[kirksucks]

i just read the article about some ap developer leaving BB to make iphone crap. with the biggest reason being BB has too many phones and too many OS's

got me thinking, really what's the point of Curve/Tour/Bold? they're essentially the same thing, non-flip, non-touchscreen BB's

RIM should consolidate, make one keypad device one Touch screen and if they still feel it's necessary, a flip phone.

essentially they do this with storm and Pearl flip but why are there so many keypad phones? When I got my Tour I thought it was just the new version of what they used to call the Bold. but now they keep putting out new Curves and new Bolds... pick one and go with it.

[diegonei]

Well, before the 9700, my answer would be the keyboard/device size.

Pearls being SurType/very small (felt bad leaving them out).
Curves being small.
Tour being medium.
Bold being big.

Now, well, I am not really sure.

[hootyhoo]

Because a new form factor is all they really have to offer that is new.

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[bearkat38]

Why is he making iphone "crap"?

[lovemyspanish]

I could not agree with you more! RIM is a multi-billion dollar operation because greed and style has allowed them to continually push out the same phones with minimal changes. I purchased my first BB smartphone in December 2008. It was a Curve 8330. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It did everything I wanted a phone to do and more. Yet the more it did, the more I wanted. More speed, more memory, higher resolution screen and the list goes on. I've have my Tour now and now I want still a larger screen and not have to worry if my trackball will fail. Listening to people in the forums will have me so paranoid, I walk around with my phone in a blanket to keep her warm and sheltering it from elements. I carry it and my charger every where I go, if only to go out to the mailbox. I think I hear it ringing in my sleep. Can we just all get along and learn to love our berries without the lust of the next new model? RIM knows we will jump at the newest, cheap quality phone with 1 new bell or whistle. Look how the quality has declined in the last 2 years alone. Yet we continue to accept the bones they throw in our bowls. It's really our fault. We love to pay more for less. You are just as guilty. Let's wake up and make them produce higher quality phones for our hard earned $$$$$$$$.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[john1210]

Its just good business

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[wojotiger]

I agree with it being good business, they make bbs combat against bbs, whichever sells miore blackberry still wins, lol, sounds smart to me

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[bluz]

it is the business policy of RIM or for that matter any other company. Competing products and still the business of the company soars.

[thompson_704]

good business... catering to the needs of the consumers.... compare rim to companies like nokia and samsung in this particular scenario...not bad at all...

if you want my opinion... this RIM employee just wanted a lighter work load

[Snazy]

If it aint broke, dont try and fix it.

The basic form of the Blackberry is what the market desires, as years of developing have proven.

To make one device would mean only retailing the 9700 for the keyboard side of things, as it got all the bells and whistles so even the top end user has all he needs.
Meanwhile the bottom end user is forces to pay $2-300+ for a device they will never use the camera on, are not covered by 3G and dont have WiFi at home...

Thats like Ford just making one SUV, or Lays only making one kind of chips! lol

The market needs variety, if only to experiment with new services etc.

[freakboy2539]

I agree with having variety...however pretty much ever Blackberry does the same thing! Same features wrapped up in a different housing with a different screen size or keypad. to me that isnt much variety. I love blackberry but to be honest the os got boring to me after a while. I like things i can tweak to my liking

[Xopher]

I'm really surprized by the negativity towards RIM. I also don't think there are too many BBs out there. Let's look at the market two years ago:

RIM had three BB lines out: Pearl, Curve, and 88xx. Most had 64MB of memory, a basic web browser, push e-mail (without HTML), BBM, running 4.2/4.3 OS, supporting 4GB microSD cards. Phones had either Wifi or GPS - none had both. Apps were around $15-$50.

Now, RIM makes about 4-5 lines of BB: Pearl/Flip, Curve, Bold/Tour, Storm. Almost every model comes with 256MB of memory, higher resolution screens, better web browser, more video capabilities, higher SD capacities, receive HTML E-mail, new BBM featues, and is in the process of (finally) releasing an OS (5.0) that should be easier for developers to cross-develop on. There are a lot more free and lower-priced apps available, especially in the last year.

Depending on your carrier, you only have a few BB choices:

Pearl
What is out there is still from two years ago. With 64MB of memory, it is the smallest features model on the lineup. It is definitely due for an upgrade. We've seen the recent photos of Stratus, so it is being upgraded.

Pearl Flip
This is probably the only reason my daughter has a BB. It was smart to add the flip into the lineup for those who don't like canybar-style phones. Hopefully, they upgrade this one as well with a trackpad (tried the sunken trackball and personally didn't like it).

Curve
This is where the lineup gets confusing. Apparently, there are two Curve lineups. The 83xx series is probably on the way out as it is replaced with the lwer-end 85xx series. If you want small, with QWERTY keyboard, at least there is this option. I just wish they would expand the 8900 series, or just jump up to a 3G 9xxx model.

Tour/Bold
I think we can all agree, these are really the same models. They may have slight changes in the design, but put an Onyx beside a Tour and the only difference is the trackpad. Once the Essex comes out, The Tour and BOld lineup will practically be the same thing. I think it would have been smarter for RIM to just give these models one name and one numbering system. Make them all 90xx, 96xx or 97xx models. One high-end, includes everything, model that is available on different carriers. That would cut down on the confusion.

Storm
Not every carrier has the Storm, but I can see this moving to other carriers in the future, For those who like touch-screen devices, it was smart to add them into the lineup.

So, for whichever carrier you choose, you have maybe four or five choices from the list above. You can't go to Verizon and choose from the 8100, 8200, 8900, 9000, 9200, 9500, 9600, and 9700 lines. The model numbers may be different from carrier to carrier, but you still only have a few actual models. If anything, you have fewer choices (no 89xx series for CDMA carriers).

I think the biggest drawback is the OS, and hopefully 5.0 will take care of that, making it easier for developers to design cross-models. I just wish they gave us two screen resolutions (480x360, and whatever the new Pearl lineup has), two keyboard models (Suretype and QWERTY), with just the added touch capabilities. Make the keyboard input method seamless and developers would only have to develop for one OS, two screen resolutions, and a touch/non-touch format.

If 5.0 does what I think they are trying to do, hopefully we will see more developers jumping in with Blackberry development rather than jumping ship.

[Snazy]

I think its one of those crunch points now.

OS 5.0 is taking a long time to make it to the official launch. So the hype is building, and expectations are rising.
For the average user 5.0 is not going to be mind blowing. And in the short term will make little difference.

But as you say, developers will have more to work with, and hopefully will start getting the BB up to speed and up to date with apps and uses.
Personally, im looking forward to the next year or so with a Berry. Its going to be an exciting time I think.

Market is widening, with more and more consumers starting to use Berry's.
I think RIM have it right if you ask me.

Freakboy, I know what you are saying, but if you look at the specs and prices of the different models, they are not really the same at all, and are targetting different markets.

[TheComebackKidd]

Let's get one thing straight everyone....OS 5 is out. It's just not out for EVERY phone yet. That is not the same as it not being launched yet. It is very much launched. The Bold 9700 and Storm both have official OS 5.0 releases.

The Storm and the Pearl are vastly different from the Bolds and the Tour and Curve. They all offer different specs. They all run the OS with varying degrees of smoothnes. Apps are not supported on every device.

BlackBerries are definitely not all the same.

[coolguy78240]

Successful companies dont do anything without extensive market research, i promise you they have very logical and cost effective explinations as to why they have so many devices. Each one satisfies a part of the market they are trying to reach. Curve basiclly entry level younger users. Tour/bold more professional adult users. Then you have the touchscreen fans and theyre storms. And so on .

[Snazy]

Let's get one thing straight everyone....OS 5 is out. It's just not out for EVERY phone yet. That is not the same as it not being launched yet. It is very much launched.

Allow me to correct myself... Once OS 5.0 is launched for all phones in the current range, and becomes the industry standard OS.....

Once that happens, I can see a lot more developers getting on the ball. Just need the OS to be uniform and upto development.

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Maybe if they cut down on the number of models they produce, they will be able to make products of higher quality.