Comments on: RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie Says Buggy Smartphone Software Is The “New Reality”

By: The Cell Phone Junkie Show #140 « Mickey Papillon

The Cell Phone Junkie Show #140 « Mickey Papillon — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:56:42 +0000

[...] Is buggy software the new reality of smartphones? Sprint eliminating 8000 jobs New law requiring “click” for cameras Rogue android app [...]

By: Smackdye

Smackdye — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:24:54 +0000

Ok first stop boo hooing about what he said. He was correct tho that is the future of all cell phone company’s they have to beat the others out the gate with new product… No phone is glitch free it was mostly verizons fault for releasing the storm 4 days before it was posed to be revised less than a week later RIM announced the updated software for the storm
Second … The i phone is nothing more than the next “cool” thing I know peoplebthat have them and they kinda defete the purpose of a compact powerhouse cell phone My buddy dropped his I phone 2 feet to the floor on carpet and it completely shot s he had to grab his blackberry out of his glove box and use that ( as the i phone does not come with insurance he is out of the 400 bucks too bad for him
Bottom line… Bla9kberry I’d hands down the best phone I have ever used I love it and will probably never change! Oh and the storm is just a crap phone to start with

By: Cranky Consumer

Cranky Consumer — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:30:51 +0000

As a long time software developer and manager in the telecommunications industry, I can categorically state that if that attitude is pervasive in the company, especially coming from the top, then RIM deserves to get their “new reality” kicked hard in the butt by the marketplace.

This is not supposed to be the crappy desktop quality software we’re used to from Microsoft and less so from Apple, it’s supposed to be carrier-grade quality; 99.9994% uptime. OK, maybe we can relax that a bit for handhelds, but given their server outages, RIM should be targeting 5-nines reliability instead of 9-fives (55.5555555%).

To all the developers and testers at RIM, let me say that Mr. Sillyballs has blessed your crappy software. Yes, you’ll still get an excellent performance review when the software you wrote crashes thousands of handsets on a daily basis. Yes, it’s OK to have more than one beer at lunch now; the new standard is one six-pack.

I mean, can you see Steve Jobs saying something like this to Apple engineers? I think he’d stomp the guts out of anyone who even suggested that poor quality was the new reality. No, Apple does not make perfect products, but that’s their goal.

Uh, is it politically incorrect to use an iPhone at work in RIM? Is it like driving a Honda when going to work at the Ford plant? Will other workers key your iPhone screen?

By: BlackBerry Storm Doing Better Than We Thought

BlackBerry Storm Doing Better Than We Thought — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:51:21 +0000

[...] in Motion and the BlackBerry Storm took a bit of a beating yesterday after a pretty stupid comment by RIM co-CEO Jim Balsille in an WSJ article hit the internet. One of the things mentioned in the [...]

By: The Rock

The Rock — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:02:22 +0000

Hate to keep beating this idea into the ground but RIM with some well placed brick and mortar stores, non-exclusive phones and some well thought out large scale beta testing could be alleviating alot of the bugs before the phones are released for sale to consumers. I also agree that the current BB OS is end of life and a change should be made if RIM wants to try and keep up with the market leaders.

By: gquaglia

gquaglia — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:19:56 +0000

RIM simply isn’t up to the task of putting out a state of the art smart phone. The are trying to mold their aging OS into the likes of the iphone or Android, which it simply isn’t capable of. I also don’t really think RIM’s engineers are up to the task. They seem to be stuck in 1st gear, while everyone else is in overdrive.

By: The Rock

The Rock — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:15:53 +0000

And so it begins, just a taste…

Open mouth, insert BlackBerry
http://www.betanews.com/article/Open_mouth_insert_BlackBerry/1233013478

By: The Rock

The Rock — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:29:23 +0000

I don’t agree with you guys. Don’t think RIM needs to or should limit their market to “lifestyle” or “work”. Apple is not doing that with the iPhone. Not a fan of limits, don’t think limits are a good thing. I DO agree “Do something, if only one single thing, and do it well. Consumers appreciate that.” But think RIM, like Apple has the ability to do more than one thing right.

For example lets go back a few years. RIM was late to adding camera’s onto their BB, the excuse from enthusiasts was “it’s a business device” / “corporate security” bla bla bla. That’s a reason for RIM to make a non-camera device but it’s not at all a reason for RIM to make all BB’s non-camera devices. Everyone must remember there is at least a few hours in the day when business is done and non-business time begins. There is no reason why RIM or Apple can’t do both well.

Speaking of why labels and limits are a bad thing, we still have enthusiasts trying to claim Apple’s iPhone is not “business” because their universal desktop sync program works through the iTunes app. Perhaps the same can be said about RIM and it’s continued lack of native support for any desktop sync program other than windoz OS? There are plenty of “business’s” which don’t do windoz, yet in order to use BB’s rely on 3rd party sync programs which have never been up to snuff with the native BB desktop. Why is RIM unable to provide a native sync for the BB’s? Why should “lifestyle” and “work” BB users who don’t do windoz’s continue to be unsupported?

Label’s and limits are a bad thing. Who knows, if RIM had ever given universal native support to multiple OS’s, if RIM started to support “lifestyle” and “work” sooner, before being pushed by Apple and the iPhone to do so perhaps RIM’s CEO’s wouldn’t be making excuses to the press for the current and future flagship BB’s being released to consumers with software and hardware bugs.

By: Nat

Nat — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:21:18 +0000

I agree with VEA — the iphone should stand for “lifestyle” and the blackberry should stand for “work.” Stick to your respective categories for strength rather than trying to eat every piece of the pie even if it doesn’t fit in your mouth. Do something, if only one single thing, and do it well. Consumers appreciate that.