For those of you out there on the Interweb’s that still rock a BlackBerry, things have been sorta “dry” when it comes to trying out new OS builds. From the looks of it, even the latest official release’s from carriers sport only under the hood bug fixes (or create new ones at times). Why is this? Is RIM really getting ready for OS6? What about business users that dont want or need anything to flashy? Read on for some more thoughts…
The idea behind OS6 is very evident. RIM see’s OS5 as a nice upgrade from OS 4.X, but just that. An upgrade. OS6, according to RIM, is from the ground up a better experience (depending on who you talk to. I know plenty of exec’s that could care less about flash and need just email). So in who’s eyes does OS6 really showcase something new, different, better? Not mine.
OS6 on the outside looks like a nice step up from OS5, I will give it that. But thats just it, its a step up. Not new. Not groundbreaking. Even the latest builds (which as of this post I currently know Verizon to be testing 6.0.0.80 for the Storm2 9550) dont really offer more then what was told in May. Yes, some new features have cropped up since then, some new ones that most might not even know about yet. But there is a TON missing. For example, if RIM really wants this new OS to hit it out of the ballpark, where is the true social network integration? I have yet to hear about actual contact sync options for either Facebook or Twitter, or any other social network for that matter. Does it mean its not there? Or not on the path to being implemented? No, it could very well be ready to go for release. But if OS6 is “flashy” why not try to sell everyone on its real deep integration with social networks?
I think RIM has a good chance of taking some of the market it lost back, but, its a chance. At best, they regain some of what they lost. But they will never get it all back. The giant that is Google has been on a rampage lately, and it doesnt matter how bad the iPhone might fail at certain aspects. Anything they make will sell. Android is here to stay. Apple is here to stay. Hell, I’m excited to see what HP does with WebOS. And without all these competing platforms we would still be using physical keyboards….. Oh.
