[trsbbs]

What did you think of the article and the information provided in the CB front page article on S4BB?

Thinking big with the world's most prolific app developer, S4BB | CrackBerry.com

Did it feel like a "puff piece"?

Was it right on the money?

While I hope that S4BB is not just "stuffing the box" for BlackBerry it is hard to look through all the minor
apps that no one is rating, thus probably none or very few are downloading.

When I go to see what new and exciting apps might be waiting for me I get nothing but maps of towns that could
of been combined into several programs. Instead they do each one in its own app. It keeps me from seeing other
apps.

Yes, S4BB has number of good and useful apps. I even own one and have used it.
But at least 90 percent of them are small seldom used or rated apps.

I cannot help but think that someone either within BB or S4BB or both made the decision to help
out BB with a flood of small limited apps. BB was boasting about the number of apps they had. Haven't
heard lately how many download BB World has had in the past three month or what the download numbers look
for S4BB as a whole.

CB is taking risk of putting them on the front page. Not to CB as much but to BB. It brings this issue to the forefront once again
and once again BB will do nothing. CD comes of looking like a "motivated" S4BB defender. Yep, Apple and Google can do it, but then BB is not even close to be in the same league or peddle the same influence .

Am I just overly sensitive to this issue or do others feel the same?

[randall2580]

I wonder how many of these apps, especially the individual city apps, were pushed during the porta-jama-thons where they made what a cool $500 for a little bit of work. It was clear when they did this for PlayBook it did not work and in my mind it's clear those programs were a relative failure as well. I would love to know how many B4BB apps came out of those sessions, has anyone said?

The s4BB problem would be mitigated some, if BlackBerry actually moderated their app store and gave us tools to efficiently search the app store. Comparing the GUI of BBWorld to the Play Store and it's night and day. Now I know search and underlying algorithms are Googles bread and butter but surely BBW can do better. Then it wouldn't matter how many apps of any quality any particular dev provided. I dread going into BBW and have done so since PlayBook. It's not better on BB10.

I agree the front page blog post regarding s4BB didn't ask one hard question, never mind answer one.

[MrGlenn]

Out of all the 'companies' pushing random apps out to BBWorld, I think S4BB might not be that bad. Most of their apps are at least more than simply a single flag-wallpaper, book or web-link, even the poor ones. And they seem to have slowed down a bit since the news hit about them the first time.
There are a lot worse app-spammers out there at the moment. But to be honest, outside of the 'newest apps' view, it does not bother me that much. The numbers sound bad, but if I look for an app I usually search on subject, or browse the list until I find apps with a decent rating.
Ideally maps/books/wallpapers would get there own category, and they would add some sorting options for search results, but I do not expect either any time soon.

[black.rhino]

S4BB wastes their time polluting BBW. I can't browse apps because of them. One Map app with DLC, one gadget app, etc. they essentially make one function apps instead of building proper multi-use apps. I appreciate the developers' desires to work on blackberry, but they do need to streamline.

[David Murray1]

The media always screams that Apple has 'three trillion apps' and it is NEVER a question of quality so yes, go ahead and stuff the App store with sh!t, it's just the NUMBER of apps that counts to the superficial consumer.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Would have been more timely a month or so ago.... but I guess the team doesn't get to Asia very often.

But if was more of a fluff piece to highlight one of the "key" developers for BB10 apps.

I think the "team" is walking a very thin line right now and is trying hard to stay positive about BlackBerry.

Kevin's article about "Apple came back" so BlackBerry can to.... made me laugh.

They have a tough job right now, so I feel for them. I don't think any of them are really blind to what is happening and what Berry's real chances are.

[Troy Tiscareno]

Individual city guides, especially of small, obscure cities, being a separate app? That's crazy, non-sensical, and a waste of space. It was clearly done to spam the app store, and no other app store would have allowed it. These "apps" are simply aggregating info from a couple of existing internet sources, so there's nothing new here, other than the formatting.

A legit company would have made a few regional "base apps" and let you purchase individual cities via in-app purchase, instead of spamming the app stores. Their other apps are the same kind of thing: web content (that they don't really own/are stealing) sucked up and reformatted. Again, if they made one app, or a couple of regional ones, and let folks buy the add-ons, that would be one thing. 48,000 individual "apps" (nearly all of which aren't really apps at all) is a travesty, if for no other reason, than that it prevents the discovery of apps from legit app developers.

If I was an app developer, and I developed a BB10 app, only to see it pushed out of the New App list in a matter of hours, I'd be angry and I'd never develop another BB app again.

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

Not nearly enough interview or questions. Simon, you can't just put a statement saying most of the apps aren't crap when the consensus is that they are. People are so afraid of burning bridges that they don't ask hard hitting questions. Could have almost been written without going there.

[robsteve]

BlackBerry could solve the problem by allowing us to black list sellers we do not want to see in the search results. For example the prolific map and book sellers.





Posted via CB10

[donnation]

Crackberry blew it on this one. They let these guys off the hook when they really should be grilled on why they are churning out so many useless apps that no one wants. If they are so innovative then why are they just creating 90% **** apps. Poorly done job by Crackberry to try and make this fiasco look like it wasn't what it really is, which is a gross misrepresentation of the number of apps that BB offers. I would have to think that BB asked these guys to make a bunch of these apps to inflate their app count. Otherwise its just doesn't make a lot of sense.

[amazinglygraceless]

I'm just trying to envision the upcoming S4BB app giveaway contest. That has to be next...right?

[AnimalPak200]

Seems the only tangible 'discovery' made by the 'investigative' trip was that they weren't "a Chinese sweat shop full of poorly-paid coders cranking out apps as fast as they could be submitted", but were instead "a small group of mostly Europeans."

Shouldn't that satisfy everyone's questions about its legitimacy??? lol

[donnation]

Seems the only tangible 'discovery' made by the 'investigative' trip was that they weren't "a Chinese sweat shop full of poorly-paid coders cranking out apps as fast as they could be submitted", but were instead "a small group of mostly Europeans."

Shouldn't that satisfy everyone's questions about its legitimacy??? lol

Lol, this is Crackberry spin at its finest.