[W Hoa]

Can BlackBerry dominate again?

Summary: With a number of SDKs for developers, BlackBerry Balance, innovative camera features, and the fastest HTML5 rendering, BlackBerry may have what it takes to come back on top.

I was a BlackBerry user back when it was on the Mobitex network. I remember working on Geek.com and having business discussions back and forth from my BlackBerry, while waiting in line at the Home Depot. At the time people thought I was way ahead of the curve, and they were right.

Unfortunately, over the years BlackBerry has been eclipsed by iOS and Android, both in the consumer and the enterprise space. But now, that could all change, thanks to BlackBerry 10.

BlackBerry 10 will be officially unveiled on January 30th. Since I've been skeptical about if RIM got it right this time, I reconnected with an old friend, Aaron Ardiri, who is now a Principal Developer Evangelist for RIM in Germany, and challenged him to show me why RIM has a shot this time around.

To say that Aaron blew me away is an understatement. I was not only shown the user experience side of the device, but also treated to a deep dive on the architecture and development environment.

I won't go into too much detail in this article about the features and functions for both developers and consumers, but instead will provide some quick highlights from my two hour conversation / demo.
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In summary, I wasn't that interested in BlackBerry 10 since I figured that RIM was just playing catch-up. After seeing the demo today, it's clear that RIM invested in reaching parity, but then going beyond what we expect in a mobile OS today.

I'm definitely excited to see what's officially announced this week, as Aaron has promised that I haven't seen anything yet. Also, more than 40,000 apps are currently in the review process, so you can pretty much guarantee that your favorite app will be available on BlackBerry World on launch day.

Can BlackBerry dominate again? | ZDNet

[aha]

Woooowowow, slow down a little bit, let's wait at least another 3 days before touching that question

[Acumenight]

"[you haven't seen anything yet". That now sets up some mother of an expectation for the 30th announcement!


Let's pray the announcement is in line with that type of hype!

[Geeoff]

To say that Aaron blew me away is an understatement.

A lot of third party reviewers have been *very* impressed with BB10. These are the same people who were down on Blackberry previously.

This says a lot to me about BB10!

[jvictor77]

A lot of third party reviewers have been *very* impressed with BB10. These are the same people who were down on Blackberry previously.

This says a lot to me about BB10!

I feel the same way. One of the things that got me down over the past year was the media, and how it almost seemed that RIM was fighting a futile battle (cue The Borg!). Needless to say, I've been getting a lot of satisfaction on that front in the last couple of weeks!

[donmateo]

The answer to the title is yes, they can. Will they? Only time will tell, and it will not be within the next year. Sorry, but it's not enough time to gain that much market share. They will hold on to number 3 for awhile for sure though.

[bbZ10ftw]

**** yeahhh they will!!!!

[Nindia]

If RIM is even +1% marketshare in the next 6 months, I, as a shareholder, would be extremely happy.

Their turnaround isn't going to happen overnight. As long as they're headed in the right direction, one cannot complain.

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

I think we need baby steps. Lets return the company to be making a good profit, then think about dominating.

[anthonysira]

Well have an Idea when we get bb10 in our hands then its a clear yes or no but for know from what I have seen so far we are in the right direction for domination

[aha]

Dominate is a strong word... but there is a real good chance BB will be doing very well.