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This is just painfully stupid. Finally an app on Blackberry actually garners some attention, and RIM kicks it off the market. For anyone who has ever bitched a

by axiom 16y ago

This is just painfully stupid. Finally an app on Blackberry actually garners some attention, and RIM kicks it off the market. For anyone who has ever bitched about Apple being draconian, this is just another example of what the mobile app world was like before the App Store. It really wasn't all unicorns and rainbows and happy developers skipping through the meadow. It was locked down and cost absurd amounts of money to break into.

pyre 16y ago
I think that point about Apple being draconian is that Apple's marketing department wants you to believe that Apples ecosystem is "all unicorns and rainbows and happy developers skipping through the meadow." It's not necessarily an implicit claim that we are moving backwards (though Apple as a company may seem to be moving backwards in their transition computer -> mobile).
mattmcknight 16y ago
Actually I loaded many programs onto my phone without RIM getting involved. App World is just their attempt to copy the Apple "curated" model, with worse results. Access to the BB push infrastructure is a special case though.
bebeastie 16y ago
It depends how you define 'stupid'. I see advertisements day in and day out for BBM. Not for RIM's latest phone, not for a new RIM app, but specifically for BBM. Why? Because RIM has realized that one of the only things keeping a large % of their user base around is BBM. Their OS is horrible, their devices are nothing special, but BBM is arguably the best mobile messaging product out there (so good that Kik pretty much copied it exactly). I have friends that won't replace their BBs solely because they feel as though they'll lose touch with their friends that use BBM (I know, SMS, email etc. all seem like fair replacements but in practice they aren't...BBM is superior for a # of reasons). Now, what is Kik doing? It is offering a comparable messaging platform that allows BBM users to speak with their friends no matter what device they are using. If I tell my friends with BBs to get Kik and we all start to use it consistently, then eventually one of us can go get that iPhone we've always wanted. Then another one etc. Kik is on the verge of breaking into the walled garden that is BBM and RIM is obviously not too happy about it.
- axiom 16y ago
  Fair enough, and that's quite likely what RIM is thinking. But do you think it's a smart strategy for RIM to try to stay relevant by blocking hot apps on their platform? would it not be a more sane strategy for them to make their devices better, and to open up their platform so that others can easily develop more great apps on it? This just seems like such a dumb short-sighted move.
  - dedward 16y ago
    It's only dumb and short-sighted until you look at the amount of money at stake. BBM truly is the only app holding a great many people back from ditching their blackberries for android or i-devices. The second we find a reliable way to transition away from the blackberry, today, we would. The blackberry has to keep a lock on it's last and only killer app while it finds a way to stay relevant.
    - nikster 16y ago
      ^^^ Yes.
- powerje 16y ago
  Could you elaborate on why BBM is superior? When I ask friends who use the service they tell me their favorite features are instant communication (Jabber clients on other devices also have this right?) and the fact that they can tell when the other party has viewed their message (something I'd personally disable).
- thought_alarm 16y ago
  The lock-in argument doesn't hold much water. RIM already provides IM clients for Google Talk, Yahoo, and MSN, with pretty much the exact same UI and features as BBM. The quality of their Google Talk client is one of the things keeping me on BlackBerry.
  - nikster 16y ago
    None of these are especially created for mobile. Or aimed squarely at BBM with the same features. I had been thinking about creating BBM for other platforms simply because I'd like to have it on my iPhone.

by axiom 16y ago

pyre 16y ago

I think that point about Apple being draconian is that Apple's marketing department wants you to believe that Apples ecosystem is "all unicorns and rainbows and happy developers skipping through the meadow." It's not necessarily an implicit claim that we are moving backwards (though Apple as a company may seem to be moving backwards in their transition computer -> mobile).

mattmcknight 16y ago

Actually I loaded many programs onto my phone without RIM getting involved. App World is just their attempt to copy the Apple "curated" model, with worse results. Access to the BB push infrastructure is a special case though.

bebeastie 16y ago

It depends how you define 'stupid'. I see advertisements day in and day out for BBM. Not for RIM's latest phone, not for a new RIM app, but specifically for BBM. Why? Because RIM has realized that one of the only things keeping a large % of their user base around is BBM. Their OS is horrible, their devices are nothing special, but BBM is arguably the best mobile messaging product out there (so good that Kik pretty much copied it exactly). I have friends that won't replace their BBs solely because they feel as though they'll lose touch with their friends that use BBM (I know, SMS, email etc. all seem like fair replacements but in practice they aren't...BBM is superior for a # of reasons). Now, what is Kik doing? It is offering a comparable messaging platform that allows BBM users to speak with their friends no matter what device they are using. If I tell my friends with BBs to get Kik and we all start to use it consistently, then eventually one of us can go get that iPhone we've always wanted. Then another one etc. Kik is on the verge of breaking into the walled garden that is BBM and RIM is obviously not too happy about it.

axiom 16y ago
Fair enough, and that's quite likely what RIM is thinking. But do you think it's a smart strategy for RIM to try to stay relevant by blocking hot apps on their platform? would it not be a more sane strategy for them to make their devices better, and to open up their platform so that others can easily develop more great apps on it? This just seems like such a dumb short-sighted move.
- dedward 16y ago
  It's only dumb and short-sighted until you look at the amount of money at stake. BBM truly is the only app holding a great many people back from ditching their blackberries for android or i-devices. The second we find a reliable way to transition away from the blackberry, today, we would. The blackberry has to keep a lock on it's last and only killer app while it finds a way to stay relevant.
  - nikster 16y ago
    ^^^ Yes.
powerje 16y ago
Could you elaborate on why BBM is superior? When I ask friends who use the service they tell me their favorite features are instant communication (Jabber clients on other devices also have this right?) and the fact that they can tell when the other party has viewed their message (something I'd personally disable).
thought_alarm 16y ago
The lock-in argument doesn't hold much water. RIM already provides IM clients for Google Talk, Yahoo, and MSN, with pretty much the exact same UI and features as BBM. The quality of their Google Talk client is one of the things keeping me on BlackBerry.
- nikster 16y ago
  None of these are especially created for mobile. Or aimed squarely at BBM with the same features. I had been thinking about creating BBM for other platforms simply because I'd like to have it on my iPhone.