We commented a little while ago about how Blackberry’s Z10 was actually a solid device with some interesting features and a good focus on the potential of the future. It was perhaps playing things a little “safe” but it certainly had potential.
(UPDATE 2017: Most of us know how this whole Blackberry scenario played out.)
Then it released in the UK, at first to seemingly strong sales but then quickly cracks started to show and the purported “selling out” of Z10s was debunked by various mobile vendors who said, essentially, “What’re you talking about? We’ve got loads!”.
But still, things were pretty good for Blackberry, they were still selling devices at a decent rate and they were attracting developers to their platform. Then they suddenly decided, after only a couple of months of the device being released, that they would drop the price of the Z10 by $100 and, again questions were asked about the state of sales for the Z10 and for the future of Blackberry in general. Why would they drop the price so soon after release? Were things really going that badly?
And just as this conjecture was appearing, BB announced that they had just sold 1 million Z10 units to a carrier in the US ahead of their scheduled launch on the western continent and that they were going to be releasing their handset across 3 carriers there.
Seems positive right?
Well it would be if Blackberry’s CEO hadn’t just announced that they’re planning on releasing a middle tier and brand new flagship phone “in the next few months”.
What?!
The Z10 is barely out the door in the UK, and not even at the door yet in the US, and Blackberry are already talking about their next handset like it’s time for the next generation.
Of course, new handset iterations every few months is something that we as customers have got used to; with Samsung, HTC, Motorolla and others all constantly seeking to out-do each other on a near constant cycle. But even so, proper flagship handset releases are not nearly as common as releases of middle tier handsets, and they don’t talk about them weeks before they’ve even released the generation before.
As a single manufacturer who’s not using one of the big OS it’s doubly important that Blackberry have confidence in their products. Apple and the iPhone should be their example. Once a year released, and when it IS released, they stand by their products so powerfully that even if they aren’t the best one out there, many people will believe that it is simply through the power of Apple’s belief.
It’s about keeping up the mystique a little.
Customers know what they’re buying with be made obsolete within a relatively short amount of time, but they also know that for a short time that they have the most advanced version of whatever handset they own. Telling them right off the bat that whatever they buy it already going to be replaced by a bigger, better version before they’ve even bought it, which is what will be happening now in America, is a guaranteed way to lose customers.
Blackberry have done a lot in the past little while to revamp and improve their image. They look like a company that’s ready to learn from their past mistakes and to not take their past success as a given. The fact that they’ve managed to get 100,000 apps on their app store in a few months is a testament to the interest that’s in the platform, especially as there are so many ported Android apps there. That may seem like a con, but remember, this means that developers of these apps have decided that the cost and effort of porting and maintaining an app on Blackberry and Android is worth it, which says a lot in itself.
What Blackberry are doing is a perfect example of a company new out of the gates, unsure of exactly the accepted practices are in this rapidly changing market, and so they’re making moves that seem right, but are in fact counter-productive. Their eagerness to talk about what they’re planning to do next is a perfect example of this kind of faux pas; but they’ll learn.
As an app developer, you can use Blackberry as an example of some of the major pitfalls involved in releasing a major product. Learn from their mistakes and try not to make them yourself. Don’t over-reach and make it seem like you’re already charging into the success sunset when in fact you’ve barely left the gates. Plan, take your time and create amazing apps that people will want to buy. Do this and you’ll be golden.
Part of good app development is investing your budget into the most effective areas that’ll help boost your development time and efficiency. And if you’re in need of a Mobile Backend, why not talk to us at Kumulos? Our Mobile Backend as a Service is solid, powerful and cost-effective, everything an app developer could need to take their app development to the next level.
