Research In Motion (NASDAQ:
RIMM
) is giving developers 36 hours to port their existing apps to
BlackBerry 10. Those who do could be paid $100 for their efforts.
The company has set aside a total of $500,000 for developers who
deliver the goods, which could lead to an influx of 5,000 new
apps.
"New" is a figurative word, however. These apps may be
original to BlackBerry 10 users, but they may not seem too fresh
among those who own an Android or iOS device.
According to
ZDNet
, Research In Motion is holding a "port-a-thon," 36-hour event
this Friday to inspire developers to bring over their respective
applications.
Developers can submit up to 20 different apps for payment.
Thus, a clever team could make $2,000 in a weekend. Not bad for
such a tough and competitive market.
While this is a great deal for developers that have already
gone through the trouble of building apps for Apple's (NASDAQ:
AAPL
) iPhone, Research In Motion might be getting the short end of
the stick. Developers will be allowed to use the company's own
BlackBerry App Generator
, a simple tool that (as the website explains) allows users to
"build an app for BlackBerry Smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook
in under 10 minutes with no technical knowledge required!"
Unfortunately, smartphone manufacturers are rarely concerned
about quality. This is why Apple brags openly about the overall
number of apps available in the App Store, but rarely talks about
the quality of those apps. If it did, the company would be forced
to admit that 99.9 percent of them are lacking in function or
value.
The same can be said for Android apps. Thanks to this
port-a-thon, BlackBerry 10 will not fare any better.
Instead of playing a game of follow-the-leader, Research In
Motion should spend its time developing unique and compelling
apps that cannot be found on any other platform. With events like
this, the BlackBerry 10 app store will not be any different from
iOS or Android. Thus, Research In Motion will never be able to
successfully compete against Apple or Google (NASDAQ:
GOOG
) in this regard.
This is why it is so foolish for OS makers to play Apple's
game. It was Apple that made it "cool" to ignore quality and
focus on the number of apps that are available. One could argue
that Microsoft (NASDAQ:
MSFT
) employed a similar strategy to bolster the success of
Windows.
Ironically, Apple has not attempted to do the same for Mac OS.
The company knew that there was no way that it could possibly
release more apps than Windows. Thus, Apple spent the last decade
focusing on quality/exclusive software (such as Final Cut Pro),
the benefits of the Mac OS (more reliable than Windows, less
susceptible to viruses) and the superior hardware.
Apple also rebranded itself as a company of style. People love
to look "cool," and if Apple is perceived as being the cool
company, people will continue to buy its products.
None of these elements have anything to do with the number of
applications that are available. Instead of trying to compete in
that regard, Research In Motion should re-examine Apple's other,
more creative strategies. At this point, they could be
BlackBerry's only hope.
Follow me
@LouisBedigianBZ
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