Why RIM doesn't have to worry about the number of apps
I've noticed a lot of articles and debates surrounding the number of apps available on competing platforms. I recently read an article on a tech site about BB10's features and some of the comments went on about how the lack of apps will still hurt RIM even though their OS is far ahead of IOS or Android. This IMHO is pretty short-sighted and shallow. Here's why I think so.
Apple has 700K+ apps and Android probably up there too. Even i-fans will admit that a vast majority are useless or duplicates. But through clever marketing, Apple has managed to convince your average consumer that this number is a key metric. I don't think I'm that far off when I say that the smartphone market is still evolving and consumers look at this as a major feature when shopping for a device. This argument is often used when measuring the sucess or potential for success of a device but I think its flawed.
My fearless prediction is that as the market matures, consumers will shift from quantity of apps to quality. There is a finite limit on how many apps you can install on a device so wether you have 700K or 100K to choose from, all devices will eventually settle to a similar amount installed. Those being the most useful apps.
This is why I'm not worried at all about apps on BB10, although I'm glad to see the support developers are getting. Five years ago I'm willing to bet your average consumer didn't know what an app was; five years from now I'm betting they couldn't care less about the numbers and look for quality apps.
Do you agree or do you think the quantity of apps will always be a major selling point?
Why RIM doesn't have to worry about the number of apps
I have yet to meet someone with more than 50 apps (additional above native apps) on their device.
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Re: Why RIM doesn't have to worry about the number of apps
Originally Posted by
ibpluto I have yet to meet someone with more than 50 apps (additional above native apps) on their device.
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Hi. Now you have.
Why RIM doesn't have to worry about the number of apps
I think that is unfounded. RIM still makes money, albeit smaller (profit, not on loss for their BIS services, even if its chopped up).
I have written based on observations how RIM managed to segmentalize BIS, and still earn (a very small margin) profit.
The better question for RIM is how do they want to leverage their BIS offering so that it has higher margins.
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Re: Why RIM doesn't have to worry about the number of apps
Originally Posted by
howarmat i dont care so much about quantity but i do care about having what i need. I also like my choices between apps that do the same thing because some might have better features than others. That is one thing a large number of apps will help with. Also, as discussed in many threads you have to have the key apps (netflix, hulu, instagram etc) and i think this is a bigger barrier for RIM than the number of apps. Once they get most of the top 100 or whatever they will be in good shape.
This is the situation I find myself in with the playbook. There's only one video player that plays my codes the native one won't and it's a good app. There's only one file manager I feel is as good as what I use on my android phone. If either of those disappears from app world I'll be set back to a full year ago because there's no near alternative to choose from. It's a position I find precarious no matter how much I prefer the UI.
Re: Why RIM doesn't have to worry about the number of apps
In all fairness, we shouldn't make any judgments on the bb10 app world good or bad until we see it go live. I'm personally crossing my fingers because BB10's are what I want most right now. I will say that if what I want isn't there right at the start I'll take a pass because I'm not going to lock myself into a contract on taking a chance those apps will come.