

The BlackBerry, Rebuilt, Lives to Fight Another Day - interconnector
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/technology/the-blackberry-refreshed-lives-to-fight-another-day.html?pagewanted=1&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0

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tsunamifury
I've been using the BB10 for a few months now, building software for the
launch. I was extremely skeptical at first, but after the push to launch, I
have a lot of positive things to say about the device and the OS.

1) Its fast, memory management isn't an issue for developers like it is on
Android or even iOS.

2) Its smooth and multitasks well. QNX does deliver here big time.

3) Its solid -- during the Alpha and Beta stages, I never had a crash -- this
is, looking back, astounding.

4) Native development is not as demanding as Android or iOS. The dev ecosystem
guides you well to just the right balance between native UI elements and
customization and you can do it in a language you likely already have
knowledge of. (Java, QT, HTML5, C++)

Overall -- it was a pleasure to build and launch apps on BB10 -- which is more
than I have to say for other ecosystems. I'd describe it as the the ease of
developing the display layer for a Windows Phone app mixed with the
flexibility and depth of an Android app and the power of iPhone hardware.

Background: I'm a hardcore iPhone user who is in the mobile industry and
regularly uses hundreds of mobile devices.

~~~
jug6ernaut
> "memory management isn't an issue for developers like it is on Android or
> even iOS."

Memory Management is a issue on android development? Ive been dev'ing for
android for > 2 years and i have never had a memory management issue. Not
saying there isnt one, but i would imagine you would have to be doing
something wrong for it to be an issue.

> " Native development is not as demanding as Android"

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "demanding"? The vast majority of
android apps happily spend there entire lives never touching native code...

~~~
zmmmmm
Memory managment was a pain in the butt when I was developing for Android.
Mainly because apps (then) were limited to a 16MB heap and bitmaps would
allocate memory automatically but need to "reminded" to release it afterwards.
The only real way to know if you'd exceeded the limit when you tried to open a
bitmap was to catch the OutOfMemory exception and retry with a lower sampling
of the image. So the simple act of trying to read an image into memory and
display it turns into a complex memory management scenario. Good times.

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martythemaniak
As a Canadian, I really do wish them well. It's hard to imagine Waterloo's
startup ecosystem existing without a large anchor company like RIM and Mike
Lazaridis (RIM founder) is one of the most inspiring philanthropists alive.

Having said that, they're going to have a tough time. Realistically it's
possible for them to take a solid #3 spot behind Google and Apple, however
Microsoft is ready to pour billions to make sure they're that #3. In fact,
it's not clear whether there is a #3 exists at all, although I suspect it
does.

Lastly there's the question of whether BlackBerry can remain independent. A
good BB10 launch will make them an attractive target - perhaps Amazon is tired
of being chained to Android.

~~~
thoughtcriminal
It's Apple's game to lose. Tim Cook is exactly the _wrong_ person to be CEO.
He seems like a tweaker, someone who dusts and sweeps in the corners but won't
move the furniture.

On the other hand, Blackberry (it feels weird not calling them RIM) are going
all out. Their innovations to BB10 will make Tim Cook look even more
uninspired.

EDIT: The above comment is my prediction of the public's perception of Tim
Cook in the next few months (an otherwise nice guy and good leader). Not
gospel. But it will be interesting to watch how BB10 does and how Apple
responds.

~~~
marknutter
> Their innovations to BB10

Which innovations?

~~~
rescripting
True Multitasking, Blackberry Balance, Timeshift Camera, Physical Keyboard,
Hub, Browser built in HTML5, Mobile Screen Sharing... Did you read the
article?

~~~
meh01
Everything you just stated is gimmick. Physical keyboards are over.

And the "true multitasking" sort of works (pretty much as well as Anroid) only
because they bolted 2GB of RAM onto the thing.

BlackBerry are dead. The OS looks like amateur hour, the icons look inspired
by Windows XP, and even their default font is badly rendered everywhere. The
Android emulator is unusably slow (nothing like what it was in the desktop
simulator) and pointless. It should be removed.

It's a decent beta, but that's about it. They're done.

~~~
potatolicious
> _"And the "true multitasking" sort of works (pretty much as well as Anroid)
> only because they bolted 2GB of RAM onto the thing."_

Well, yeah. So what?

As an iOS user I'm _salivating_ at the thought of actually being able to IM
people properly. Right now invariably it goes something like this:

[push notification: you have a new message!]

[tap on notification]

[IM app launches]

[go get a coffee]

[IM app launched! Retrieving your new messages...]

[go get a sandwich]

[here's that message!]

Real multitasking is a _huge_ win, even a diehard iOS user like myself will
admit. I don't care if they had to summon Cthulhu to make it work - but as
long as it does, it's a great selling point.

~~~
untog
Then that's a strange quirk of iOS- Android handles it just fine. The point is
that they aren't the only OS with "true multitasking" out there.

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eitland
I guess my Note II is not the only one who has this features: " A subtle light
blinks above the screen to indicate that something — a text, an e-mail
message, voice mail, a Facebook post — is waiting for you. Without even
pressing a physical button, you swipe up the screen; the Lock screen lifts
like a drape as you slide your thumb, revealing what’s underneath." (I guess
at least all high end Samsung phones has them.)

Also, Apple keep getting a whole lot for free: "...you give up some very
attractive ecosystems, like the way Apple synchronizes your calendar,
messages, and photos on all your gadgets. Or, for Android, the similar
conveniences of Google Voice and Google Maps. "

My Android phones have been syncing photos and calendars for years. I can't
remember exactly but I am fairly certain they did it before iCloud as well.

~~~
forax
The nexus 4 has the light and no-unlock summary as well. The light even
changes colors depending on the app which generated the notification (e.g.
facebook messages have a blue light).

~~~
dholowiski
As does my galaxy nexus. Love the color coded notification light.

------
gsharm
What's interesting now is that Apple, BlackBerry and Microsoft now offer
integrated hardware/software platforms. It's become similar to the way the
console market has been between Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft.

Makes one wonder what's going to happen with Android.

This isn't so much vendor vs vendor. It's higher than that - the war here is
between integrated/closed and discrete/open systems on the client.

The virtue re:integrated/closed systems is that the companies very survival
depends on these systems, so they have the best motives in providing
value/service, and aren't being steered by outside influences. The virtue
re:discrete/open systems is that they encourage learning and exploration, and
offer transparency.

It's not so clear in which direction things will go over coming years. Both
the integrated/closed (Windows, Consoles), and discrete/open (Web, Android)
are models that have proven themselves to work.

Google's doing a lot of brave work pushing in the direction of discrete/open,
and regardless of outcome, it's something commendable. My only worry there is
regarding their hardware partnerships. The thing with the iPhone, Lumia, and
BlackBerry products is they're beautifully designed, and these designs just
keep getting more refined. It's like having a games console with a controller
design - all users/games know it's there, and can rely on that design, even
between hardware iterations whilst other elements are improved.

Microsoft did a lot of great work getting Windows to play well with not just
consumers but hardware vendors too, and more or less delivered on the promise
of putting a computer on every desk. Google's probable aim of putting a
smartphone in person's pocket is even loftier(expense being the main hurdle
for many of the world's 7-8 billion people), yet given their positioning and
partnerships, they are perhaps best positioned to deliver on this promise.

So perhaps it won't play out like the console market at all.

The thing is, if smartphones get largely commoditized by Android like PCs were
largely commoditized by Windows, and you can buy something perfectly decent
for $300 (and you already can in something like the Nexus 4), are going to
want to or need to pay more for what is perhaps only a marginally better
designed product?

And of course then there's Amazon too. Interesting times ahead.

~~~
nextparadigms
> _What's interesting now is that Apple, BlackBerry and Microsoft now offer
> integrated hardware/software platforms. It's become similar to the way the
> console market has been between Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft._

You forgot Google. They have Motorola, and they _are_ going to be highly
integrated with Android, no matter what they say in public.

Also Samsung has gotten pretty integrated with Android, too. Sure they add the
latest "Android features", but on their own time, and it's not the main
priority for them. They'd rather ship with an older version but filled with
their own apps, features and technologies. It's not that different from Amazon
actually, except that they still have to adopt some standards set by Google to
make sure they don't fragment to ecosystem too much, but they also get the
benefit of access to the Play Store and the Android community (Amazon doesn't
appeal to the Android community as much anymore).

~~~
MBCook
It will be interesting to see what happens with the Motorola acquisition.

Right now, Samsung _is_ Android to a large degree. They're the only Android
phone vendor that's actually making money, and they're selling a ton of units
compared to the other vendors.

I'm amazed RIM has lasted this long. From what I've read I'm pleasantly
surprised. I know there is still a small minority that refuses to own a phone
without a physical keyboard, and the few I know aren't very happy with the few
Android phones they've tried with keyboards. They may be able to get enough of
a niche there to hold on and survive a bit.

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dholowiski
Not sure why everyone is in love with Blackberry again all of the sudden. It
seems like they've launched a feature complete smart phone, but they're all
pretty much commodity features now, and certainly anything new they've
innovated will be copied by the others within a few months. Who in their right
mind would buy a blackberry?

And don't say business, because most sysadmins (myself included) already have
plans to move off the Blackberry platform (and have fantasies about the day
they can KILL their BES server).

This is all very reminiscent of the whole Palm treo debacle.

Blackberry is dead. Please let it RIP.

~~~
DigitalSea
Are you failing to remember Apple was once in a position in the early 90's
when people were calling for the company to die already? In investors eyes as
well as the general public's eyes, Apple had no hope and now look at them.
Blackberry have released a phenomenal phone, arguably one of the best
smartphones to come along in a very long time.

Just because you're planning on moving from the Blackberry platform doesn't
mean everyone else is. Unless you speak for the general system administrator
crowd, you're making baseless assumptions. And this is nothing like the Palm
Treo debacle, Blackberry have not only developed a powerful and beautiful
operating system but have built a phone that is of a much higher standard than
Apple's increasingly irrelevant phones. Blackberry have just stepped up their
A-game, nobody could have released a better phone than this at this point in
time, not even Apple.

~~~
thinkmorebetter
"increasingly irrelevant phones" that somehow keep selling more every year.

[http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57565106-37/iphone-
wins-51...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57565106-37/iphone-
wins-51-percent-of-u.s-smartphone-sales-says-report/)

~~~
DigitalSea
Did you read that article by any chance? Full of assumptions and statistics
obtained essentially from asking 250,000 people what phones they bought last
year... Those claims were from a sales poll, not any official sales report.
All this post is doing is stoking the flames and begging for a raging response
from Android and Windows Phone users.

~~~
thinkmorebetter
I don't have a dog in this race nor was it meant as flamebait. Just pointing
out that ever increasing sales of iPhones make me doubt that they're becoming
"increasingly irrelevant". Analysts may think that Apple should've sold more,
but they also sold more than they've ever sold in a single quarter.

<http://investor.apple.com/results.cfm>

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hubb
Blackberry supporters keep claiming that there are innovations here. I'll echo
what another poster asked: what innovations? It doesn't help their cause when
articles like this one claim:

 _Some of BlackBerry 10’s ideas are truly ingenious. A subtle light blinks
above the screen to indicate that something — a text, an e-mail message, voice
mail, a Facebook post — is waiting for you_

Yep. Just like my 3 year old Nexus One.

~~~
CaveTech
Except this has actually been a blackberry feature for _years_. I'm not sure
why this is being advertised as a BB10 feature. I had this 6 years ago on my
blackberry phone.

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zmmmmm
I think the question is not really whether BB10 is good enough to succeed, but
whether any single-vendor operating system can enter the market now. There are
so many separate players all with their own interests that need to be served -
carriers, retailers, businesses, 3rd party app developers, etc. Almost none of
those parties have a true interest in blackberry succeeding (beyond the anemic
reason that 'more competition is good'). A device can be the greatest thing on
earth, unless it generates overwhelming consumer demand all those 3rd party
interests will prevent it ever becoming a huge hit. They will tolerate it but
they won't push it like they push the OSes that work in their interests - and
this is why Android works - everyone up and down the chain gets a cut. Unless
BB10 figures out a way for that to happen, it just doesn't matter how good it
is.

~~~
edouard1234567
"whether any single-vendor operating system can enter the market now" I'm not
you can say they are entering the market now...

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orangethirty
Any pictures/videos of the UI in action?

Edit:

Thank you.

Seems the UI is a mix of all the current fads. Not a bad thing itself.

~~~
amartya916
Engadget has a really decent review of the OS.

Link: <http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/blackberry-os-10-review/>

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marshc1
The Q10 may be the first phone I have actively desired since the Palm Pre 3
came out. As someone who really can't (won't?) transition away from a hard
keyboard this is a godsend. I just wonder whether it will go down the same
road as Palm/HP. Solid features and design, but a very limited ability to
generate any sort of passion...

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easternmonk
I wish blackberry all the luck in the world. They acknowledged the problem and
did everything they could to develop it.

~~~
MBCook
> They acknowledged the problem and did everything they could to develop it.

Well, it seems like they half-assed it the first few times, like the Torch.
I'm glad they decided to really do it right and not keep dancing around
things.

They came out with a much stronger showing that I expected. There may be hope
for them left, and it's always good to have another player to poke at Android
and iOS.

~~~
easternmonk
I dont want Google and Apple to know where I walk, drive and with whom I
speak. They already know what I do on my computer and what mails I write. Dont
want them to know a more about me.

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geon
I seriously don't mean to troll, but... It looks like an iPhone.

~~~
interconnector
The differences are evident when the phones are placed side by side
[http://assets.gearlive.com/blogimages/iphone-5-blackberry-z1...](http://assets.gearlive.com/blogimages/iphone-5-blackberry-z10.jpg)

~~~
runako
I can't tell if this comment is satirical, and the picture doesn't help.

~~~
interconnector
Haha I didn't mean it to be satirical, but I can see how it can be interpreted
as such.

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dear
Looks like a black iPhone!

~~~
mindcruzer
Every smartphone looks like an iPhone. What did you think it was going to look
like?

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joejohnson
That Time Shift photo feature does sound brilliant! I really want to try that
out.

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srlake
I'm buying one.

~~~
ScottBurson
I'm astonished to find myself considering one. I was sure the company was
going to die.

The killer feature, for me, is that if this report is correct, they finally
have an acceptable soft keyboard implementation. I'm not even that crazy about
SwiftKey, but it sounds like BlackBerry have improved on it enough to compete
with a physical keyboard and maybe even beat it outright.

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sigzero
The proof will be in the apps.

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dools
I came to read the HN commenta first and things were starting to sound pretty
positive. Imagine my abject disappointment when I clicked through to the story
and saw a gigantic touch screen.

~~~
blindhippo
They have 2 models. Read further...

~~~
dools
Aha! Cool thanks. The Q10. Geez looking at that thing makes me wonder why the
hell Motorola aren't investing in improving the Pro+ and the Master. That Q10
looks like a piece of shit.

I LOVE the Pro+ but they're faulty as hell (random reboots, screen freezes
etc.) in fact a lot of Motorola's have this problem (judging from various
forums). It's basically the only phone in the world I can use - incredible
form factor and the only usable candy bar qwerty android phone - so
frustrating that they're almost impossible to get and then those you do get,
are faulty.

STEP UP MOTOROLA!

