1. Homo Erectus's Avatar
    (Reuters) - Research In Motion is pushing for app quality, not quantity, with its make-or-break BlackBerry 10 devices set for launch on January 30, and targeting applications to customers in various regions.

    RIM's projected 100,000 apps - a record for any new platform at launch - will still be a fraction of those available on Apple Inc or Google Inc devices.

    But it is a stronger showing than RIM's PlayBook tablet computer which was slammed at its 2011 launch for a dearth of apps and incomplete software.

    In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, RIM Chief Executive Thorsten Heins admitted that app libraries play a crucial role in the success or failure of smartphones. But he said the game is not just about numbers.

    "The tactic we are deploying is by country and by region. We are aiming to have the most important 200 to 400 apps available, because many applications are regional and they really do have a regional flavor," Heins said.

    RIM says it aims to offer both the most popular applications in the market, and also those most relevant to Blackberry aficionados - people Heins described as hyper-connected multi-taskers who need to get things done.

    RIM's ultra-secure BlackBerry was once the smartphone of choice for government and corporate elites. But rivals have taken giant bites out of RIM's market share, especially in North America, and the company's stock has slumped. The BlackBerry remains popular in many emerging markets, partly for its popular BBM messaging system.

    With this in mind, RIM has hosted events with developers across the globe.

    "We've done 30 jam conferences in various cities all around the world, to get the bucket filled with meaningful local apps and not just a huge bunch of applications that you collect and throw at your audience," he said. "It is a very, very targeted approach."

    Heins, who has met with customers and carriers in a series of whirlwind global tours, came across as relaxed and confident in the interview, in RIM's Waterloo headquarters.

    Speaking rapid fire English with just a hint of an accent from his native Germany, he acknowledged that RIM's fate may depend on the success of BB10, but he said feedback from clients has been very encouraging.

    RIM hopes its new line of BB10 smartphones will help it claw back market share from Apple's iPhone and devices powered by Google's Android operating system. Developers say like what they see, but analysts are not convinced that RIM's gamble on BB10 will succeed.

    BIG NAME DRAWS

    In terms of numbers, RIM's app offering will remain far behind the Apple and Google app stores, each of which boast over 700,000 apps. But Heins said he was not worried.

    "In my view it is really short-sighted to say, you have 600,000, you have 400,000 and you only have 100,000 apps, so you are not good," he said.

    "Look at how many actually get downloaded. ... BlackBerry App World today is still the most profitable portal for application developers - it has the highest number of paid for downloads."

    In a small dig at his rivals, he added: "We don't have 1,500 Solitaire apps. That is not what Blackberry is about."

    RIM has already said it plans business focused apps from the likes of Cisco WebEx, Box, SAP and Blackboard, as well as music and movie apps like TuneIn, Nobex and Popcornflix and gaming apps from developers like Gameloft, Halfbrick and Paw Print Games.

    Heins has said social networks such as LinkedIn, Foursquare, Twitter and Facebook will all have apps for BB10 at launch. But he declined to name any of the other big name apps that RIM will have on board come launch day.

    "Allow me to talk to you about this on January 30, otherwise I'm losing a lot of thunder," he said

    RIM to spice BlackBerry 10 AppWorld with local flavors | Reuters
    drjay868 likes this.
    11-15-12 09:03 PM
  2. TRlPPlN's Avatar
    right on! i guess we all have to wait till end of january.
    11-15-12 09:12 PM
  3. aragone79's Avatar
    Yes, this is right. Need to wait untill Jan 30th, to reveal all and everything about Blackberry 10. hmm, it's still 75 days to go
    11-15-12 10:00 PM
  4. qbnkelt's Avatar
    hhhhmmm.....two concerns....

    from the article:

    "The tactic we are deploying is by country and by region. We are aiming to have the most important 200 to 400 apps available, because many applications are regional and they really do have a regional flavor," Heins said.

    RIM says it aims to offer both the most popular applications in the market, and also those most relevant to Blackberry aficionados - people Heins described as hyper-connected multi-taskers who need to get things done.


    To me, this sounds like a rationalisation for not offering more apps.
    Now, I don't use loads of apps....I have almost the same number of apps in my BB as I do in my other devices. HOWEVER, the majority of consumers now expect great variety in apps. To say that BB10 will value quality over quantity sounds like it's meant to appease consumers who will not find the apps they want. I'm not a havy app user, but I'm not the consumer Thor needs to convince. If RIM is going to regain some of the ground lost, RIM will need to resolve its weakness when viewed against Android and Apple. People that do need to stay in touch with employer in the case of a weather emergency or be able to time a bus to travel from office to office within a city. I'm not advocating for Angry Birds, which I could not care less about. I'm a target user....yet I have to take out my iPhone when I need to track certain DC buses, specifically the DC circulator, which takes me to satellite or closely aligned offices within DC. And I have to use my iPhone when I need to stay in touch with the federal government in case of weather emergencies, especially so when I travel. I'm a user that "does." Yet these are two apps where I have to resort to other platforms. This statement leads me to believe that I will still need those other platforms.

    Additionally, apps should not be regional. This assumes "people that do" stay in a specific location and nowhere else. Not in my case. I can safely say that in my line of work, I have visited every major city in the U.S. along with some really far flung and much smaller cities and towns...Greer, SC, Reno, NV, Artesia, NM Odessa, TX, are examples...and that I have travelled extensively abroad. What this tells me is that I will not have apps available that would assist me when I'm in the UK or Ireland or Spain. Or even when I travel inside the U.S,

    This disturbs me because I want to be able to confidently carry my BB without needing to resort to carrying my BB and my work BB and my iPhone or my Android. I am a person that does, I'm a target. Don't hobble me.

    And no, saying "use the browser" is not good enough. We have entered an age of hyper connected multitasking as Thor says. Give us all the tools we need. Apps are tools.
    11-16-12 03:40 AM
  5. Superfly_FR's Avatar
    Additionally, apps should not be regional. This assumes "people that do" stay in a specific location and nowhere else. Not in my case. I can safely say that in my line of work, I have visited every major city in the U.S. along with some really far flung and much smaller cities and towns...Greer, SC, Reno, NV, Artesia, NM Odessa, TX, are examples...and that I have travelled extensively abroad. What this tells me is that I will not have apps available that would assist me when I'm in the UK or Ireland or Spain. Or even when I travel inside the U.S,
    I believe one must read "world regions". Also, it is about app distribution, not usage. My reading is: if you have bought apps in N.A you can use it anywhere, but they could not be available for foreign countries to buy. Example would be Netflix that you won't find in Europe excepted UK. Still, while your BB is registered in N.A and you bought/installed the app there, even in a roaming scenario, you should be able to use it in France, IMHO.
    11-16-12 04:33 AM
  6. qbnkelt's Avatar
    I believe one must read "world regions". Also, it is about app distribution, not usage. My reading is: if you have bought apps in N.A you can use it anywhere, but they could not be available for foreign countries to buy. Example would be Netflix that you won't find in Europe excepted UK. Still, while your BB is registered in N.A and you bought/installed the app there, even in a roaming scenario, you should be able to use it in France, IMHO.
    Could be, yes.
    I just don't want for unavailability of apps to be portrayed as "quality vs quantity." That argument won't play well today. Given Apple and Android's preeminence in apps availability, there is unquestioningly an enormous demand for apps.
    I cringe when I read or hear "App available for your Android or Apple smartphone" with no mention of BB.
    As I said, I'm not a huge app user, but today apps are expected.
    I'll never forget the day I had to show a colleague that yes, BB does have banking apps.


    Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
    11-16-12 07:20 AM
  7. backfire101's Avatar
    Quality? Ok explain all the books and please will someone explain Handster Inc to me?
    11-16-12 07:53 AM
  8. drjay868's Avatar
    hhhhmmm.....two concerns....

    from the article:

    .....

    And no, saying "use the browser" is not good enough. We have entered an age of hyper connected multitasking as Thor says. Give us all the tools we need. Apps are tools.
    I read this as Thor saying that they are going to make sure that certain regions and countries are going to have certain apps. Not so much that they're only going to be offered in one area, but to make sure that that one area has it, and every else that doesn't use it isn't quite the priority.

    Like SuperFly said, they will make sure that North America and the UK have access to NF, but that doesn't necessarily mean that China won't have it. Just making sure we do and it is prominently displayed up front for people to get. And in your example of the DC circulator, I think RIM wants to make sure it's prominently displayed for you, but it's not going to do me any good in Cleveland. However, I will have access to it if I plan on making a trip to see you, but it just may be burried and I have to go search for it.

    Now, to the important question: What are you doing outside the 5K? j/k
    11-16-12 08:08 AM
  9. qbnkelt's Avatar
    I read this as Thor saying that they are going to make sure that certain regions and countries are going to have certain apps. Not so much that they're only going to be offered in one area, but to make sure that that one area has it, and every else that doesn't use it isn't quite the priority.

    Like SuperFly said, they will make sure that North America and the UK have access to NF, but that doesn't necessarily mean that China won't have it. Just making sure we do and it is prominently displayed up front for people to get. And in your example of the DC circulator, I think RIM wants to make sure it's prominently displayed for you, but it's not going to do me any good in Cleveland. However, I will have access to it if I plan on making a trip to see you, but it just may be burried and I have to go search for it.

    Now, to the important question: What are you doing outside the 5K? j/k
    LOL!!!!!! It appears quiet....I ventured out before I disappear entirely for a while.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
    drjay868 likes this.
    11-16-12 08:21 AM
  10. drjay868's Avatar
    LOL!!!!!! It appears quiet....I ventured out before I disappear entirely for a while.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
    Completely understood
    11-16-12 09:06 AM

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