Adobe’s newest Flash Player 10.1 will soon be available on Google’s Android “Froyo” 2.2 operating system for smartphones and other devices, and Adobe’s Murarka said other smartphones would soon support Flash.
“You’re going to see Flash not only on Android. Consumers will see devices from Palm, Research in Motion Ltd’s Blackberry, Nokia’s Symbian and Microsoft Windows Phone 7 support the full Flash Player,” Murarka said.
Emphasis mine. It’s always “soon” with these guys.
The Bold 9650 is the successor to the BlackBerry Tour that is currently on Verizon and Sprint. It adds Wi-Fi and RIM’s new optical track pad, which has been seen on newer BlackBerrys, like the Bold2 and Curve 8520.
I’ve been using the Bold 9700 (aka the Bold2) for over a month. It’s crap. Yes, I know it’s RIM’s flagship QWERTY model — and even better than what they announced for Verizon and Sprint — but it’s still crap.
Honestly, in the age of modern smartphones (iPhone, Nexus One, Droid, Palm Pre, etc.) it’s hard to imagine anything as out of place as a Blackberry. It’s like buying a brand new PC with Windows 98 on it.
[RIM co-chief Mike Lazaridis] claimed that most of the people who bought touchscreen-only phones in the past two years were going back to phones with hardware QWERTY keyboards, whether touch-enabled or otherwise. It’s those keyboards that made RIM “famous,” he said.
Really? Is this why RIM continues “Buy One Get One” deals on their traditional QWERTY Blackberry models while working furiously to get a modern phone built with the Storm, then Storm 2?
I’ve had Blackberry’s flagship QWERTY phone (Bold 9700) for nearly a month now. It may have been something before electricity, but compared to a modern smartphone it’s crap.
The breakthrough innovation of 10 years ago rarely makes the breakthrough innovation of today, and the company’s current strategy is too centred on leveraging in today’s changing environment what made BlackBerry so strong in the past,” he wrote.
It’s unreal I found this article tonight. Earlier today I received my new Blackberry Bold for work. RIM’s flagship model with all the bells and whistles (3G, WiFi, GPS, visual voice mail, etc.).
It’s an OK device, but so weak by modern standards (iPhone, Android, Web OS) that it should be embarrassing to RIM. The browser is laughable. I mean really, really laughable.
Seems to me it’s the kind of device only an IT group could love, safely ensconced in the bureaucratic cocoon of Blackberry server voodoo and licensing issues.
IT fans notwithstanding, RIM clearly knows this device is on its last legs:
Nearly half their user base yearns for something better. RIM needs to start over, as Microsoft did with Windows Phone 7 Series, or maybe buy Palm. When your flagship model looks like something the other guy left in the trash, you know the current plan isn’t working.
Nearly 40% of Blackberry users continue to prefer Apple’s iPhone as their next smartphone purchase, but a third of them would also switch to the Android operating system
In short: We’re using a Blackberry, but we’d rather have the best smartphone, and would even settle for second-best in a pinch.
Is it any wonder RIM and their carrier partners have maintained “buy one, get one free” deals for months? Giving the things away is what keeps RIM’s quarterly sales looking good. The bad news for RIM and their shareholders is it’s an unsustainable business model.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt paints this as Android making Steve Jobs nervous, but I don’t see it that way. It’s not like Apple lost share, they gained. And they did so while selling on just one carrier, without lowering prices or offering rebates or BOGO deals.
What I see is Android gaining most of the share Microsoft is losing.
And why shouldn’t Android pick up Microsoft’s lost users? After all, WinMo users are used to a myriad of fragmented models with different hardware features and screen sizes. They run varying versions of the OS, with each manufacturer slapping their own apps or front-end on them. It’s just like Android. Yes, a WinMo user will feel right at home there.
The issue represents the third such failure within weeks and comes just as RIM is counting on continued strong sales to buffer itself against competition from the iPhone
If RIM keeps this up all the 2-for-1 deals in the world won’t help them. And make no mistake, those deals are the only thing keeping them “buffered” against the iPhone.
The Small Wave. 