BlackBerry 10: Best feature nobody's talking about
Summary: RIM is showing off bits of the upcoming BlackBerry 10 in Orlando this week. Not much has been divulged but one thing I've spied has me really excited.
BlackBerry World is happening this week in Orlando, and RIM is desperately trying to convince us that the next big version of the OS will blow us away. That's a tall order given how far the BlackBerry has fallen from favor, and as CNET makes clear a nice onscreen keyboard is not going to do it. One feature spied in the information received from RIM could be just what the platform needs.
Related: BlackBerry Dev Alpha device and BB World demos show RIM isn’t out of the game yet | RIM’s challenge: Platforms don’t sell, gadgets do | First look: BB 10
The user interface is very important on today's phones and tablets operated by touch. It is the difference between an "ah ha" moment for a user and a "meh" one. One of the best interface design decisions I have seen in years appeared on the short-lived HP TouchPad. The webOS base had a simple design feature integrated into the OS that made using it better than most other platforms.
That is the sliding pane feature that allows the user to display exactly how much on the screen as desired, and also what is displayed. You slide the panes of information left and right to expose/hide things as best makes sense.
It appears RIM has incorporated a similar functionality in BlackBerry 10 that has me excited about the potential. Look at the screen image above right of the new email app, and you see multiple windows of information in the process of being exposed/hidden. The information I have from RIM indicates this is the "Glance" feature being shown in the mail app.
This type of control is really handy on a device when switching from portrait to landscape orientation. It's a great way to optimize what can be displayed in each by simply swiping the panes left and right.
I hope that RIM implements this feature system-wide as it can revolutionize the user experience of a device with a small display. Better yet I hope it makes it easy to implement for developers building apps. This feature is important enough that it should permeate every aspect of using a new BlackBerry. Every app should take advantage of it, both RIM's and third party. That's the way it is in webOS and it is the way it should be in BlackBerry 10.
If properly implemented I predict this could be huge for BlackBerry 10 and allow it to stand apart from the other platforms. RIM has a potentially game-changing design improvement, so let's see it make the grade and be front and center in BlackBerry 10.
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Talkback
Blackberry OS is dead. They really should give up now
you should give up
unbelievable
Doubt it.
Perception is Apples advantage.
That may be, but...
Huh?
Blackberrys are available in the traditional keyboard form, but there are also full-touch models and a slider. What other form factor should they be looking at?
True
Wow
[sigh]
apples shares
Execution
Agreed
From my perspective, RIM's biggest target right now is the developer market, and rightly so. If they don't have an attractive app portfolio when BB10 launches, they're dead in the water. Even as a RIM fanboy I can see that.
QNX has compatibility with Android apps .. all 500,000 of them
But doing it right is most important...
Good Idea
If not, and Blackberry's interface works out well, perhaps in iOS 7?
Re. Good Idea
What is RIM's Thing?
Neat UI tricks are great, but they alone do not a brand make. RIM needs a serious, significant brand differentiator if they are going to regain traction against Android and Apple. So, here's an idea for RIM. It's a way they can deliver both superior performance/ battery life AND best in class security.
RIM could do three things with their devices that would significantly differentiate them from Apple and Android while delivering real value to a broad customer base. Thing no. one: Make all RIM devices connect via VPN and only VPN through, and only through RIM servers. Thing no. two: Split all App functionality between devices and RIM servers such that the 'user instance' resides at RIM where there is on-going security monitoring, automatic App updating, etc. all without user intervention required. Thing no. three: Pre-fetch, pre-render, optimally compress content on RIM servers prior to delivery (over VPN) to RIM devices - something like Amazon does for web content on K-Fire.
This approach, while surely not the only thing RIM might do, would differentiate their devices in truly meaningful ways. Specifically, it would give RIM devices an entirely different class of security. It would offer performance improvements due to pre-fetch, pre-render, and server-class compute power and storage for Apps. It would allow significantly less storage on the device, slower processors, longer battery life, and potentially lower device manufacturing costs for RIM.
Eight Cores for RIM ?
Too little, too late
I find BB also to be complex, and this is coming from an IT consultant. It's not that it's "beyond me." It's that it's well beyond the complexity I want to see in a phone, calendar, task list, notepad, email and texting.
In my view, Apple's user experience is just so much more attractive and easy to learn and use than BB. I have an aging Treo 650 smart phone and am overdue for an upgrade. The only reason I'd consider BB is because they have a real keyboard, though not as nice (to me) as my ancient Treo. iPhone has everything else going for it: ease of use, great user interface and user experience...but no real keyboard :-( My next phone will likely be an iPhone 5. Reluctantly.
The reality is that BB is losing its existing customers and having a hard time getting new ones. It even has a hard time attracting folks who want a keyboard, and have almost nowhere else to go. Playbook was supposed to "rescue" RIM. Now it's BB 10 that's supposed to do that job. Good luck, RIM.
Windows Phone
Agreed!
When I used BB I LOVED IT!! (this was before switching to iPhone in Mar 08)
And the reason I loved BB is, even though it was somewhat rudimentary in text, and the browser was as bare-bones as it could get, I got things done FAST! Email was always there, and the hardware qwerty keyboard is something I STILL MISS!
But once you knew your way around BB OS, you never had to use the directional or selector buttons, you could use "hot keys" on the keyboard to INSTANTLY bounce between messaging, email, browser, contacts, calendar, and notes.
While today I love my iPhone and it's VERY well thought out design, I don't get to my raw data as quickly, nor can I manipulate or input it as quickly, as I could with my circa 2007 BlackBerry. iOS is a beautiful thing to use, and is so intuitive you can pick it right up, and it does everything in an extraordinarily well designed way....I'm not quite as productive when it comes down to the nitty gritty.
apple's ios is becoming boring