RIM announced nothing new when launching BB10 given that most of the pending features and devices had already become public. The only disappointment was that there were no surprises up management’s sleeves. The emphasis was on the user experience rather than the device, on features that differentiate BB10 and provide a clear value proposition.
Key Blackberry 10 success factors analyzed
Hardware – The Z10 boasts a full touch screen and looks rather like most other touch screen phones. It’s not a wow phone but covers all the bases with a good sized high quality screen, reasonably thickness, and the ability to replace the battery and add more storage.
User Interface The user interface is clearly differentiated relative to iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Multi-tasking strikes us as clearly better than on any rival device. The typing experience is very good and the deep integration of messaging into one ‘Hub’ is also excellent. The all gesture-based interface does take a little getting used to, though. Like Windows Phone, we would argue that the user experience is different but not necessarily better than rival solutions.
BB 10 Apps BB10 is launching with over 70,000 applications available. This is impressive for a new platform but is still a long way behind the 800,000 or so apps available on iOS and Android. Major titles are included, but there were many applications that we frequently use that were not on the application store.
Marketing message We have no idea how BlackBerry plans to market BB10 to consumers. No adverts were shown at the launch event. The BB10 web site is already being advertised on various websites.
Where RIM is at Disadvantage ?
RIM’s approach to launch BB10 with a large number of operators all at once seems similar to Nokia’s initial, and disappointing, strategy. Muted product reviews mean that retail staff likely needs significant hand holding before deciding to push BB10 over easier-to-sell alternatives. With limited resources RIM may find itself stretched too thin.
Where RIM is at Advantage ?
The large enterprise user base of BlackBerries opens up the possibility of a strong upgrade cycle as many corporate users likely continue to use a BlackBerry (due to a lack of alternatives) and have likely not upgraded in a long time (due to a lack of compelling options).