Comments on: RIM CEO attacks Apple and the concept of apps

By: Jacob J Daniels

Jacob J Daniels — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 09:48:40 +0000

some (if not most) of them are not needed and are sometimes scams but often at times you’ll get a app that helps you save money at the store or do neat stuff like bump google phones and exchange e-cash..
Just sayin..

By: Min Zhu

Min Zhu — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:04:02 +0000

Don't blame CEO, they want RIM win.

RIM has strange culture and self distruct political environment.

In RIM if a new hired person figure out major problem and introduce efficient approach, both manager and his buddy group member will proof their wrong approach works. just like someone point out driving a car is right way, pushing a car is wrong way, then both manager and his buddy group member will hate you, and proof that 3 person can also move the car by pushing it. cheating email will be sent to some vice president, saying like: see, the car moving, pushing a car is a natural part of the process, in order to deny new hired contribution of introducing skill of drive a car, they have to deny merit of driving a car.

It is very strange company culture and strange company political environment, it promote stealing and cheating skill. RIM's management may be a typical instance in MBA course.

This culture deny or steal hardworking team members' contribution/innovation, generate strange political environment, destroy RIM.

So don't blame CEO, some of their VPs and VPs' expert generate terrible culture and self destruct political environment.

By: Cidtek

Cidtek — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 09:47:05 +0000

Those 300k apps have nothing to do with demand or need. Most of them have no downloads or sales.

By: Setzer

Setzer — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:42:55 +0000

I couldn't have put it any clearer!

By: VbBrian

VbBrian — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:09:49 +0000

I agree with most of the comments above. At least Apps offer a more controlled environment. Bad enough we have to design products that work in multiple web browsers; let alone adding the complexity of different mobile browsers. Blackberry browser is brutal, basically the IE6 of mobile browsing (even through yes, the new one is much better than it was). There are a number of reasons why an app is different from a website, mostly mentioned above; so until the entire infrastructure of the net changes/evolves I gotta think this guy is wrong. Of course, he probably has a private jet, several boats etc etc so I'm confident he can probably put together a pretty sweet PowerPoint presentation or Spreadsheet to convince his shareholders otherwise…….

By: @computerfitness

@computerfitness — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:07:42 +0000

That's a lot of talk for a company now in danger of being replaced. Apple and Google are dominating the smartphone world because of everything their devices can do. Blackberry seems to be getting less and less useful. Friends and family of mine keep ditching theirs for Apple, Google, or Microsoft.

-Josh Computerfitness.com

By: Trash Box

Trash Box — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:26:14 +0000

I didn't find anything apple is talking about this on apple's site Apple Inc.

By: C-Mqn

C-Mqn — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:34:17 +0000

Ive read alot of these comments and everyone seems to be overlooking what is actually being said. The man is talking about the future. Not necessairly downing what we have now, but pointing out in the future this app system could easily hold us back.

By: C-Man

C-Man — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:30:59 +0000

Hes not saying that apps are all about the web. Hes saying thats where things are going, and apple is holding back that progression with apps. As it said in the end apps could be a bridge to the next level. All the apps you can stick on your iphone could be run over the internet, leaving no footprint on your device. The technology still holds it back for some but not for most and not for long.

By: Sev

Sev — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:46:33 +0000

It sounds alot like someone has App store envy.

Having switched to Android (and the wild west that is the android marketplace) and used an iphone/ipad and numerous blackberry models (pearl, storm2, tour, world) I can honestly say Blackberry's App World is pretty abysmal, and the software on the phones is mediocre at best. As RIM is hemorrhaging customers at an alarming rate in the smartphone market I'd say they need to re-evaluate what everyone else is doing right, and copy it. Better to be a follower with a decent marketshare than a failed innovator (Palm anyone?)

Maybe the new Blackberry OS 6 will help them compete a little bit, but comparable product OSes and handsets using them (iPhone 4, Android 2.x devices) have been out for some time, and the developers of those products I doubt are sitting around waiting for RIM to catch up to them.

By: Bee

Bee — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:02:22 +0000

Apps aren't necessary? I wonder who put this guy in charge. It is no wonder RIM mobile is dying. RIP RIM.
This guy and Nokia CEO seem to think the same while Apple CEO and Google CEO move forward. FYI, Nokia is also dying despite their number of phones on the market (as cheap and useless phone).

By: Travis Monroe

Travis Monroe — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:20:48 +0000

UPDATE: Just saw a Blackberry commercial about how great one of their apps is as well as how many apps they have. Hmmmmm… calling the pot black?

By: SickOfMyBB

SickOfMyBB — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 22:02:35 +0000

This guy is a moron if he thinks apps are a fad. No wonder BB market share is getting killed by Apple & Android. And if he doesn't think apps are needed, then why is there a BB app world? So long BB, Droid here I come!

By: PulSe

PulSe — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:58:36 +0000

Go Android.

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:58:01 +0000

I agree, and lets not forget that the Blackberry Browser has to be the worst mobile browser out there. If that's the future…I say no thanks.

By: ioman

ioman — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:14:27 +0000

Agreed. Well said.

By: @JeffreyVC

@JeffreyVC — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:54:16 +0000

I agree with both sides here. I think there is a balance that needs to be struck. Apps are very important and help us do many things that would be difficult on slow 3G networks and tiny screens. We are also on the go and want things fast on phones, which is why browsing to every site is not appealing to some. However, there are a lot of useless apps out there. Hundreds of thousands, actually. It would be nice if some websites tailored their site for mobile viewing instead of invested those resources in app development.

Maybe BlackBerry should be proactive and open a Web store or something, with a list of bookmarkable sites that are tailored to mobile devices. That way finding good experiences on the web would be easier.

By: ioman

ioman — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:14:13 +0000

But it still looks bad on a tiny screen! And while load times are improved, it can still be extremely slow at times.

By: PaloAltoWorldView

PaloAltoWorldView — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:08:27 +0000

Many of the comments talk as if the Blackberry browser is bad. It was bad until 3 months ago, but with the OS6 browser it is very competitive with Android and iOS. I have all 3 and compare side-by-side. It's not fair to compare old Blackberry products with the new Android/iOS products. You have to compare OS6 which has been shipping for over 3 months now!

By: Travis Monroe

Travis Monroe — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:01:09 +0000

He is another techie (I would consider myself a techie also) who is looking at everything from his perspective and not what the end user really needs currently. In a "perfect world" we would all be plugged into the matrix or the collective and bandwidth wouldn't exist. I have friends who live in the U.S. can't get cable, are at the end of a DSL line and a dish is not an option. Apps are a tool, I have apps that store information that I don't want on the web or even tied to a browser.
If Apple is so wrong about apps then why is there such a supply of 300K apps? Demand and need.

By: Mojo6411

Mojo6411 — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:00:29 +0000

His argument is incorrect because he is making a basic and common mistake, he is mistaking the Web for the Internet. The web is a layer on the internet, it is not the internet. Tools such as email, video etc run independently of the web, although we typically locate them via a browser containing URL's which link websites which are on the internet. Apps give the consumer a way to access the internet directly and sheds many annoying inclusions on websites, such as flash ads etc. Apps, when properly built, are also quicker and more efficient. While saying that Apple is closed, that apps are unnecessary and that you can experience the Web through a browser, RIM's CEO exhibits a lack of true understanding of the subject, especially that consumers will buy what they find desirable, not what he or Steve Jobs, or anyone else says they should buy. In any case, Apple can also say that there's a browser for that, Safari. Google Voice is a case in point, while Google's app was not allowed in the App Store anyone could use Google's web based app.

By: ioman

ioman — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:44:02 +0000

I would disagree, using a browser for this would be a nightmare.

By: HrilL

HrilL — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:43:42 +0000

As for right now most of the apps I use are just a different interface to view web content. If there is no data network they don't work. So I have to agree with his line of thinking. Games are the one application that have real advantages being stored and ran locally. We need faster data networks before graphical games won't have to be applications.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:43:26 +0000

Mr. Balsillie is forgetting some very important things. First of all, we are talking about devices with no guarantee of connectivity or adequate bandwidth, especially in rural areas and in buildings. Having the app downloaded and running locally overcomes this issue. Second, having all apps be web applications eats up bandwidth unnecessarily. Why eat up web bandwidth for entertainment apps like solitaire?

I have done some app development for the Blackberry platform, and the toolset provided by RIM is horrendous, severely lacking, and poorly documented. They are falling behind because they do not do enough to support developers and thus have a very limited pool of apps. They are also extremely slow in providing OS updates to end users.

I switched to Android and have never looked back.

By: flipside

flipside — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:31:06 +0000

I am no fan of the way Apple does business but please use Google to find Steve job's write up/announcement regarding adobe and flash. He actually makes some great points.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:16:00 +0000

I mostly agree here, too. But to use your example, the Flixter app could just as easily be accomplished with a mobile website. So if BlackBerry shipped with a decent web browser, you might still be pretty satisfied!

By: Evolver

Evolver — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:15:30 +0000

I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't like apps either, and I'm glad to see someone talk them down. On the web, there's nothing an app does that I couldn't do with a good browser. And aren't non-web apps are merely software with a desktop icon? Most apps out there are garbage and most of the remaining are glorified advertisements.

By: ioman

ioman — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:14:58 +0000

Agreed. I have been a LONG time Blackberry fan, but just pulling up a web page was so painfully slow. I wound up switching to an iPhone 4. It's not perfect, and I do miss the features my Blackberry had (easy typing, the ring profiles, flashing red dot etc) but I am fairly happy now. I think the web and apps are very crucial now to a smartphone.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:12:11 +0000

I think it's interesting that RIM's CEO says that there's no need for apps, and that phones should just be web-enabled, but the browser that ships with the BlackBerry is probably the weakest in the market! I just got rid of my tour for an Android handset 3 months ago, and even though I miss a lot about my blackberry, the web browser kicks butt! I can do a lot on this phone that I just couldn't do on my BlackBerry.

So I'm fine either way: Iphone Style/Adroid Style Apps or Browse based Apps. However, if the latter, then it would require a good web browser which RIM does not currently supply.

By: Andrew Beehler

Andrew Beehler — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:09:58 +0000

I I couldn't agree with Mr. Balsillie any less. I love my apps, but I still have a browser with nearly full access to the web. The apps that I have are major time-savers, one of my favorites is the Flixter app. I have all of my favorite movie theaters saved, and can look up show-times faster than I could if I were at my computer. In fact, many times I find myself sitting in front of my computer, but reaching for my iPhone and using the apps because they are quicker.

Of course he does have a point that these apps that make our lives easier aren't necessary..... but I'll take unnecessary convenience over RIM's underpowered and clunky interface (I'm an ex-crackberry user) any day of the week.