RIM chief Thorsten Heins has admitted that the Canadian manufacturer had looked “seriously” at moving to Android before embarking on BlackBerry 10.
In an interview with the Telegraph, Heins spoke of BB10 – which is due at the beginning of next year after development delays – and the possibility the delay may do good in the long run.
“We have to place one bet and make it right,” Heins explained, adding: “We don’t want to go for an intermediate step. [BB10] comes out in the first quarter, and I think a lot of people are going to be surprised”.
Discussing the idea of moving to either Android or Windows Phone to ensure the Christmas retail market wasn’t missed, Heins said: “We took the conscious decision not to go Android.
“We looked at it seriously, but if you understand what the promise of BlackBerry is to its user base it’s all about getting stuff done.”
Indeed, and it could be argued that, with BlackBerries being so common in the workplace, RIM completely missed the BYOD trend and lost vital share as a result.
Despite the various difficulties RIM has suffered in recent months, there does appear to be light at the end of the tunnel regarding BB10.
Specific features are unclear as of yet, but recent reports noted that the new device will feature a virtual assistant, with videos being posted on the CrackBerry forums of the software at a distinctly alpha stage.
In terms of developers, two recent stories were conflicting in their portrayal of working with RIM.
A study from analysts Vision Mobile showed that BlackBerry developers working regularly earned more per app than those on iOS and Android, yet a report from Baird Equity Research showed that developer support for embattled BlackBerry platforms was at “a new low”.
The latter report prompted RIM VP of Developer Relations Alec Saunders to rebut claims that BlackBerry was ‘bleeding developers’, saying that consistent feedback is “that RIM simply treats developers better than anyone else in the mobile industry”.
These reports, while conflicting, show there’s a heavy dev base still there. But would it have remained had they crossed over to Android?
Do you believe BB10 is make-or-break for RIM?
