed the right direction currently. I do think they have some more work to do in other areas though, such as memory and memory allocation, truncated email, etc. That needs to be their next step, IMO.

Originally Posted by ChuckH0308

No, all RIM needs to do is standardize their OS so that the same OS works on all devices, much like how the same version of Android works on many devices. That's what OS 6 is bringing though...standardization.

I do agree that there is some streamlining to be done with the hardware, but I think they've already started that process with the elimination of the Tour (which never should have existed). They should simply have two versions of each model, two Curves, two Bolds, two Storms, two Pearls, two Sliders, etc representing CDMA and GSM, or in the upper end CDMA+GSM.

So, I think RIM is headed the right direction currently. I do think they have some more work to do in other areas though, such as memory and memory allocation, truncated email, etc. That needs to be their next step, IMO.

Yes, I think you put it more concisely than I do. I took it to an extreme to incite debate - a debate I think is much needed.

To me, RIM are going the way of WM6.5 and Palm OS pre-webOS and it needs to be avoided right now. OS6 is a step in the right direction, but it wasn't good enough. The UI is uninspiring and the functionality, whilst greatly improved (to the extent that I will continue to stay with RIM), still leaves lots to the imagination.
I'm not asking for widgets and all this pseudo-desktop nonsense that Android brings - just for something innovative. OS6 was not innovative.

RIM's low cost bb 8520 which is Free-$50 is there answer to getting more non-business consumer users in order to stay on top. its a lame move and yes it does not say much for the brand but in a way its working cause there aren't much option for phones with decent keyboard. RIM does not listen to its consumers which is sad. Common features that should be apart of every BB go overlooked. If you look at the Post and Comments on you'll see a lot of diehard BB users are jumping ship or just disappointed at what RIM is doing lately. Look at the main page we use to see 100-300 people commenting on new BB OS leaks, Products, etc... now we're lucky if 100 people comment. This is excluding the Giveaway topics cause people come out from under rocks to try and get something free.

I just think if more people voice there concerns and show there frustration RIM will make a better effort. But there are way to many people that just accept it and are "fanboys" that will defend every RIM move with I Like my BB it doesn't need anything more, or Its a business phone (news flash it no longer is just a business phone)...

Originally Posted by johnling

Only one BB and Touch Screen at that. I get it. You're trying to distroy BB.

RIM was here before the rest and will be here long after they have faded away!

The other new brands will always be around just like RIM... but I do see RIM fading into the background and being the IBM of the industry. They will always be there to carter to the Business sector but, the #1 status they have will fade Apple is positioned to over take RIM in about 2yrs current percentage has Apple at 28% with RIM at 35%. Verizon will have the iphone by year end and I'm guess majority of old and current Storm owners will jump ship to the iphone. The Storm was just RIMs answer to the iPhone. The Storm really has nothing to do with being a Business phone it was geared to be hip/cool/media friendly etc... Don't be surprise if you see Apple at 30% by the quarter 4. I'm just looking at the facts and where the numbers are going, I'm rooting for RIM but truncated emails, web browser, and lack of space is very disappointing. Other things like not being able to select multiple files for attachment, always having to reselect thumbnail view when attaching files, qcode scanning only accessible view BBM, phone not being user friendly when on a call, etc... all simple things that seem to get overlooked. Its like don't they read the suggestions from real world users? Business users aren't going to complain or spending time sending in feedback. Its the regular consumers that do, and RIM does not listen.

Originally Posted by amazinglygraceless

This is unworkable and would be the death of RIM as we know it.

The ONE thing RIM has done right is adapt their product line so as to be appealing
to non-business users and they did that by creating a product line that is (A) no
longer viewed as a stodgy, old persons device and (B) providing consumers choices
of devices that appeal to personal taste and preference.

What you are proposing is RIM saying, "from here on out, THIS will be all you get,
take it or leave it." I assure you the mass of consumers who have a choice (those
who buy their own) will opt for the latter. Business and governmental agencies do not
"turn over" devices as frequently as consumers (cost prohibitive, depending on org. size)
so I doubt there is much to be gained there.

There are millions of people that like the slimness of the Pearl series, the size of the
Bold 9000, touchscreen only Storms, proposed sliders, etc and this would alienate
many of them. But hey, RIM will have a lock on those wanting a keyboard and touch.

I don't foresee RIM having a lock on those wanting a keyboard and touch. RIM has not shown they can do Touch screen perfectly. The 9800 has not been released yet and all we know are from pictures and videos. I just don't see RIM hitting a homerun on there first attempt at touch and keyboard. It'll probably be sluggish and not as smooth as RIM and the videos make it out to be. This is just based on RIM's history with devices.

I can see both sides of the argument. However I think the more immediate solution is MUCH easier and cost feasible: a MUCH better browsing experience that includes Flash.

I couldn't care less about OS6 or new hardware at this point. RIM should have fixed the browser back with the release of OS4.5 and they should have shipped recent models with faster processors and more adequate amounts of RAM and ROM. But, the browser fix a year ago would have possibly kept many from going to the competition. Historically OS updates have been more hype than substance.

To keep doing what you do well takes little added effort. To start/keep improving what you do not do well takes more than hype.