4 ms·

Apparently Microsoft wants to target WM7 at consumers. They've done very little to integrate WM7 with Windows Server -- in fact WM7 is a big step backwards in t

by jsz0 16y ago

Apparently Microsoft wants to target WM7 at consumers. They've done very little to integrate WM7 with Windows Server -- in fact WM7 is a big step backwards in this respect compared to WM6. I think you're right that going after the enterprise market would have made a lot more sense but for whatever reason Microsoft is still in denial about losing their death grip on the consumer market and as a result squander opportunities to succeed in markets they already own. As for RIM I think their enterprise credibility isn't what it used to be. Apple in particular, and Android to a lesser degree, have surpassed them in many ways. Not so much on the device management side, which is somewhat trivial on these devices anyway, but more so on pure functionality. There are just so many things you can't do on the latest & greatest BlackBerry. It's great you can manage the hell out of the device but the gap in functionality is massive these days. The only reason RIM hasn't totally imploded is that BlackBerries are dirt cheap which makes up for the lack of functionality. This isn't really sustainable.

Silhouette 16y ago
> The only reason RIM hasn't totally imploded is that BlackBerries are dirt cheap which makes up for the lack of functionality. I was looking for a new phone for company use a few weeks ago. The BlackBerry Torch was the only one in the store that wasn't included free with any of their longer price plans. In fact, I would have had to pay hundreds of pounds to get one, in addition to the usual multi-year contract tie-in. I laughed and bought a £15 Nokia and a pay-monthly plan with no tie-in, because as a business user, what matters most to me is having a separate number from my personal mobile and a separate allowance of minutes/texts/etc. that I can expense. Smart phones are all very nice, but if you have a laptop and mobile broadband with you most of the time on business trips anyway, also mostly just a cute gimmick. (That goes for the other mobile OSes as well, of course, but at least they don't insult me by asking me to pay more for their device than I can pay for a real computer. If I were willing to accept a two-year tie-in, I might have picked up an Android phone.)

by jsz0 16y ago

Silhouette 16y ago

> The only reason RIM hasn't totally imploded is that BlackBerries are dirt cheap which makes up for the lack of functionality. I was looking for a new phone for company use a few weeks ago. The BlackBerry Torch was the only one in the store that wasn't included free with any of their longer price plans. In fact, I would have had to pay hundreds of pounds to get one, in addition to the usual multi-year contract tie-in. I laughed and bought a £15 Nokia and a pay-monthly plan with no tie-in, because as a business user, what matters most to me is having a separate number from my personal mobile and a separate allowance of minutes/texts/etc. that I can expense. Smart phones are all very nice, but if you have a laptop and mobile broadband with you most of the time on business trips anyway, also mostly just a cute gimmick. (That goes for the other mobile OSes as well, of course, but at least they don't insult me by asking me to pay more for their device than I can pay for a real computer. If I were willing to accept a two-year tie-in, I might have picked up an Android phone.)