RIM have had a hard year in 2011. There were a number of server failures. The BlackBerry PlayBook has had dismal sales. RIM also had to rename their next generation OS version from BBX to BlackBerry 10. And now, their financial value is down over 70% in a year. A bad year indeed.

Mobility blog has a fast-thriving BBM group. Someone asked this question there yesterday: “Does RIM really need the American market to survive?”

The answer, in my opinion, is a No, and I will state why. First take a look at the following:

• There are a number of mobile manufacturers who build exclusively for the Japanese market and are doing fine. One market, yet healthy and profitable.
• Huawei has slugged its way up to the top 5 manufacturers list without being able to win the U.S. market.
• Market advisers have often said that it makes sense to focus on where one has comparative advantage or where you have a ready market.
• Motivational speakers will also tell you to go where you are celebrated. For RIM, that should mean that they focus their most energies elsewhere, if only for now.

RIM Needs To Go Radical – In A Different Way

Here is a saying of mine. For the records, I made it all up, and it reflects my often non-conformist, adventurous and radical nature:

Doing and saying what is popular may indicate a lack of creativity, courage or intelligence. Possibly all.

Every manufacturer is copying the iPhone, though they won’t admit it. In my opinion, they all lack either courage to be different or creative. Possibly both.

Some so lack this creativity that they copy its weaknesses too – hook, line, and sinker! Bummer!

Interesting enough, the iPhone didn’t become so popular by copying anyone. Go figure.

RIM, Stand Out

RIM, stick with your strengths – those great keyboards, that excellent form factor, and your security. But be creative.

For example, provide the option to choose to use a BIS plan or not for internet access on your devices.

By all means stick primarily with QWERTY keyboards. Add a Communicator form factor (side-sliding QWERTY). Keep one full touchscreen range. But let your mainstream devices be those great candy QWERTYs that people so love.

Full touchscreen slabs may be popular, but it doesn’t mean that the QWERTY market is not sustainable. It is! And for now, RIM is king there.

Stand out! Don’t conform!!

Go Where You Are Celebrated

RIM has the strongest following anywhere but the US market and need to wake up to this reality. In the UK, BlackBerry devices are still some of the most desirable smartphones. There’s also the Netherlands, Brazil, and Nigeria, among several others.

RIM needs to focus their energies in these places.

If RIM is waiting for BlackBerry 10 to turn things around for them in the U.S. and in the eyes of the U.S. media, they are probably in for a surprise. On the contrary in the markets where RIM has good mindshare, both users and the media are constantly singing the praise of BlackBerry and talking about how awesome it is. RIM needs to focus on the markets where it needs the least energy to sell.

RIM will continue to sell to their die-hard customers in the U.S. too, but that is not where they are celebrated now.

Africa, South America, Asia

RIM needs to ride on the wave and hype that BlackBerry already has in these regions. The hype is much, though Blackberry devices are not really as popular.

So many people in Nigeria think that Blackberry is the most popular phone in Nigeria right now. Even media houses and tech people (who should know better) help spread this impression though it is very untrue! That’s tremendous market advantage.

Young and mid-age people in several countries across the world are going Blackberry-gaga. That’s where RIM should be looking.

My almost 70-year old dad wants a Blackberry. His business partner has one. Almost every university undergraduate wants one. My kids want one each too.

They know a BlackBerry when they see one. Think about that. I can’t say the same for most other brands.

Come on, guys! Come and ride on this! Get on TV, in newspapers, on blogs, and on buses – and push this thing!

Push it, or go the way of the dinosaurs.

Conclusions

RIM did not achieve its great successes because of the American market. They achieved it when they started selling their BlackBerry phones elsewhere on the planet. That is exactly what they need to keep doing and pushing harder.

If you know anyone in RIM who can pass this article up, please refer them to it. I would hate to have to refer to this article a year from now with regrets.

I rest my case.

I had a long discussion with someone on Twitter today, and along the line, he made the following statement:

Symbian is the most power efficient mobile OS there is. Which really isn’t saying much because it doesn’t do much

I may be wrong, but the above statement seems to stem from ignorance or just plain fanboyism. I used two Symbian devices (Nokia N8 and Nokia E7) this year, and there was NOTHING that I got done on Android, iOS, WindowsPhone or Blackberry that I didn’t get done on those devices.

Yes; each OS does specific things in different ways, and some have strength in one area and weakness in that other area. But for crying out loud, statements like the above just….. stink. Let’s call rubbish what it is – RUBBISH.

No; I don’t use Symbian any longer. As a matter of fact, I am moved on. But facts are facts, and lies are lies.

Can anyone tell me in clear terms what AndroidOS does that Symbian does not do? No bullshitting. Just say it straight: “You can browse the internet on Android, but cannot do that on Symbian“.

For the avoidance of doubt, I am not asking for things that Android does better than Symbian. I am asking for things that Android does that Symbian is not capable of.

Any bullshitting comments will be deleted. I’m not going to waste my time responding to bullshit and going round in circles.

Ever so often, I come across comments that outrightly paint devices running a mobile platform or OS as “rubbish” or “crap”.

By way of example, a recent commenter simply referred to BlackBerry as “crap”.

Personally, from what I know of the diversity of human needs and wants, I think that such a comment speaks more of that person’s ignorance than of the qualities of the BlackBerry platform.

It is not only BlackBerry that has been subject to this sort of verbal dismissal. Fanboys of various platforms are often found dismissing competing platforms as rubbish.

In my opinion, such people are simply full of cow dung. They have no idea what they are talking about.

If an individual says, for example, “I will not buy an iPhone because I cannot live with the limitations of iOS and the phone itself,” that makes sense. A valid reason for his personal choice has been presented.

But should such a one say something like, “The iPhone is just a useless piece of junk,” then I would have to respond that the individual in question is stuffed full of chicken feathers.

In all probability, the person who says that BlackBerry devices are useless lives in a different social (perhaps even business) sphere from those others who want and prefer a BlackBerry device. As such, it does not meet his needs. But he is misguided in thinking that those devices do not meet anyone else’s needs.

The individual whose preference is Android certainly has his reasons for choosing that. They are his reasons, and that should be respected.

The New Lack Of Tolerance
I dislike the depths of intolerance that I see on display at times. If we are this intolerant over such a flimsy subject as choice of mobile devices, it’s no wonder that there is no peace in most parts of the world.

We must also learn to acknowledge the pros and cons of whatever devices or platforms we have adopted. No platform or device is perfect for everyone. Some are better suited to certain people, while others are better suited to another demography.

Someone criticising Symbian for being too late in evolving it’s UI to modern trends is not necessarily a Symbian hater. He is simply stating a fact. Yet, UI is not all there is to a phone, so some people will still prefer Symbian because of its strengths over others.

Another person criticising iOS for being too locked down is not necessarily a hater either. It’s not worth crossing swords over. He has made a statement of fact, and in all probability cannot live with that. That’s okay too.

A few days ago, an individual spent enormous amounts of energy trying to convince me that iOS meets my needs if I were to adopt certain workarounds (all of which introduce other issues, of course). Well, those workarounds don’t float my boat.

That doesn’t make me an iPhone hater, but then this individual’s persistence grated on my nerves. He almost sounded like a used car salesman.

It is amazing that we exult and revel in our supposed enlightenment in the modern, civilised world, yet can be so narrow-minded as to think that we know what’s best for others. Actually, it is disgusting.

It’s the same thing when someone says that he cannot see any reason why anyone wants to purchase a mobile with a physical QWERTY keyboard. Well, he may not see it. As human beings, we don’t always see everything. But if QWERTY works for some people, it’s none of your business. Or mine.

By way of throwing more light on this, with automatic transmission firmly in the mainstream of motor vehicle technology now, why would anyone want to buy and drive a manual transmission car? You have no idea? Splendid! Don’t worry about it; the buyer knows why he wants one.

Live And Let Live
If for example you love Android, do enjoy it. Praise it to high heavens for its sterling qualities, but please do not act and talk like it is the alpha and omega of mobility and has no flaws. Same goes for every other platform – iOS, Symbian, BadaOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone.

People who buy and use devices from other platforms apart from your choice are not stupid. For all you know, the person dissing everything else but his favourite may be the smallest mind in the room.

Comments welcome!

It is December and a good time to take stock of the year ending. Looking back at 2011, I have owned 14 mobile devices this year.

As a long-time Symbian fan, I find it intriguing that of those 14 mobiles that I acquired this year, only 1 was Symbian – and I didn’t buy it. One. Go figure.

Of those 14 devices, 5 ran Android OS, 2 ran BlackBerry OS, 2 Windows Phone, 1 MeeGo, 1 WebOS, 1 Symbian, and 2 iOS.

I have come to terms with the fact that I am moving away from Symbian as my primary platform. It still meets my needs as a platform, but there are simply no new devices exciting enough to keep an adventurous person like me hooked on it.

And what’s Mister Mobility without mobile adventure and excitement?

I love something in every one of the existing platforms, but each of them also has one or two things that don’t go down well with me.

Put mass storage in Windows Phone, and I would signup right now. Same for iOS. BlackBerry ticks all the specs, but that platform lacks great cameras (one of my critical needs), as well as the fact that there isn’t much excitement there either.

Android is exciting, but at a killing level. You buy an Android smartphone today and it is almost a grandpa in another one month. That kind of excitement means that I will be cycling through Android phones at an alarming rate.

MeeGo is dead. WebOS is in a coma. Bada? I don’t know. Bada is a poor copy of Android. if I want Android, I go buy Android.

Here I am evaluating all my available options. Whatever I decide, I promise you months and years of exciting reviews and stories ahead. Of course, regardless of what platform I adopt, I will still continue to purchase devices from other platforms for review purposes, so no-one feels left out.

One thing is for sure, without exciting devices, I have lost the passion for Symbian. I used to be “Symbian Inside”. Now, I am “Symbian Over And Out“.

We ran a poll asking you to answer the question, “What mobile platform would your next primary smartphone be from?”

Here are the poll results!

The results in text:

1. Android OS – 50 votes (39%)
2. Symbian OS – 37 votes (29%)
3. MeeGo – 12 votes (9%)
4. iPhone – 11 votes (9%)
5. WindowsPhone – 10 votes (8%)
6. BlackBerry – 9 votes (7%)
7. Bada OS – 0 votes (0%)

Thanks to everyone who participated. Comments welcome.

An update to v2.0.0.58 is now available for the Facebook for BlackBerry app. The documentation simply says that the maintenance includes general fixes to the infrastructure of the Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones application.

English, anyone?

Anyway, an update is an update. If you are on BB, launch BB App World on your device and go get it. Its only 2.6 MB in size.

RIM has unveiled BlackBerry BBX, its next generation mobile platform that takes the best of the BlackBerry® platform and the best of the QNX® platform to connect people, devices, content and services.

BlackBerry BBX is the next generation platform for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets. In other words, there will be only one OS for both Blackberry smartphones and tablets going forward.

BBX will support:
- BlackBerry cloud services
- development environments for both HTML5 and native developers
- Native SDK,
- Adobe AIR/Flash
- WebWorks/HTML5
- BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps

You can read the full press release on the RIM website: RIM Unveils BlackBerry BBX – Combines the Best of BlackBerry and QNX to Provide a Next Generation Platform for BlackBerry Smartphones and Tablets

I need to say upfront that every OS has its unique selling point (USP). One does some things better than the other. From my own point of view, below are four features of the Android platform over iOS:

• Budget Conscious: Since the arrival of Android OS, many people have been privileged to carry a smartphone. Imagine a smartphone selling for as low as 10,000 naira. Only Android has provided this opportunity so far. Please read my earlier post, to be sure of the Android device I am referring to. On the other hand, the cheapest iOS device costs well above 10,000 naira. Aside that, in recent times, we have heard so many manufacturers announcing their low-budget Android devices (many to cost around $100).
• Home Screen: This feature makes Android very superb for me. All android devices come with a customizable home screen. It provides information directly through widgets. This implies that you do not need to launch the app before you can have access to some of the information it provides. Take for instance, I have a Facebook widget on my device, which I added to the Home Screen. With this, I don’t need to launch the app to get Facebook updates. All I need to do is to navigate back Home, and catch all my updates. This feature is lacking on iOS.
• Notifications: Another great in-built advantage of the Android platform over iOS has to do with notification display. Adroid gives you a notification bar at the top screen. This bar can be pulled down to gain access to more details. The iOS Notifications is not as superb as this, because, it natively displays notifications through pop-ups. This is set to change in iOS5 though, so its not going to be an advantage for long.
• Hardware choice: Apart from many of the great benefits of the OS, Android gives its fanbase a wide choice of hardware across a wide variety of manufacturers. This means that there is an Android for all types – touchscreen-only, QWERTY candybar, and QWERTY slider. As for iOS, its touchscreen-only, and saying no to Apple’s hardware means bye to iOS completely.

Every now and then, nostalgia simply gets the better of me. When that happens, I go down memory lane and take a look at the different smartphones that I have used.

Here is a gallery of some of the devices that I used from 2007 through 2010.

January 2007 - Palm Treo 700P

September 2007 - Sony Ericsson P990i

February 2008 - Nokia E61i; Nokia E61

February 2008 - Sony Ericsson P990i; Nokia E61i

February 2008 - Sony Ericsson P990i, Nokia E61, Nokia 9500, Nokia E61i

November 2008 - Nokia E90; Nokia 9500

March 2010 - LG GW550

April 2010 - Nokia N900

July 2010 - HTC Touch Pro2

September 2010 - Nokia E90, Nokia E61i, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro

September 2010 - Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro

Things have certainly changed dramatically since 2007. Still, I have stubbornly clung to my hardware QWERTY keyboard devices. Odd, but incidentally (or significantly), my current device, the Nokia N8, is a touchscreen-only device. Perhaps it is lady Belle (I have the newer leaked ROM, and its superb!) that’s got such a hold on me that I can tolerate the lack of a hardware keyboard (article on that coming soon).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the gallery.

Last month, the news of Google’s acquisition of Motorola sent shockwaves through the mobile industry. Of course, very quickly a few apologists got up to say that the purchase was about the patents in Motorola’s kitty. I didn’t think so.

Well, its official now. Here are the words of Google Chairman, Eric Schmidt:

“We did it for more than just patents. We actually believe that the Motorola team has some amazing products coming,” and went on to add that, “We’re excited to have the product line, to use the Motorola brand, the product architecture, the engineers. These guys invented the RAZR. We know them well because they’re Google Apps users.”

Source

Come on guys, all that money just for the patents? It wasn’t going to happen. Google always had their eyes on the hardware, and now they’ve got their hands on it.

While Android partners have publicly said that they are happy about the acquisition, in my opinion that’s just PR. In reality, things have changed significantly.

For one, the Korean government has recently mentioned it plans to develop a mobile OS to rival Android with the support of both Samsung and LG.

Secondly, Chinese search engine Baidu (which dominates China’s search market) has launched its own mobile OS, called Yi. Baidu Yi is a modification of Android OS and provides alternatives to many of Android’s in-built Google services.

Acer has also now publicly stated that the Motorola acquisition is a blessing to Microsoft. As I suspected, OEMs would now have to seriously consider investing in the direction of WindowsPhone.

Samsung already has Bada OS which is being pushed hard in the market, and can always fall back on that.

How this all plays out eventually will be seen. The mobile industry is very volatile. As the famous saying goes, Expect the unexpected.

The smartphone world must be even more volatile than we all thought. You see, HP, the guys who purchased Palm recently, have announced that they are discontinuing WebOS phones and tablets.

Excerpt from the HP press release:

HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

HP say they are looking at options. Perhaps license WebOS to other manufacturers?

Whatever, it looks like the lines just got redrawn again. RIP, WebOS?

Android partners – Samsung, SonyEricsson, HTC, and LG – have responded to Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility, and they all sound happy about the deal. Of course, personally, I expect that all those happy quotes are simply PR.

In the coming months, what these companies actually do – as against what they have said – will tell us what they really think of the deal. After all, each and everyone of them must act in their own best interests, just as Google have acted in their own best interest with this.

Quotes from Android partners