Blackberry
Torched!
Aug 13th
You might have heard that RIM debuted their long anticipated slider phone, the Torch 9800, last week with a totally revamped Blackbrery OS powering it. Prior to its release, we saw the usual slew of “Will the new ‘berry make a spash?” and “RIM has a chance to shine” articles expressing how a new handset could get them back in the game.
Since the announcement, plenty of reviews have cropped up all over the intertubes. Crackberry has THE most comprehensive one, followed closely by Engadget’s very thorough (and nitpicky) version. If you want to augment your impression with other reviews, you’re welcome to, but all the information you need is in those two links.
And now time for my two cents
I felt my “Funeral for RIM” article summed up my thoughts on Blackberry fairly well, but it looks like the damn Torch will bring me out of retirement. I’ve kept up with the development of the device, read the reviews, etc, and it’s led me to howl “WTF?” a record number of times. Here are some random thoughts, in no particular order of irritation………
The Name
I’m sure I’ll eventually move on, but for now I can’t get over naming a device the “Torch” (Yes yes, plenty of other devices have stupid names as well). Hell, even the codename used while in development, Talladega, sounds cooler to me.
Alright, whatever, so you have a stupid name, it happens. Do we have some awesome pun filled marketing lines for it? For example…..
1) “The Torch will light the way for the new generation of Blackberrys!”
2) “The Torch will light a fire to the competition!”
3) “Outshine the competition, Blackberry Torch!”
Of course not, otherwise this post wouldn’t exist. Oh no, instead we get this bizarre gem…
4) “Less an evolutionary leap, more like a triple Axel”
*Insert picture of a quizzical dog with it’s head at a slight angle *
All I can say is I hope you’re a figure skating buff, because if not, that won’t make a lot of sense. Even the marketing department is failing hard these days.
There’s one last problem related to the name. The letters T O R C H look like utter garbage in the official BB lowercase font. Is it me, or does the curve of the letter O cause a slight optical illusion that makes the R vaguely resemble an S instead? Then, the R and the S compete in my mind and I see both kind of alternating. For whatever reasons (lack of sleep?), I can’t stop seeing “torsch” now. Needless to say, it’s really annoying the hell out of me.
The Overall Hardware
The Screen
As you read the remainder of this post, get ready to utter the phrase “what the hell we’re they thinking?” ad nauseum. I can’t imagine a better place to start than the screen, which happens to be not ONE, but, TWO generations behind any self respecting smart phone. Remember the Halcyon days of November 2008? It’s the last time I can recall RIM doing something called “competing”.
Here’s how it went down….
iPhone: “I have a 320 x 480 screen with 163 pixels per inch, hear me roar!”
Storm 1: “Shut the fuck up already, I’m packing 360 x 480 and have 184 ppi”
The following generation however….
Droid “480 x 854 res at 240 ppi, I am your new god!”
Storm 2: “For reals? I’m sporting the same screen as last year, 360 x 480, WTF?”
Apple was listening though…
iPhone 4 “Pfft, ok “god”, I’ll raise you to 480 x 960 and crank the ppi up to 326. Whatcha got now ya rusty old Droid?”
…yet sadly RIM remains clueless….
BB Torch “Ugh , I’m sporting the same screen from TWO years ago, 360 x 480. Why do I exist?”
I have a hunch the next Droid will step up to the plate, and the next ‘Berry will feature, you guessed it, a 320 x 480 screen.
The Processor
RIM provided an outdated touch screen as the primary interface, so why not match it with the weakest “brain” they could find?
The inclusion of 684 mhz Marvell CPU is just another in the string of bizarre hardware decisions for the Torch. I mean think it out for a moment. Your company is desperately trying to close the “superphone experience” gap with Apple and Google, so what do you do? Include a dusty, two generation old processor that will impact every usable aspect of the phone. Here’s something that truly BOGGLES my mind. The Marvell lacks a dedicated GPU, so the Torch DOESN’T even support Open GL 3D. That’s really, really bad.
I can’t fathom what type of reasoning was used to justify the final decision. I CAN guarantee, however, that a hardware engineer jumped on the table and committed ritual Seppuku during the negotiations.
The video camera
I think there’s a pattern emerging, because the phrase “two generations ago” will also be relevant for this section. Assuming RIM wanted to remain in some general parity with Apple and Android, they would have pursued one of two options.
1) Add a high Mpx camera (8 sounds nice) with HD recording ala the Droid Incredible or Droid X. This is one of the first specs that consumers look at, and they generally believe bigger is better. Who cares if a someone discovers the camera sucks after purchase, you’ve already made the sale! (Sure you can return it within 30 days, but I’ll just float a rumor that an “impending” update will fix the quality)
Anyway, I digress, this isn’t about how I would run a crooked cellphone store. Moving on….
2) Go the Apple route, which is almost the opposite of the above. Apple basically put a very high quality “back lit” sensor that allows it to offer far better performance in low light situations, the bane of cell phone Ansil Adams everywhere. On a spec sheet, it may not look as appealing as an 8 or 10 mpx device, but believe me, the word of mouth on the quality has made the rounds.
And RIM picks………neither! The camera on the Torch is a run of the mill 5 mpx that offers neither the “sizzle” of the first option, or the improved “under the hood” tech of the latter. The Droids and iPhone are both capable of shooting 720p video (24fps, 30 fps respectively), while the Torch can only capture moon landing quality at 480 x 640.
Blackberry OS 6
I’m to lazy to imagine another “hands off” review, so I’ll go easy on the OS here. I think Engadget does a wonderful job of highlighting the many oversights of the OS. For example, the unified inbox seems like a great idea, however if you want to reply to a tweet, you need to open the native twitter app and do so from there. It’s those types of silly mistakes that convey an impression of sloppy programming/bad interface design. From everything else I’ve read, the OS has universally been described as “cluttered”, “busy” and “it just looks like a fancy theme atop OS 5″.
Conclusion
Old rehashed parts, outdated industrial design, and a user interface from the Bronze Age? The conclusion is pretty obvious, if you’re into modern tech, the Torch will actually serve better as a paperweight (to prevent your Droid X rebate from flying out the office window) than a communication device.
It’s become painfully apparent that RIM is falling WAY behind on innovation. In fact, the only accolade I can bestow on the Torch is that it’s the FIRST Blackberry to be TWO generations behind its competition. That’s definitely something to be proud of, so don’t forget to take a bow before you exit stage left!
Funeral for RIM
Jun 15th
I’ve been drafting this post for a long time, but have held off on hitting that “publish” button. At first I was unable to explain the delay, but after some reflection, it’s obvious a little part of me is still a crackberry addict. “There’s no love like your first love” rings equally true with your first smartphone. Since you’re reading this, however, you’ve cleverly deduced that eventually, I DID hit the button. (Or you wanted to pimp out your refrigerator and mistyped “tech-rator.com” in which case you can stop reading now)
Anyway, I’ve got a simple explanation behind my decision….
It’s time for me to shut up and move on. RIM’s actions this past year have forced me to sound like the most annoying broken record ever conceived. Grab an old vinyl copy of “Take me out to the ball game”, scour it vigorously with steel wool, and play it at 78 RPM for 419 days straight. That’s what they’ve turned me into!
I’ve decided to overcome my denial, click publish, and let go…
They’re dead? What are you smoking?
Let’s get the elephant out of the room first. Yes, RIM currently enjoys 35% market share and is valued at 32 billion, counterpoints that might be important were I literally proclaiming their death. No, instead I’m invoking a far grimmer demise, one of “geek death”. This is where millions of device lovers begin a slow exodus to shinier gadget pastures, leaving a once innovative company to plummet into obsolescence. Got that? They’re as good as dead in the world of the next “cutting edge shiny thing”.
Let’s start off on a positive note
First, some faint praise that will establish a more dramatic contrast with the 97% of this post that won’t be faint praise. Research in Motion has a fantastic history and should take enormous pride in their accomplishments. The Blackberry has become a cultural touchstone, led at the forefront of mobile tech for generations, and even developed it’s own lexicon (crackberry, crackberry thumb, etc). Take a bow fellas, it might be your last!
The beginning of the end
Everyone has their theory, and mine is that death blow numero uno can be attributed to the first iPhone. While it consisted of existing components, (yes, the Nokia 5500 used an accelerometer a year earlier) the iPhone had a technological “bigger than sum of all parts” thing going for it. Needless to say the device instantly added serious competition to the mobile battleground.
As an avid Blackberry user at the time, I was confident that RIM was capable of quickly adapting to their new competitor. RIM was in the game so long, couldn’t they simply go in the lab and fetch some bad ass prototype they’ve been toying around with? Helping the situation was that the iPhone for all its strengths, lacked multitasking, cut & paste, a camera flash, 3.5 headphone jack, removable battery, and push notifications, all features my existing Blackberry had.
So the message to improve was out there, but it was uttered in a smooth Jamaican-esque “No worries, be the best mon you can be, mon” instead of a deep-space radio-garbled “My god what is THAT????” *signal lost*
I’m so tired of being wrong
The three readers (four, if I count as a proofreader) of this fine blog know all too well about what transpired next. In the past year I’ve conveyed my concern to RIM, pleaded with them, and even WARNED THEM of the competition lurking on the horizon. Whether unable to handle the truth, or completely unaware of my existence, they chose to ignore my advice and that of similar blogs. I’d say the consequences of doing so are now bearing fruit.
After the debut of the iPhone, and the critical failure of the Storm, RIM seemed content to sit around with their head in the clouds, ambivalent (instead of terrified) to be in a showdown with Apple. They had a window of opportunity to get their act together, but I believe it has now SLAMMED shut.
A second leader emerges
Death blow numero dos (and the inspiration for this post) was delivered a few weeks ago at the Google I/O developer conference. This is the annual get together for all things Google, and a slew of announcements were made. Most impressive were those related to Android, specifically the next iteration that will soon be released. The new features of “Froyo” (Frozen Yogurt is the codename for some bizarre reason) were so impressive, many felt Android even leapfrogged Apple’s iOS in awesomeness. Android phones will be soon be rocking flash, becoming portable hot spots, have insane cloud connectivity, and will even be able to drive your kids to school! (That last item is unconfirmed)
As I was reading all this news, I remember mumbling to myself that Blackberry “is completely screwed”. Apple and Google are in a full war, and the pace of innovation is breakneck. It seems more likely that RIM will first slide into territory Palm previously occupied (3rd place), and then continue into territory they currently occupy (no place).
How could this have happened?
RIM is well known as being a traditionally conservative company. Generally thats a good thing, unless it’s the hyper competitive world of technology. Obviously RIM has some bright people and a great product, because they gloriously rode the top of the tech world for over a decade. But….
New decade, new players, new ballgame….
Their current problem is failing to adapt to the emerging realities of the mobile world. Instead of making bold decisions and being aggressive with technology, RIM has plodded along with a glacially slow incremental update cycle.
I’m probably as sick about writing the same crap over and over as you are reading it, so in the name of efficiency here’s some earnest advice I gave them, and here’s some more.
In a nutshell, RIM is behind the times philosophically and technologically. Their OS, the heart and soul of the device, lacks a cohesive interface, connectivity (internet especially), and scalability. Their hardware is an even uglier situation. While Apple, Android (HTC, Motorola) and others are now incorporating front facing cameras, digital compasses and gyroscopes, RIM twiddles their thumbs and offers one uninspired feature set after another.
Is RIM unwilling or incapable of keeping pace with this innovation?
And here’s the spittle flecked crux
The problem is that cellphones have evolved into a complete mobile experience. Phones are no longer phones, they’re handheld laptops. The former requires a fraction of the resources and creativity of the latter. Slap a keypad on a block of plastic, add a screen and an antenna, and voila! But these newfangled super phones? You need to start off with a nice obsidian colored slab packed to the gills with accelerometers, compasses, gyroscopes, cameras, plugs, jacks, buttons, radios for Wi-fi, aGPS, bluetooth, AND THEN slap on the BIGGEST, BRIGHTEST fucking screen ever made. If that glorious collection of circuitry isn’t prepared for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you throw at it, you go back to the drawing board and WILL it into existence. I’m talking about a piece of tech with so many electronics crammed in it, the radiation alone will mutate a punk 100 lb eighth grader into a 10 foot tall Norse God after a five minute phone call!
THEN……(deep breath)
you design an OS with the foresight that new innovations come, so YOU better make them easy to integrate ahead of time. It needs to be a robust multitasking MONSTER that stingily sips battery, yet eats apps FOR BREAKFAST. An elegant architecture is a MUST, and easy accessibility for the programming community follows closely behind. If you’re thinking “an approachable vegan bodybuilding ballerina with unlimited dancing potential”, come and collect your prize!
THEN……(deeper breath)
you need to create and support an ecosystem for your product. Break out the Cat o’ nine tails and get those app developers to pump every OUNCE of utility out of the device. Once the ball starts rolling, they’ll be coming up with ideas that would put the most fevered visions of a black plague dying Renaissance artist to shame! I’m talking the phone drives the car via bluetooth and orders crumpets from the upcoming rest stop type of shit.
And don’t give me any “many of those items are mutually exclusive” crap either. Are you telling me the iPhone 4G, Evo, and next gen Droids aren’t getting closer to the description above? (Hopefully minus the radiation)
RIM “did” great smartphones, but they “do” horrible handheld laptops. A few years ago when things we’re simpler RIM could compete until the cows came home. But now? In this new landscape? I wouldn’t trust a RIM engineer to tie my shoe, let alone expect them to make a major change in the way they do things. And don’t think anything is going to happen, because how can one change when one’s very problem is an inability to change?
What’s their future?
The fate of BB can go a few ways, but I’ll bet 90% of it will be following in the foot steps of Palm. (For those unaware, Palm once strode upon the top of the mobile world, then sat on their laurels and let it pass them by)
Rim may take a slightly different fork at the end of the road, but it’ll be inconsequential for our purposes here.
On their present course, I envision the following…
Now to two years out
Apple and Google will take off in the mobile race, creating an ever widening disparity between their platforms and RIM’s. As it begins the descent from “Smart” phone to “not as smart phone”, the Blackberry will probably reign supreme on the second tier for awhile, competing with “cutting edge” companies like LG and Garmond. The days of being featured in a Time Magazine “hot new gadgets” article or a Good Morning America tech segment will come to an end. Then, in the next iteration of Android or iOS, their corporate grip will reach a tipping point of erosion.
Two to Five years out
Apple set the grinding wheels of inevitable doom in motion, but I’ll put my money on Google being the assassin. That’s because Google will unveil some free corporate equivalent to the Blackberry Enterprise Server. (Let’s hope they re-brand it, because white shoe lawyers and little green robots sounds like an odd mix). With RIM’s BES licenses now having a value between “losing lottery ticket” and “single square of toilet paper”, it’s only a matter of time until someone (Microsoft) picks them up for scraps (Patent portfolio).
A fond farewell to an old friend
I’d like to thank RIM and it’s “instant” email for efficiently delivering the rambling poems of roommates past. Your awesome messenger services alerted me via text that I was single again, and your web browser helped me kill time in such exotic locations as Cleveland INT’L airport and the local Dunkin’ Donuts. Your contributions to my life won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Perhaps in a few decades we’ll briefly meet again via an “I love the 00’s show”!
Need help?
Mar 23rd
Seeking a quality control “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?” person? Need to fill out your Chief Devil’s Advocate position? Made some technological blunders and need a new perspective? Where do I apply?
Oh, what qualifications do I have? None really, but at this juncture that’s not important. It’s not my qualifications we should be questioning anyway. I do understand how “the dance” works though, so I’ve gotten my resume all polished and ready for the world. I’ve even given it the fun title…..
“Things I WOULDN’T have screwed up”
Palm Pre as a Sprint exclusive.
The company, after years of ineptitude, was on the ropes. The only remaining option to stay in business was a bold reboot of their product line. Palm went for the gusto and prepared to rebuild their ANCIENT phone software from the ground up. (It’s rumored it was coded under Methuselah’s direct supervision) The dust settled, and the result was their new flagship phone, the Pre. It was a well crafted combination of kick-ass software and hardware. The reception was overwhelming, and it was widely believed the company had turned its fortunes around. Then, perched atop the world, Palm made the BAFFLING decision to make the Pre EXCLUSIVE to Sprint, the Oldsmobile of wireless providers. Let me get this straight, you thought people would switch TO Sprint for your device? The phone eventually arrived on other major networks, but it was A YEAR LATER, and comparable devices were already entrenched.
The G1, Google’s first phone
iPhone mania was sweeping the globe, but out for over a year, the device was getting long in the, er… antenna. The Android G1 was looming on the horizon, and was generating SERIOUS buzz. It appeared situated as the first phone that had a chance of toppling the Cupertino Monster. Had I been under Googles employ, I would have shared my secret for creating the “(insert name here) killer” phone.
But I wasn’t there, probably because eating Dinty Moore out of the can during the interview was verboten. (Let history be aware that I brought an extra fork) Needless to say, the result of my absence wasn’t pretty.
The G1 (out of the gate) FAILED to match several features the iPhone ALREADY HAD. Some genius thought they could compete with the most media-centric phone ever made by….
1) Leaving off a standard sized plug for headphones (a mistake the 1st gen iPhone made)
2) OMITTING A VIDEO PLAYER
3) Providing no default method to easily sync audio/video files
Too busy creating their own shortcomings, they didn’t get near addressing those of their competition. Remember how people were bitching about the lack of video recording on the iPhone? Well, the G1, released SIXTEEN MONTHS LATER, ALSO lacked that functionality. At that point, any new features, such as the slick compass mode street view, just weren’t enough to overcome the G1’s deficiencies.
Yoda was so disappointed with you over that.
The Blackberry Storm
One day, technopologists will look back and examine the bizarre decisions involved in creating this device.
First, there was NO WI-FI. I really can’t emphasize how much of a screw up that decision was. It’s THE MOST standard feature of any device purporting to be a smart phone, and its absence provided the worst “comparison chart” fodder imaginable. I don’t care if it was RIM’s call or Verizon’s call, it was an absolutely stupid decision. I’m sorry to say, but the moment the spec sheet was released, the device was toast.
Another irritating design choice was the omission of flick scrolling. Without it, I nearly wore a groove in the screen swiping (or I should say swipe, swipe, swipe, swiping) through an article or email. Even worse was scrolling through the eternal Blackberry user agreement after installing a new application. After downloading a few apps, the callous on my finger rivaled that of a death metal bass player.
These features WERE included in the second iteration of the phone, but it was already a day late and a dollar short.
The Nexus One
I’ll avoid the whole “getting into the hardware being a bad idea in the first place” angle. What I won’t avoid is how the launch completely botched the concept and novelty behind the phone. The idea was that people were annoyed with top tier phones such as the iPhone, Moto Droid, and Palm Pre being exclusive to a single network. Google recognized this and attempted a different approach. Essentially, build an awesome phone and make it available on ALL networks! So far so good. What Google neglected was the second critical component, the AT ONCE part. What followed was a piecemeal release schedule (over months) that makes it no different than a Blackberry Curve, which also is now also available ON ALL NETWORKS.
If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly. Read up on RIM’s “World Phone” party trick and create ONE piece of hardware that works on ANY network.
Google Buzz
Let me grab my megaphone for a moment. ATTENTION SOFTWARE COMPANIES. What ever CRAZY idea you come up with, ALWAYS MAKE IT OPT IN!
No one mentioned that automatically adding everyone I’ve EVER emailed to my social circle was, INSANE? You REALLY thought I wanted “noreply-2343453@craiglist.org” with whom I inquired about shelving in 2006 as a social contact? Words can’t describe my astonishment at this decision.
As soon as I heard about Buzz, I was all “YO BRAH, Google just FLIPPED everything up with a crazy facebook/twitter hybrid!!!”. Five minutes later, after reading about the giant security holes, I told everyone to avoid it like the plague. From what I know, millions of others did the same thing. Significant privacy changes have been made since Buzz launched, but so what? Locking the barn door after the horse bolted is a reactive and pointless approach.
Talk about fail with a capital G.
Windows Mobile 7
Microsoft announced their new phone OS to the world at the Barcelona Mobile Conference and had us SALIVATING. Their stodgy old operating system was DESTROYED and replaced with an interface that takes design cues from a Ralph Lauren Polo catalog. It’s new, it’s different, and it’s slick. (The Polo catalog look on a phone, not the catalog itself)
*sigh* Are you seeing a pattern yet? Two minor oversights have dampened enthusiasm for the upcoming software. Apparently, usability things like “multitasking” and “cut & paste” were left on the cutting room floor.
I’m trying, and failing, to understand the logic. The engineering team sat around brainstorming, coming up with crazy ideas for a phone to be released in 2011 (you know, that flying car future we’ve all been dreaming about). I assume they went down the spec lists of the competition, noting what they’re doing well, what they’re not, etc. They took all this research, incorporated it into their ideas, and settled on the feature set for windows 7 mobile. Sounds like a good way to do business, except one thing seriously perplexes me. My whole rant hinges on the premise that Microsoft is gunning for the king phone slot currently occupied by Apple. So, why wouldn’t they address multitasking, the MOST GLARING FLAW OF THE IPHONE SINCE ITS INCEPTION? It’s not like consumers and tech pundits have been bitching about it for THREE YEARS.
NOTE: Technically, W7M features multitasking because apps can run in the background. That’s to say that programs will open to the same state in which they were closed. The problem however is if the device needs more memory, the OS will arbitrarily wipe out a running process. What the hell type of engineering is that? Microsoft even employs the same excuse Apple does, blaming their half-ass implementation as a bid to conserve battery life
Nothing is worse than compounding one stupid decision with another, and that’s precisely what Microsoft has done. Since they incorporated the chief complaint of iPhone users into their OS, why not go for the gold and incorporate the second? Yep that’s right, cut & paste, a basic function of modern computing (since added to the iPhone) was omitted. According to the horse’s mouth, people don’t use that feature. Yeah, who would do something crazy like copy an address from their email and paste it into the map application?
Well, a metric ton of outrage followed, and a week later we get this gem.
*cough*
We were going to add it all along, we swear!
Yeah, right.
Un Mas Cosa
I wanted to double back and make one more appeal to RIM, because the writing is on the wall.
Blackberry and their OS dilemma
It’s been 4 months since I gave RIM some heart to heart advice. Looks like I’m going to append it a bit.
Let’s just be blunt. Right now, RIM should take the servers that store their master OS code, set them on FIRE, and launch the ashes into the sun. I actually FEEL PITY for a company with a market cap of 42 billion. How is that even possible? I guess I hate to watch a great product/company fall from grace because of factors within their control. (See Palm) RIM makes some of the most advanced devices IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND, but a few more years on their present course, and they’ll be competing with Sanyo for the $49 soccer-mom smart phone market. My GOD that’s depressing. 
It’s become painfully apparent that modern interface design is no longer RIM’s forte. Their OS has become DOWNRIGHT STAGNANT from an appearance standpoint, and the usability is going along with it. Their attempts at software have fallen pitifully short as well, like their recent attempt at a twitter app (in beta, but still) which was mocked across the web. Even worse, alleged screen shots of their next gen OS have emerged, and let me tell you, a 3rd grader could have come up with a better design
You want to change course fast? Get out of the interface business. Start by acquiring Ubertwitter and other 3rd party companies for app development. Then for the OS, go hire The Astonishing Tribe and pay them whatever they want. (TAT designed the Android interface, and are well known in the design world for coming up with insane yet practical concepts)
Finally, take a page out of MS and Apple, and stop releasing so many damn phones.
So that’s my resume
I’m fully aware that you’re not going to make everyone happy all the time. Some phenomenally talented people design these devices and have probably forgotten more than I’ll ever know. That said, there’s some serious breakdown in either the decision making or feedback process these days. I’ll also sprinkle in some willful ignorance of tech history. If product X is missing a feature, and product Y wants to topple X, then it better include the feature that X lacks. It’s common sense.
If your people don’t want to do the scouting report on the competition, I’ll be happy to, for a nominal fee =)
Call me, we’ll do beer.
The three greatest apps ever made in the history of man
Feb 25th
Every once in awhile you stumble across a utility that makes you utter the phrase “Sweet mother of Moses! This application is fucking insane!“. Well today, I’ve got three for you! The following apps are so awesome, their absence in your life should be considered a crime against humanity.
Note: I may be late to the game here. If you’re already using them, I tip my hat to you. If you haven’t heard of them, prepare for a new world of excellence.
Oh, and the best part? They’re all FREE AND they’ll all work on Android, Blackberry, and the iPhone.
SugarSync
We’ll start off with the app that inspired this post.
What it does
As you might extrapolate from the name, it um.. syncs stuff. I tried to type an explanation, but it really ended up making no sense.
Here’s a diagram…..
To get up and running
1) Go HERE to sign up for the entry level 2 GB acct.
2) Go to the Downloads page. There are two components you’ll need. The program that runs on your computer, and the app for your mobile device. Install them.
3) On your computer(s), select which folder you want to share with your other devices.
Welcome to your new life
Note: Your phone (or comp without Illustrator installed) obviously can’t read the file. You can still email it, delete it, copy it, etc. Anything except open it. Sweet!
1) Put the wrong version of a work file on your memory stick before you ran out of the house? No prob, just log into your account at work via a browser and download it.
2) A friend razzing you at a party about “never emailing that picture”? Too bad the file is at home on your computer. Oh wait a minute! Whip out your iphone and bring up “desktop computer”. Navigate to your picture folder and hit email.
3) Take a lot of pictures on your phone? Sure you do. Ever copy them to your home computer? I bet you don’t. It won’t be a problem anymore, so I’m glad you never wasted time getting into that habit.
Qik
This app is best described as “turns your phone into a streaming webcam”. There’s not much else to say about it. Pull your iPhone/’Berry/Android phone out and start filming. The video will be streamed in real-time up to your “youtube” style Qik account. You can also share it straight to FaceBook and Twitter. You have the option to make a video private and share with a select few, or you can make it public and share it with all.
To get up and running
Go here to sign up for an account. Then, go to the respective app store for your phone and download the mobile software.
Welcome to your new life
There are also some other helpful uses….
Google voice
Gvoice integrates a whole new level of awesome into not only cellphone, but your regular phone as well.
To get up and running
Go here to request an invite.
Wait a week until you get your info
Go here to sign up and put all the settings in.
Download the app for your phone.
Multiple Phones
One of the strongest features is that you’re not limited to one phone. If someone calls your GV#, it can ring as many lines as you want. When the number is dialed, both your cell number and house number will ring. Whichever you pick up first obviously takes the call. You can even switch between lines mid call.
Allow me to illustrate…
You can also do some neat GPS tricks
Welcome to your new life
1) You can’t find your phone/dropped it on the floor. Until you find or fix it, route all calls to your house number.
2) Spending a weekend visiting family in an area with horrible cell coverage? No worries, just route to both cell and their house. If the cell has reception you’ll get the call, otherwise, your “back up”, the house phone will get it.
3) Use the number for emergency only. Your kids have a problem, they call and it rings both parents and grand parents phones. Increase the chances of them getting help faster.
4) You’re on a work call and just ran in the house door. Cell battery is about to die, but you can’t find the charger. Pick up the home phone and switch the call to it. You’ll close the deal!
Multiple People
For some reason I always hate giving out my phone number for a one or two use purpose. Hotels, signing up for something, Chinese food, freelance work, etc. Gvoice gives you robust control over individual numbers.
Another illustration……
Welcome to your new life
Have a client that literally went insane halfway through a project? I have! Although I pulled out, the client kept calling and emailing me for advice as if nothing ever happened. Filter on gmail + Filter on Gvoice = Person no longer exists
Multiple Voicemail Greetings
Gvoice isn’t only about complex call routing and avoiding insane clients though, it can be fun!
Final pict-o-gram……..
Welcome to your new life
Your wacky message will brighten their day!
I hope you use and love these apps. They’ve made my life easier, and I think they can do the same for you. I have a few more I’ll be adding to the list at some point in the future. Until then…
Earnest advice to a billion dollar corporation from a three hit a week blog
Dec 29th
I’ve gone Android, I love it, and I’m probably not coming back.
For years I was a blackberry evangelist. I’d attempt to turn anyone within earshot on to the blackberry, espousing its benefits while meticulously addressing the shortcomings of the competition. The iPhone? “Sure, it’s a great phone, but it lacks multitasking, a video camera (at the time), a flash, push notifications, etc.”
Well, the times have changed….
RIM, you’re now in a three-way dogfight, and let me tell you, the iPhone Android 1-2 punch is going to KO you unless you listen very carefully. (Yeah yeah, I don’t care about your record 3Q09 earnings or 10 million devices sold in the quarter) Forget playing catch up, you have a two year window to drop a killer device before you’re relegated to “your father’s phone” status and join Palm in a long slow decline towards the technological dustbin of history.
So here’s my unsolicited advice. Heed it RIM, lest you’ll jump the technoshark!
Hardware……
1) An Arm A8 Cortex while nice, is still playing catch up. The 3Gs, Pre, and Droid are all sporting that processor TODAY. So obviously getting ahead involves not doing what your competition is doing NOW, but doing NOW what they’re going to do in the future. That’s right, it’s time to unleash a 1ghz snapdragon powered ‘Berry on the masses. Think about how nice that will look in print. “The Storm 3 featuring a lightening fast 1ghz cpu!”. Now sure, we know that raw cpu clock cycles are just a factor along with OS optimization, what/how many apps are running, etc, but it’s a hell of a selling point.
2) There have been a few rumors that you’ve been messing around with “liquid lens” camera technology. Make this happen. Things like this put you on another level from your competition.
RIM Field Rep:“Sure, we’ve got wi-fi, bluetooth 2.1, GPS, all that good stuff, but does the Google phone or iPhone have an insane camera….like this?”
*CLICK*
(The room fills with hushed whispers and erupts into a polite golf clap)
RIM Field Rep: “Yeah, I didn’t think so!”
3) Wi-fi and a camera flash should be on every device here on out. No excuses. Old Curve had a flash, new Curve does not = negative progress = RIM are morons. I mean seriously, what was the thought process behind this move? A bunch of engineers are sitting around the table, and one suggests “since the handset marketplace is becoming increasingly competitive, I humbly suggest we REMOVE a feature standard on most phones made in the past 5 years”. They all agreed and then most likely took Phil (or that damn Steve) out for drinks in celebration of his genius idea.
4) Location awareness is the new hotness, so hint hint add a digital compass. (3Gs and Droid both have one) The “oohs” and “aahs” generated when I load up Streetview or Google Sky have already sold a few of my friends on an Android device. They once wanted a Blackberry, but now they want to “do all that cool shit your Google phone does”. Their words, not mine.
Now with that out of the way, here are some further suggestions…
a) Add a Pico Projector. Yes I’m serious. Take a page out of LG’s book and start development as an add on accessory. Think of all the uses for it if done correctly. Office road warriors could show powerpoint presentations on the wall at McDonalds. Williamsburg and SF hipsters could project trippy visuals on the celing to accompany their riveting Tupac/Frank Sinatra mashup DJ sets. I’m totally convinced that the Pico Projector will be as ubiquitous as the cell phone camera within 5 years. Work the kinks out of the system before HTC does. Then, after you further miniaturize the tech, slap that chip on the mainboard and call it a day.
b) I recently read that Texas Instruments or maybe Samsung (I’ll see if I can find a link later, which realistically means I’ll google it for five minutes and give up) has an HDTV antenna chip that can fit in a cellphone. That’s right folks, the capability to watch “Wheel of Fortune” in all its high def glory while riding the bus exists! C’mon RIM, be the first to deliver us to this utopia.
c) People seem to care (I’m not one of them) about an FM tuner. Add one. I have a feeling that Apple may do this with their 4th gen iPhone, so beat them to the punch.
Look, the goal with your hardware should be to maintain parity with the competition, and then have one or two unique (or rare) features that set your devices apart. You have this with the “World Phone” party trick, which I’ll admit is pretty handy. Now it’s time to find an impressive feature for the majority of us that never travel outside the country.
Software
1) Most people don’t sit around on Crackberry.com and Howardforums.com all day hitting the refresh button. New Facebook upgrade? New BB messenger bug fix? New App Store version? I’ll never know unless I religiously surf tech sites, or my Blackberry geek friend tells me!
One of the best Android features is the instant update notification. Now this is complicated, so bear with me here. Whenever an update is available for an app, I get an instant notification. Not only that, but it’s one click to install. Furthermore, after the install, there’s no reboot. Let’s let our good friend, the ordered list, explain….
- The Android approach
- On screen, “update available for Twitter app” appears out of nowhere
- Click a single button to install
- Install complete, launch Twitter app while humming Queen’s “We are the Champions”
- The Blackberry approach
- Read on Crackberry, Boygenius, Engadget, etc that Ubertwitter has been updated
- Open Blackberry browser and type in “www.ubertwitter.com/upgrade_me_now” or whatever
- Install done, now reboot device to complete
- Go solve world peace in the time it takes the handset to boot back up
I’m amazed at the update frequency of all the apps on my Droid. It seems that I’m getting an update or two for something all the time. I LIKE THIS.
2) You MUST do something about the look and feel of your OS. 
If you want to stay relevant, you are going to HAVE to find a way to bring the user experience up to par with the iPhone and Android. That means kinetic scrolling, a Webkit browser, and multitouch, all in a snappy, slick interface. I don’t care if you use Java for security or whatever purposes, I’m just telling you what’s broken, not how to fix it. (That’s your problem)
You want to take it to the next level and thrash the iPhone? Be one of the first to get Silverlight and full blown Flash on the phone. (I’d recommend acquiring Skyfire, as they’ve pretty much got this worked out already).
Note: I’m fully aware that RIM has acquired Torch Mobile and has Promised flash in 2010. For their sake, I hope they deliver.
General business practices
1) STOP doing dumb things like these micro incremental upgrades. The Tour2, really? You add wifi and a trackpad and call it a day? Sure, there’s a rumored processor upgrade, but I’m a hardcore tech junkie, and I can’t even confirm this. Regardless, the PERCEPTION is that it’s a Wi-Fi inclusion and a new trackpad. Same as the Storm 2 except swap the trackpad for a clickscreen tweak. This tired piecemeal approach is going to get you nowhere fast.
2) STOP diluting your product line! There’s virtually no difference between the Tour and the Bold. Hang on, let’s step back….. Here’s a synopsis of your Current product line.
- RIM’s plan to take over the world
- Bold – For business power users
- Tour – For consumer power users
- Pearl – For women
- Pearl Flip – For women
- Curve – For high school students
- Storm 2 – For gadgethead power users
I think you’re spreading yourself too thin here. Merge the Bold and Tour lines (or actually just discontinue the Tour altogether), and get rid of the the Pearl Flip. Then, build a new OS from the ground up for the Storm and use it as a guinea pig for the tech (digital compass, pico projector, HDTV antenna, unicorns) to trickle down into the rest of the handset line.
- Techranter’s generous plan to help RIM take over the world
- Bold – For fancy folk
- Pearl – For girls
- Curve – For broke people
- Storm 2 – For people that really want an iphone
See? that’s a little more palatable! It’s all about simplification.
Conclusion – You’re probably screwed in the long run
RIM, your two major problems can be surmised with “your shit is old, and you’re taking too long to make your shit not old”. Neither the iPhone OS or Android are shackled within the constraints of legacy software. These are new modern operating systems, and they seem to have a scalability that your OS lacks. I know you have a lot of infrastructure to contend with, but you need to start thinking next generation NOW.
Apple chooses to stick on a single device, making their path to perfection straight forward. All their handset resources can be focused on making ONE piece of tech better. Android, with the might of Google behind it, has some seriously powerful resources. The platform is innovating at such a rapid pace, it sometimes gives me a headache. (Sky maps, Goggles, Listen, Places, the list goes on and on). They’ve tapped into the ADD of the modern gadgethead, offering us a steady stream of enhanced functionality that sates our wanderlust.
I want RIM to continue to innovate and succeed, if only because it will foster better competition. I also still have a soft spot in my heart because it was an 8700 that carried me over the smartphone threshold. The time has come however, for those up in Waterloo to make some cultural and technological changes. If all goes well, this won’t be goodbye, it’ll merely be see you later.
