Rumors- BlackBerry’s touchscreen only phone…will it appeal to the market?

Recently with all the new mobile devices being released (iPhones, Androids, etc.) Blackberry has been struggling to keep up, since many devices are offering interesting apps, and new interesting interfaces. Due to all of the new devices, rumors say that RIM (Research in Motion) is planning to release an all touchscreen device in order to appeal to many modern users.

However this can be a mistake, now I am not going to chat about the new device in this article, I will simply point out the obvious flaw in RIMs plan here (assuming such a device is being planned, and sources say it is). First of all, after some of BlackBerry’s service outages customers have been furious. The reason for this is simple, look at a BlackBerry; it offers simple and secure email, messaging (BB Messenger), and other communication services. They are or were known for their reliability, not for their wide selection of great apps (sarcasm, there is no wide selection of apps that appeal to costumers). People stick with BlackBerry for three reasons, their reliability, their great communication services, and their keyboard. Of course there are many more reasons but these are the main ones. So when the outages occurred many customers were outraged due to the fact that their businesses rely on BB, and if the customer is using BB for its reliability, well imagine how they feel. Many customers have left BB for that reason, others stick with it since they love their messaging services, which have proven to be hard to match, and the rest stick with BB for its great keyboard. Not many smartphones have great physical keyboards that can match BlackBerry’s full QWERTY setup. Now reliability is questionable due to the outage that caused BB’s normally great Enterprise system to be questioned, along with its messaging services.

Now that I’ve explained a bit about BB’s outages lets get to the point, the rumored touchscreen only device. By making such a device BlackBerry would lose their customers that use their phones for the exclusive keyboard that BB is famed for. So a large amount of customers would be disappointed there. Looking at devices such as the iPhone, Android, and other touchscreen devices that provide a great interface, and a large selection of apps, they all have a solid amount of enjoyable apps that are hard to match. Awesome apps are often associated with touchscreen smartphones, and many customers expect to have them when they buy one. So if BlackBerry decides to make a touchscreen only phone they will automatically be competing with the iPhone and the large selection of Android phones, and maybe even the Windows section. Now both Apple, with iOS, and Google with Android have had time to gain popularity and set up app services with a variety of apps for users to choose from. So BlackBerry would be at a disadvantage since they cannot compete with them, their app store cannot really compare to the one of Apple, or Android. So they wouldn’t be able to compete with others allowing people to seek better choices for apps, and interface, and they would lose their keyboard, which in many cases is the only thing that is keeping BlackBerry users from leaving, or at least for those who haven’t left already.

Just look at the BlackBerry PlayBook, the tablet that RIM set out to make. They entered a market in which they had not previously been in, that along with the ridiculous price of $499 didn’t help their sales. Not that the PlayBook is a bad tablet, it’s a good one, but it’s price was just too steep. It however was now lowered to $199 making it a good deal. Similar to what happened to HP, except they discontinued their product and launched a fire sale, which caused their $99 tablets to get very popular, much more popular than they were when they had their original price tag ($499). Hopefully RIM will think about what they are doing to ensure their new device is accepted among users. Don’t get me wrong, I like certain devices from BB, like their Bold 9700 which I happen to own personally, and what keeps me from changing it is their keyboard, and their messaging services. I wasn’t too happy about the outages but I lived through them. So I don’t hate Blackberry, I just don’t see a release of a touchscreen only phone being the answer to their problems. I myself won’t be buying a new blackberry, since I only need messenger, I don’t care for their touchscreen devices, since I’ve seen better touch interfaces.

“Nothing new in the new iPod Touch”

Many Apple fans are a bit disappointed with the fact that the new iPhone isn’t a complete overhaul, except for its components. However the worst is yet to come. Apple’s new iPod Touch isn’t very new at all, it’s as if we have seen it last year, the truth is we have seen it last year. This year we will be seeing last year’s hardware get a software update, and getting an additional color, there will also be a price drop on the entry model. However that’s where the new features end, and I still wouldn’t really call them new, or features. To start with, my old (last years) iPod looks exactly the same as this years, why? Well the fact that users can install iOS 5 (Apple’s software update for its mobile platform) on their previous iPods means last year’s iPod can be made into this years. That’s what I did just last week, the day after its release. So the new iOS can be installed on last year’s iPod, resulting in exactly the same iPod. Next is the color, last year the Touch was only available in black, this year its also available in white. I myself don’t care for the additional color since I don’t like my devices in white. So that really isn’t new, its just a color, and quite frankly I wouldn’t call it new, neither would I call a minor price cut new. Not to mention that price cut is only for the entry model. So basically I don’t see anything new, I see last year’s technology with a software update that I could just as well have done myself.

I find this/last year’s new iPod a disappointment, I think it’s a great device, however it is nothing new. So in fact there is nothing new this year, Apple’s release dates for their iPods have always been a bit predictable, but not this year, since the iPod Touch family didn’t get a new device added to its family, it’s the same device, even the model name stayed the same. For users who want a music player the iPod touch is the way to go, but those hoping to get a newer device don’t bother, it’s the same as last year's model.

Rumors Vs. Reality iPhone Aftermath

After release

In my previous post I talked about some of the rumors and history of Apple’s iPhone. Websites always talk about the rumors before a device is released, and after it is released they focus on reviewing it, instead of first comparing the rumors to what was released. So I will take a shot at trying to compare before and after I the rumors and release of the new iPhone.

To start with, unlike what people expected the new iPhone is called the iPhone 4s. Later rumors showed the possibility of a 4s rather than a complete overhaul to an iPhone 5, however people wanted something new. First of all people wanted a bigger screen; other competing smartphones on the market have larger screens that exceed the one of the new iPhone. Next people were expecting A new design. This is possibly one of the biggest disappointments. Since all early rumors pointed to a new design. There was a company that posted new iPhone 5 protective cases on its website that made people believe in a new design since the cases were thin, and sleek, and made to fit a new futuristic device. The website that presumably had the new iPhone cases took down their product of their website a few hours later. However users and media had already seen it. Since that moment people had thought that he iPhone 5 would have a totally new design, since the cases did not match any current iPhones and were labeled as iPhone 5 cases. Now, here comes the reality of this. First of all the new iPhone is not an iPhone 5 but an iPhone 4s. Second of all, it's visual design is exactly the same ad of the previous iPhone. That means that the case pictures posted on the website were complete bogus. They simply attracted a ton of media hype. So that's the second rumor busted! Now there were rumors of the iPhone getting a better camera, presumably 8MP. Guess what....it happened! The iPhone 4s got a new camera (back facing only)! Also apple had recently (since a few years) started to make processors for its devices. For the iPhone 4 they had the A4 processor (a single core processor), and rumors arose that the iPhone 5 would have the A5 (dual core) processor. Another correct rumor, the iPhone 4s will come with apples A5 processor. It allows for a snappier interface, faster apps, and it has great graphic capabilities. It also came with the anticipated iOS 5. In Venezuela we just got 3G, not to mention its crazy expensive (the guy who makes the prices must be drunk) and not very stable. However in the US and starting in Germany I believe is 4G networking. It is faster, but drains batteries faster. Fans had rumored that it would have 4G support, and it does. Apple said at its "Let's Talk iPhone" conference that it would not get into specifics about what is 4g and what is not, but the speeds they listed seem to be 4G. Another rumor that has been circulating the web is that the iPhone 5 would be a world phone (working on both types of frequencies and networks). The rumors were confirmed when the 4s was announced, it is a world phone, so if it is bought in the US it will work overseas.

However with Apple not all dreams come true, for example many users were hoping for Flash support on iOS devices, even though we all knew that would not happen. Apple has shown no interest in adding Flash support to their devices. This has disappointed users in previous generations.

Apple had yet to learn that liquor and prototypes don't mix well. Last year an apple executive had lost an iPhone 4 prototype in a bar. The iPhone was found and sold to a website called Gizmodo for over $7000 (publicity pays), the exact sum is not known. This year another executive lost another prototype of the iPhone. Guess where? Anyone? Surprise! Surprise! It was lost in another bar. It however was supposedly found, but police have not been able to find the person nor the phone. As said in the previous article apple releases a new device about every year. So on new iPhone news till next year, unless apples loses another prototype (third times' the charm) and we'll hear about it earlier.