Despite the fact that the BlackBerry 10 is still essentially a non-entity to most of us, there are already plenty of critics poking holes in its new operating system.
In short, while the BlackBerry 10 OS appears to look the part as a stand-alone creation, its chances against the competition are so far not thought to be good.
When and where the new OS makes its official debut later this year, it will certainly be delivering some features that distance it from its closest Android and iOS rivals. However, given the fact that the BlackBerry 10 OS has been such a long time coming, it would have to pretty much wipe the floor with both iOS and Android to have any real impact, which is about as likely as the devil ice-skating to work.
Current Customers Neglected
What’s more, RIM may be making a truly fatal mistake by neglecting to take into consideration the needs of its current and genuinely impressive customer base, by offering an easy and comfortable means by which to transfer to BlackBerry 10.
Industry experts fear that RIM may have already sealed the fate of BlackBerry 10 long before it has even been given a chance to get off the ground.
BlackBerry software has been in dire need of a facelift for some time now, having proved a less-than-adequate alternative to Android, iOS and Windows Phone. By comparison at least, it is less than attractive and certainly nowhere near as easy to use. This is of course to be expected as BlackBerry software was created ad launched long before touchscreens became the standard user interface, which in turn meant that modified builds deigned for touchscreens felt forced and uncomfortable.
New OS, New Direction
In the case of BlackBerry 10 on the other hand which has so far teased the world with only a few sneak peeks, the OS really does look about as modern and relevant as it gets. It has been created 100% with larger touchscreens in mind and offers a wealth of new apps and features that are a million miles from those of the previous BlackBerry…thankfully!
RIM have also taken a leaf from the books of some other rivals by including tiles to offer information including stock prices and weather forecasts. In addition, BlackBerry 10 boast a number of unique accessibility features whereby certain swipes can be used to open/switch windows back and forth.
The camera application is one of the best to be found and the available app library is to be massively extended and made easier to access, so has RIM managed to hit the nail on the head this time round?
Too Little, Too Late?
Indeed they have, but in all honesty it is still very difficult to see how BlackBerry 10 will save RIM. The problem is, it is not a case of how good or otherwise BlackBerry 10 is, but how difficult or impossible it is for any rival to shave off even a morsel of the market share swallowed up by Android and Apple. The two front-runners have already established such incredible reputations and fan-bases while becoming household names that it really would take a revolution of epic proportions to see any rival edge even remotely close.
BlackBerry 10 looks great, but revolutionary it certainly is not.
Had RIM come out with BlackBerry 10 a few years ago the situation would have been rather different, but or the time being at least RIM’s efforts seem to be misguided.
After all, with an existing customer base of well over 77 million subscribers, wouldn’t it be better to look into options for customer retention and a halt to share value slides, rather than striving for the impossible?
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