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Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

RIM to offer free apps following outage ... are you happy?

By | October 17, 2011, 2:42am PDT

Summary: ‘Siri, should BlackBerry users be happy with $100 worth of free apps?’

Communications firm RIM is to offer subscribers $100 worth of free apps following several days of BlackBerry service problems they faced last week.

In a statement released this morning, RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis offers customers yet another apology and said that the apps were an “expression of appreciation for their patience”.

Lazaridis added:

Our global network supports the communications needs of more than 70 million customers. We truly appreciate and value our relationship with our customers. We’ve worked hard to earn their trust over the past 12 years, and we’re committed to providing the high standard of reliability they expect, today and in the future.

We are grateful to our loyal BlackBerry customers for their patience. We have apologized to our customers and we will work tirelessly to restore their confidence. We are taking immediate and aggressive steps to help prevent something like this from happening again.

Titles on offer will include SIMS 3, Bejeweled, Texas Hold’em Poker 2, Bubble Bash 2, Shazam Encore, Photo Editor Ultimate, and Vlingo. Enterprise customers will be offered one month of free tech support.

Two questions:

  • Is this enough to restore user trust in RIM?
  • Can affected customers get those apps in Android or iOS format? (Just kidding!)

Poll

RIM to offer free apps following outage ... are you happy?

The free applications will be made available to customers over the coming weeks, and will be available for download until the end of this year.

So, put your feet up and forget about all the stress of the BlackBerry outage with a nice game of poker!

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Topics

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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Put it into perspective.
dave@... 17th Oct
At least BB didn't tell users that they were holding the phone wrong. Other phones and networks are NOT perfect.

Cells phones are not land lines so don't expect them to perform as well, EVER. The fact that we can comminucate as well as we do over these little technical wonders considering all that CAN go wrong is a miracle.

Torch owner and not jumping ship.
0 Votes
+ -
Better then a bumper
MobileAdmin 17th Oct
Let's see Apple failed to even acknowledge faulty iPhone hardware and dismissed everyone with a bumper that cost them likely pennies. RIM provides a good list of software and are dedicated to providing as close to 100% available global network.

What would be sufficient? I'm just waiting for a civil suit to be filled for lack of email.
0 Votes
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Not really.
Pete "athynz" Athens 17th Oct
@MobileAdmin Apple also offered full cases as well during the same time they offered the bumpers - or did you forget that little tidbit in your rant against Apple? Nice try with the FUD.

But Apple also offered something to fix an issue that affected a small percentage of their users while RIM is offering a few apps for an issue that affected a large percentage of their users. So let's recap - Apple offered a solution to a minor issue while RIM offers distractions from a larger issue.

You ask what would be sufficient? For me personally not one thing - I didn't ask for the free apps, I'm not asking for prorated service or anything else other than for RIM to step up their testing and maintenance of their network as well as to add some redundancies so this does not happen again. Is THAT too much to ask?

With the poll "Rim to offer free apps following the outage... Are you happy?" With "No and I'm dumping Blackberry" - but not because of the outage. I'm dumping it because the hardware has gone downhill and does not offer what other smartphones do for what I need and want to do. I've been testing a formerly BB only work order system on my personal iPhone 4 vs testing the same on my Blackberry Curve 8530 and the iPhone has beaten the BB in every way - including getting exchange emails 5-10 minutes faster! Getting work orders faster. I could go on.

RIM was great at one time but they've been really slow to react to the radically changed landscape that iOS and Android made. This needs to change and soon before RIM loses the confidence of even more of their users than they already have.
@Pete "athynz" Athens

OMG. My point is Apple, Google gets a pass when they have outages / issues and RIM is held to the coals even after doing all they can to correct the situation.

RIM's uptime the last few YEARS is close to four 9's. 99.97%. I hardly see that as not testing and maintaining their network.

The people voting wanted any reason to leave RIM, as they likely already were. Good for them but trust me I use and have access to every device and the grass is not always greener. Each platform has issues. There is no perfect phone and you will sacrifice things on each.

Lovely your comparing a old Curve 8530 to an iPhone 4. Perhaps you need a new Blackberry (9930, 9810) which is pretty much performance wise equal. RIM does not have anywhere near the Apps but the core functions are comparable. If you don't agree you've just been using a old OS 5 Blackberry (like most of the unhappy people).
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@Pete "athynz" Athens
Comparing an 8530 to an iphone 4? Are you daft? 8530s have been around since the original iphone.
It seems you are the one that failed to react to the radically changed landscape. There have been 3 curves since the 8530, try one of those.
Would one of those free apps be...How to find a reliable non-RIMM SmartPhone...? That may be the most useful app they could provide now.
0 Votes
+ -
Put it into perspective.
dave@... 17th Oct
At least BB didn't tell users that they were holding the phone wrong. Other phones and networks are NOT perfect.

Cells phones are not land lines so don't expect them to perform as well, EVER. The fact that we can comminucate as well as we do over these little technical wonders considering all that CAN go wrong is a miracle.

Torch owner and not jumping ship.

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