[gkl]

I got to thinking, what if there was no such thing as an app store for any mobile OS?

Who is the king of devices, then? And why?

[mphillips828]

Definitely BlackBerry...

It is the best OS out there...offers the nicest UI for the native apps...the HUB alone for phone calls, texts, bbm (which would be installed, and other OS' can't use BBM since its from an app store! haha!) all from the HUB would be amazing...I really think BB10 is the best OS in the market today, yes it has it's quirks and yes iOS 7 is quite stable so that makes it a good OS...but nothing competes with BB10...and I am not biased at all!

[propeller10]

Did you really ask this question on crackberry?

[Aljean Thein]

That would make the phone really boring to me...

Posted via CB10

[donnation]

Palm
...........

[itzJustMeh]

You're asking on CrackBerry.

[realtrevor]

It's really difficult to say which one was gonna be popular. I believe Nokia would still be on top.

App Stores have existed since the beginning of smart phones. It's just that they were many isolated stores. I member in 2005 I used to download from getjar to download java apps and games.
At that time, the most popular phone was Nokia, because every app developer made sure their apps are compatible with Nokia because they had the biggest market share.

Posted via my Zee Zed 10

[cuek80]

Android then, u can side-load apps. I m talking about native app for the OS.
BB10 can too, but need a 3rd party PC app to do so.

Now if u talking about no 3rd party app at all, then yes, BB10 is my choice.

Posted via CB10

[gkl]

The point being that as far as features and functionality goes, which phone is the best out of the box.

And yes, I asked on CrackBerry in the thought people can actually be objective. There are a few around here that can.

Check out my AZ MTB Channel C0006F5EB

[donnation]

I'd pick Blackberry just for the file management alone. But asking this question is like asking "If phones didn't have touchscreens which phone would be the best?" Apps have been around before Apple made app stores popular and are part of a smartphone. I can remember downloading apps for my Palm Treo back in the day. No matter how much function a phone has, apps make them better.

[alternator77]

I think it would force everyone to really think outside the box and innovate. Also iPhone users would have seen a bigger iPhone a few years ago as they could no longer rely on an app store as a differentiator.

Posted via CB10

[anon(5818411)]

Nokia and Sony (erickson) would be killing it

Posted via CB10

[spikesolie]

The point being that as far as features and functionality goes, which phone is the best out of the box.

And yes, I asked on CrackBerry in the thought people can actually be objective. There are a few around here that can.

Check out my AZ MTB Channel C0006F5EB

I think the joke is that bb10 are already almost that way

From zee coolest flicking smartphone ever

[NursingNinja]

BlackBerry 9900

Posted via CB10

[nomloj]

I think it would end up being a Windows Phone. No apps store means other metrics will have to take place. Specs is great and all, but the software is going to make the hardware useful. Having a good OS is also nice, but that on dedicated media players/cameras/etc devices is not going make the cut again. The OEM folks will have to come up with their own software solutions. Even if they partner up with software vendors, no one is going to want to go out and spend time searching various websites for software they want/can use. I don't think BBRY is going to be able to take MSFT on that.

[3Dee]

I'm imagining:

- iTunes would still be massive (unless this counts as an app) and the iPod would still be huge

- The record industry may still be viable as an industry - CD sales would be much higher

- Nintendo would be a big winner as more people would buy video game consoles

- Book shops would probably be more viable

I'm sure there are more...

Posted via the Android CrackBerry App!

[Troy Tiscareno]

You still have other parts of the ecosystem to consider:

• Music, movies, books, magazines, TV shows, and other media available for the platform.
• Cloud services (email, file-sharing, productivity apps, etc.)
• Other hardware made for the ecosystem: tablets, watches, etc.

Taking apps off the table would get BB closer to the competition, but they all still offer a bunch of things that BB doesn't, or doesn't do nearly as well. Of course, hardcore BB fans would still choose BB, but I don't think you'd see a ton of marketshare just because apps were off the table - the other issues would then get a lot more attention.

[KiLuMaNaTi]

You still have other parts of the ecosystem to consider:

• Music, movies, books, magazines, TV shows, and other media available for the platform.
• Cloud services (email, file-sharing, productivity apps, etc.)
• Other hardware made for the ecosystem: tablets, watches, etc.

Taking apps off the table would get BB closer to the competition, but they all still offer a bunch of things that BB doesn't, or doesn't do nearly as well. Of course, hardcore BB fans would still choose BB, but I don't think you'd see a ton of marketshare just because apps were off the table - the other issues would then get a lot more attention.

Who says the current competition would even exist without an appstore? It surely wasn't just music that got Apple where they are today even though it was a big help. There is a decent chance BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Mobile and Nokia would basically be your only choices although there is no way of knowing. Most of what you mentioned probably wouldn't exist on smartphones without the appstore or be as big of a deal.


Too many things to take into consideration. Would Apple still exist without the app store? Would just music on iTunes have been enough? Would Nokia have been sold off while having the best camera and camera features on a smartphone? How much more useful would other companies make their phone right out of the box? Without the Google play store, what other direction would Samsung, Sony or LG have went? Maybe their phones would be even more interactive with their other products like smart TV's. I can't think of any good answer for this post because there is just far too much to take into consideration. If things were the way they are now then BlackBerry would probably be the best OS. It has a great browser and the best keyboard.

Posted via CB10

[alternator77]

You still have other parts of the ecosystem to consider:

• Music, movies, books, magazines, TV shows, and other media available for the platform.
• Cloud services (email, file-sharing, productivity apps, etc.)
• Other hardware made for the ecosystem: tablets, watches, etc.

Taking apps off the table would get BB closer to the competition, but they all still offer a bunch of things that BB doesn't, or doesn't do nearly as well. Of course, hardcore BB fans would still choose BB, but I don't think you'd see a ton of marketshare just because apps were off the table - the other issues would then get a lot more attention.

Kind of his point the media stuff you speak of is mainly app based same for movie stores, music libraries etc.
Also cloud services are already what BlackBerry corporate clients use in a regular basis.
As far as hardware with no app issues to speak of they could just focus on building hardware without the need to spend money getting development on board.

It's funny how not long ago apple spoke of a future where we would rely on html5 and now they want you tied to their app store.

Posted via CB10

[Troy Tiscareno]

HTML5 is still very limited compared to native apps, which is why native apps exist in the first place. Jobs just didn't want anyone else having control over the iPhone until Apple figured out how to create an app store model that kept Apple in control.

Posted via the Android CrackBerry App!

[treaker]

Doesn't bother me. After the thrill in installing Android apps, I have removed most including Netflix, 1moble market and Tumblr.

Just have a few puzzle games left.

Z10 on Telus

[playbookster]

There really should just be a universal format for apps. Developers would love that. Having to build an app 4 times is too much.

The GIF Exchange C001B7B16?

[A895]

I would use Ubuntu. A phone OS that turns into a computer is where its at. If there was an email app and web browser I would be just fine.

Sent from my XT1060 using Mobile Nations mobile app

[alternator77]

HTML5 is still very limited compared to native apps, which is why native apps exist in the first place. Jobs just didn't want anyone else having control over the iPhone until Apple figured out how to create an app store model that kept Apple in control.

Posted via the Android CrackBerry App!

Exactly my point it's been what 7years since the iPhone came out and they still say html5 isn't in widespread use. It's exactly because of the whole app ecosystem craze where everyone wants apps made for their own os.

If apps didn't exist in their current from we would have seen wider adoption of html5 years ago. With the speeds we're seeing on phones now apps can be rendered useless.

Posted via CB10

[Troy Tiscareno]

Exactly my point it's been what 7years since the iPhone came out and they still say html5 isn't in widespread use. It's exactly because of the whole app ecosystem craze where everyone wants apps made for their own os.

If apps didn't exist in their current from we would have seen wider adoption of html5 years ago. With the speeds we're seeing on phones now apps can be rendered useless.

I wasn't referring to the HTML5 app ecosystem, but rather HTML5 as a programming language. Developers would love to have a single dev language that would work on all devices, but the reality is that web apps still have all kinds of limitations that native apps don't have. For example, there are limited APIs for accessing the hardware (cameras, sensors, radios, etc.), much more limited security options, and so on. Many popular apps simply wouldn't be possible, or would have a drastically reduced feature-set, if limited to HTML5's capabilities.

Devs were forced to build native apps in order to make the kinds of apps they wanted. If those apps could have been made in HTML5, then App Stores probably wouldn't exist - you'd just need a browser. Maybe HTML v8 (or 11, or some other number) will finally allow complex, modern apps to be written with the same capabilities as a native app. Until then, App Stores will continue to rule.