[conker]

Originally Posted by PaulMdx

"Some of the changes coming to Android are bug fixes, affecting elements such as e-mail, conversation-list scrolling, and the alarm clock. Several new features are, however, also being added--for example, the ability to save MMS attachments."

OMFG! With such insane features as an alarm clock and saving MMS attachments, I'm surprised we all don't own Android handsets already!

conker, what functionality is blowing your mind with Android that you don't get with your BB?


Windows Mobile has a large community, and yet I don't see them doing any better than RIM.

IMO most consumers buy handsets because (a) they like the form factor and (b) the core functionality meets their needs. Thus, having a large or small community isn't that important to the average consumer.

At the same time, yes, Palm pulled their OS, however I don't see a lot of consumer handsets offering more functionality than Palm OS did.

To summarise my random thoughts above: nerds don't represent the majority of the market.

The main point behind my post was preparation for the future and scalability. There is nothing on the Android phone that I want right now. I simply don't want RIM to fall further and further behind, while platforms like Android and iPhone take more and more consumer AND developer market share away, because their platforms are newer and are more nimble. The "not invented here" mentality works for some - like Apple and Microsoft, but RIM is certainly neither of those companies.

Many here and on other forums have replied to my post by using the "RIM has the corporate market" argument. That kind of thinking is how companies become less and less relevant and fail. Just look at the American auto industry. It's true, BB's seem entrenched in the corporate world, but why should that be enough or even relevant when the line dividing business and consumer is more and more blurred with these devices? As new corporations evaluate, or re-evaluate their smart platform of choice they now have other legitimate platforms to consider, and pure business consideration is no longer the tipping point.

We should all want RIM to expand into other markets, as they are trying to do. My fear is that their platform will prevent them from being able to keep up with the Apple's and Android's of the world. As a longtime software developer, it's painful watching how obviously dated their OS is, how dated their development processes are and how they are struggling to adapt and catch up:
+ Luanch of their "store"
+ Luanch of a touch-screen device
+ Widely publicized and marketed developer conference (I wonder what attendance was like in comparison to developer conferences put on by Apple and Google)
+ Email ? Where is the forum where I can "talk" to developers, and really feel like they are listening? I might as well drop a letter to them in a mailbox.
+ Archaic OS update process that always has one crossing one's fingers
+ No over the air update process
+ Lack of release notes with each OS
+ Frequent beta releases of OS's

I TOTALLY agree, nerds do not represent the majority, and this statement helped me realize why people were misunderstanding my original post. Again, the lines are being blurred - actually are now. It is simply my opinion that given their current OS platform, they simply will not be able to remain competitive on the consumer side of things, while the others will be able to advance at a much quicker pace, distancing themselves, while at the same time being able to make incremental or significant advances (really their choice depending on strategy and where the market is going) towards matching RIM's business functionality.

The comment about Microsoft developers is a good one. I am not sure how to respond to that. All I can say is that it is certainly better to have an army of developers behind your platform, then a shrinking one. iPhone had 10,000 applications launched for their phone last month. You cannot ignore that. Other manufacturers are and have decided to launch new phones with the Android platform. Why wouldn't they? It's a very attractive long term investment. The manufacturer does not have to invest in an "invented here" software development team, they have access to a large population of skilled developers, can leverage the Android store (which will have a monetization strategy as it grows) and can market their phones towards an ever increasing consumer base of Google fans.

I just want RIM to adopt a strategy that will allow them to stay relevant and competitive.

Thank you all for the insightful discussion.

-c