Zdnet - BlackBerry 10 is the smartphone platform I am most excited about for 2013

BlackBerry 10 is the smartphone platform I am most excited about for 2013 | ZDNet


Regular readers know I am a huge Windows Phone fan and many think I write about them too much. It was great to read the news this morning that Nokia's Lumia sales for Q4 2012 were better than expected and it is a small move in the right direction. I hope to see Windows Phone catch on with the consumer at some point, but I am personally most excited to try out the upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS and new devices running BB10.

If you listened to the MobileTechRoundup podcast last year, you likely heard Kevin and I writing off RIM after they skipped doing much in 2012.

RIM didn't make any major hardware or operating system moves in 2012, but they did make leadership changes and were able to keep things going. 2013 looks to be a defining year for RIM as they get ready to reveal BB 10 to the world at the end of this month.

From the hands-on videos I have seen and articles I have read, BB 10 looks extremely modern and reminds me a bit of the fantastic MeeGo operating system that Nokia prematurely gave up on while also adding in some unique elements we haven't really seen before on other modern smartphone operating systems.

Carriers have always supported RIM and appreciated their data management practices. It seems that Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are on board, along with something like 150+ carriers around the world, which is pretty compelling when you consider it is a brand new operating system.

It seems to me that Windows Phone appears on carriers due to pressure and money from Microsoft and manufacturers, whereas carriers seem to want to sell new BB 10 devices. Customers are familiar with older BlackBerry devices and trust RIM to make rock solid hardware -- so there may be a trust factor there as well.

I recently bought a red Nokia Lumia 920 and am reasonably pleased with the device. I am disappointed that there are still software gaps in Windows Phone 8; and the more I use it, the more I go back to using Android or iOS because of frustrations with everyday usage scenarios that just are not fully satisfying on Windows Phone. Windows Phone 8 appears nearly the same as Windows Phone 7 so it has been around now for over two years.

As a smartphone enthusiast, I like new and shiny things and BlackBerry 10 looks to be the most exciting thing I have seen in a couple years and I can't wait to give the Z10 a try./

After reading this article a thought struck me. I wonder if part of the reason that BB10 was delayed was to line up carriers and get firm commitment. With over 150 Carriers world wide and all the major US carriers on board BB10 has a huge exposure to a potentially large amount of consumers. The more hooks you put in the water the bigger the catch. I am convinced that a part of the delay was due to this. I believe that its a very smart move. Ultimately the platform has to preform and win people over but I think you will see solid release numbers. Of course the extra time helped with the apps and other issues.

Originally Posted by travaz

After reading this article a thought struck me. I wonder if part of the reason that BB10 was delayed was to line up carriers and get firm commitment. With over 150 Carriers world wide and all the major US carriers on board BB10 has a huge exposure to a potentially large amount of consumers. The more hooks you put in the water the bigger the catch. I am convinced that a part of the delay was due to this. I believe that its a very smart move. Ultimately the platform has to preform and win people over but I think you will see solid release numbers. Of course the extra time helped with the apps and other issues.

100% agree

Originally Posted by travaz

After reading this article a thought struck me. I wonder if part of the reason that BB10 was delayed was to line up carriers and get firm commitment. With over 150 Carriers world wide and all the major US carriers on board BB10 has a huge exposure to a potentially large amount of consumers. The more hooks you put in the water the bigger the catch. I am convinced that a part of the delay was due to this. I believe that its a very smart move. Ultimately the platform has to preform and win people over but I think you will see solid release numbers. Of course the extra time helped with the apps and other issues.

Yes.

Let me expand on that: BB10 likely would have been ready for release last quarter, but there are several reasons why it was better to wait. One of those reasons, as Heins himself said was "because the carriers wanted it then".

In one way, it was smart; I've said repeatedly that Q4 2012 was an unusually busy quarter for new products (Win8, MS Surface, WP8, Wii U, iPhone 5... etc) and BB10 ran the risk of getting lost in the noise. It also means that they'll have a boost from loyal BB fans in a quiet quarter.

This risk is paying off, big time. With the exception of the N920, Windows Phone has been a sales disappointment, and even the iPhone 5 has shown a fair drop in sales; there appears to be an appetite for something new and interesting.

Originally Posted by travaz

After reading this article a thought struck me. I wonder if part of the reason that BB10 was delayed was to line up carriers and get firm commitment. With over 150 Carriers world wide and all the major US carriers on board BB10 has a huge exposure to a potentially large amount of consumers. The more hooks you put in the water the bigger the catch. I am convinced that a part of the delay was due to this. I believe that its a very smart move. Ultimately the platform has to preform and win people over but I think you will see solid release numbers. Of course the extra time helped with the apps and other issues.

You went from 'wonder' to 'convinced', pretty quick :)

Yep - I agree. Product (hardware) wise RIM might have been ready last quarter. But they wanted to drum up developer support, carrier support and also see (so they could out-do) competitor offerings that were going to be released in/around holiday season. Now, they can release with a lot less noise. They have a good idea of what other competitor are offering now and so RIM can focus on out-doing them and differentiating from them. At this time, RIM knows what competitors are offering but competitors don't really know what RIM has up its sleeve.

I bought a 920 because I couldn't wait for BB10...I regret it. I find the platform extremely underwhelming, not enough apps take advantage of live tiles and there aren't enough apps. I am going to try and sell my 920 when BB10 becomes available and pick up that I believe, I think I will wait till January 30th to see what it has to offer.