Why BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone (and G-1) Killer

http://gigaom.com/2008/10/29/blackberry-storm-should-be-blackberry-stealth/

by raju • 18 years ago

6 18 18 years ago

I don't really feel the article hit on too many "killing" points and wasn't deep enough to support his claims that it will beat out the iPhone. He didn't even mention the G1 in the article (aside from the title).

Also, the [Insert Product Name] Killer is getting stale fast.

jcl• 18 years ago

Just reading the article, it looked to me like the "clickable" touchscreen has the potential to be a "killer" feature -- or, barring that, a widely copied one.

I haven't heard of any touchscreens that distinguish between pointing at something and clicking it, without adding an additional tap gesture or a press of an external button. Allowing both actions in a touchscreen interface combines the expressive power of a mouse (hot zones, tooltips) with the intuition of a touchscreen. It also lets you distinguish between a swipe and a drag -- gestures that are intuitive with this pointing device but difficult or impossible with others.

This feature gives Blackberry a slight edge, like the iPhone's multitouch... Actually, in light of the swipe/drag distinction, I think this feature is more desirable than multitouch. Looking at Apple's recent laptop touchpads, it's obvious that they, too, see the value in such a feature; I wouldn't be surprised to see a similarly clickable screen appear in a future iPhone.

yan• 18 years ago

I find in the past, once something was labeled an X-killer, it wasn't ever as successful as X. These labels are cute for getting clicks but lack in substance.

MaysonL• 18 years ago

Indeed.

When was the last time any one called Google an Altavista killer?

baddox• 18 years ago

The iPhone was an "other smartphone"-killer.

ram10243• 18 years ago

it's basically an iPhone clone, which will allow them to remain in the market for a short while longer.

martythemaniak3• 18 years ago

You're aware the iPhone wasn't the first full screen touch-based smartphone on the market, right? Apart from that, what exactly the Storm 'cloning'? Or is 'cloning' some new slang for providing a ton of functionality which is either non-existent or broken on the iPhone?

ram10243• 18 years ago

by clone, i mean it offers the same thing that the iPhone already does. it's practically a genetically identical. i mean if it could only connect to itunes seamlessly...

tptacek• 18 years ago

It's the first full screen touch-based smartphone anybody gave a shit about, though. Hop on the train and count phones. It's not just the fanboys; the iPhone is crushing the smartphone market.

davidw• 18 years ago

What's the development environment like? I know you can use Java ME, but is that it?

martythemaniak3• 18 years ago

The SDK is much like Android's. That is, it implements the full java language, then provides J2ME classes as well as its own Java packages.

The J2ME stuff is there so it can run old apps, but when you're writing a BlackBerry app, you typically use the net.rim.blackberry.* classes, as they provide a ton of extra functionality, UI etc (similar to how on Android you use the android.* classes)

iigs2• 18 years ago

For a long time I was an unflappable Blackberry fanboy. The reality of the situation currently is this:

1) Enterprise ready isn't the unique feature it was 18 months ago. ActiveSync on WM no longer sucks to the point it lowers the barametric pressure in the area (although that's about all the compliments I have for it), the iPhone has compelling Exchange integration, and I have heard good things about Nokia's Exchange support (will know more when my wife's E71 arrives this weekend).

Having to pay an extra $15/mo/device for BES service, plus BES server hardware + BES license fees, just to maintain parity with the other products is a huge disadvantage. The best thing they could do is walk away from BES, but the carriers won't do it because it's margin for them.

2) They release phones so slowly. I appreciate that the build and radio quality of the phones are top notch, but slipping announced release dates (AT&T BB Bold, at least Sept-Nov, and maybe Jul/Aug-Nov) is not cool. I don't know if that's AT&T's fault or RIM's fault, but the whole process is under control of two major corporations -- get it together. If the Storm's release happens at all similarly, it better have iPhone v3 killing features -- that's what it's going to be competing with.

3) The BB App store has a 2009 release date and appears to be a me-too announcement. Unless there's some magic that has escaped announcement, it's not going to be a notable feature at all.

notauser• 18 years ago

They also have an awful browser. The bold I tried couldn't even load Slashdot - it just died. Even the S60 browser can manage to load it, albeit badly.

iigs2• 18 years ago

I wrote that before lunch when I was hungry and cranky. I saw that it was going downhill, so I shut it down. The browser situation is something I didn't cover, but it truly is the most awful smartphone browser experience.

By far the most charitable thing I've heard about the blackberry browser is that the phones can all run Opera Mini.

Hoff• 18 years ago

gigaom is the new cnet. nothing to see. move along.

dhimes• 18 years ago

I have found the iPhone to be good at everything except being a phone. We have two in the family (a v1 and a v2), both on the same network as me (I have a Razr). I get great reception with the Razr where the iPhones don't. Dropping calls is common for them. My phone is my business line and I can't risk that. A good alternative would be nice (or a better iPhone!).

Anybody else have these issues with the iPhone?

Why BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone (and G-1) Killer

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