RIM, where is the App World LOVE?

Posted on 09. Apr, 2010 by Nana Kwabena Owusu in Gadgets

Smartphones (a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities, often with PC-like functionality (PC-mobile handset convergence), are slowly but surely becoming almost as common as feature phones ( phones primarily for voice and text messaging with basic apps). It is not uncommon to find Symbian, BlackBerrry, iPhone, Windows Mobile (or should I say Windows Phone Classic) and to a small extent Android and Palm smartphones all around with their advanced mapping, photo and video, media players, social networking, email and other productivity apps.

On Monday for example I spotted a pillar marking Glo cables on my way to Tamale and thanks to the my Twitter app (UberTwitter) I sent a tweet and added the location I had seen the pillar. This is the power of smartphones and the ubiquitous web services and applications available on them.

Long story short, apps are what make smartphones truly important and productive in our lives. Without apps they are glorified media players or ‘wanna-be’ digital cameras period!! The high end hardware and powerful operating systems exist to power apps, period! Granted native browsers enable you to access some of the same functionality but apps are in general more effective.

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that it is the superior app store catalog and the ease with which apps can be purchased across several devices which makes Apple so successful at selling the iPhone and iPod and now the iPad. Based on this anecdotal evidence it is surprising that Research in Motion (RIM), maker of Blackberry devices although the second largest device maker by market share, is playing catch up in the app store wars is engaging in conterintuitive (read as silly) behaviour.

What do you do when the third largest device maker is using apps to gain market share? Create an app store (BlackBerry App World) to compete and then make it available to a few select countries and shut out the rest of the world, brilliant strategy. This behaviour is contrary to what they need to do and they are crippling our smartphones and it is completely and utterly unacceptable in my opinion.

Restricting access to the application marketplaces (by location), is totally unacceptable. The BlackBerry App World has thousands and thousands of free apps which work irrespective of your location. Why then are they restricting access to their application marketplaces It is especially annoying since BlackBerry App World was available irrespective of your location for some time then yanked away with an upgrade.

I thought my device, an 8820 which is slightly outdated may not have the OS version to support it. Well the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is now their flagship device and it doesn’t support it if you’re in Ghana. Its now a circus act trying to get an application. Installing and uninstalling apps is now a hassle. Installing apps means you need to go directly to the app vendor’s website or look for OTA direct download links on forums.

There are some arguments on the web and i want to tackle why I think these two common ones are still bogus.

Alternative Application Stores

This phenomenon is a good thing since having alternatives provides choice and lowers restrictions. It is however unacceptable that as a device owner (just because of my location) I am not allowed access to the official application store.

If alternative app stores were the best solutions why didn’t they stay without an official app store and leave us to use the existing ones and roundabout methods now being suggested. Even if the app store was full of paid apps only even then I wouldn’t buy the restriction argument. Can’t I window shop. Is it costing RIM millions just for us to window shop? I do undestand that because Paypal is the only means for buying apps you may restrict access to a paid section for countries without Paypal, but there are countries on the list with access to Free Apps only. Why can’t Ghana be one of these countries.

Vendor Rights

This is a another popular argument; “Well it is their OS and their application store so they can do what they want with it.” Yes and Nestle can tell me not to use their milk to do Gari soakings. Oh wait, Nestle cannot or is it just because Nestle cannot remotely prevent me from doing so that is why they don’t?? If this argument holds then we are slaves to every innovative platform available but we know this only works for a time until people rebel.

RIM devices are sold worldwide, so I believe we should have access worldwide!!!! They have no argument here. RIM has the BlackBerry Tour, their world phone which includes every possible frequency phones worldwide operate on both GSM and CDMA. Ghana has three (3) carriers, MTN, Tigo and Zain all running BlackBerry Solutions. What else do we need to qualify, Paypal, give us free apps only then.

Someone gave an opinion and said because Apple was successful at doing the app store a particular way (our word is final) RIM and some other device makers may feel that WAY is the right way.