What Would Alex Bosika Do?

A few weeks in, I am convinced that RIM, the Playbook and developers for RIM products have been badly misaligned with unfair reporting by tech media (besides Techvibes - great job guys!) that is screwed tight for advertising clicks, SEO, and other social juice metrics to meet their bottom-line rather than fair and balanced reporting.

For starters, the Playbook is made for gamers.  Whereas the devices have lagged until BB10 launches, there’s clearly an appetite for games on the lovely Playbook.  Speed of play, graphics, and motion is at par and  even better than what I have experienced  with my iPad (Gen 1) device.

A demonstration of my Playbook (with the latest O/S) to few folks in my inner circle have apparently changed perceptions…almost instantly.  Almost to the point where some are are asking whether they only need a Playbook vs. anything else on the market.

Even more shocking is the user feedback specific to the Playbook experience compared to Android tablets and devices which they already own.  Many claimed the U/X to be far superior on the Playbook when comparing Android iterations.

No where is the opportunity greater for RIM than with Android in order to gain new users, customers and ecosystem growth.

Further, anchor brands like EA Games and tier-2 developers are doing a fantastic job with price promotion and support to keep customers happy.  A more than peripheral review of user feedback within the AppWorld ecosystem confirms that customers are extremely loyal to developers and remain extremely supportive of the Playbook AND RIM. 

I have personally gone out of my way to buy games (and non-gaming apps) that I already own on the iPad (Gen 1) for the Playbook and the experience is comparable and in some cases BETTER compared to iOS devices. Sure, there hardware differences that play into this but my point is that the Playbook is a powerful product packed into a small footprint with game play that is fast and sharp with strong U/X controls.

Anyone in a media position that has reported something wildly different about the Playbook is either a liar or is simply blind (let’s focus on the former ;-)) and we may know the reasons for that. :-)

Sean Paul Taylor, leader of RIM’s gaming team, said it perfectly in a recent Financial Post interview about the upcoming BB10 platform:

Right out of the gate you can see the hardware is very competitive, it’s right up there with what the iPhone 5 is releasing. The games we run here are literally the same source code as what they run off there and we’re seeing very similar results. We do a lot of open source work. We make sure the 98% of the source code is actually common, and there’s a platform that handles your accelerometer, your video, and we make sure that we do good benchmarks on it.

Does this sound like a company that is ready to give up?  Mark my words, RIM is going to rebound with BB10 and people I know within the telecom world are rooting for a RIM rebirth. RIM has been the most loyal in terms of vendor-telecom partnerships and I can expect support from them when the new devices hit the market.

I am absolutely delighted with the Playbook. 

Everything about it feels strong — solid design, fast and efficient O/S, intuitive U/X (a few times, I caught myself using Playbook gestures on my iPad that just seemed to make more sense compared to the Home Button control)…that says a lot. ;-)

Sources tell me that BB10 is a one sexy pup waiting to find a home in 2013.  I smell good news to my loyal RIM and Blackberry clans.  Today, my BB curve works seamlessly with the Playbook for Internet tethering and in 2013, my BB10 device will fall pleasantly into welcoming hands. :-)  By this time, HP’s Web O/S reboot will be a lost cause and we’ll continue to learn about the growing Android fragmentation that plagues the developer ecosystem.  For many, Android has become the new Windows.

I continue to chuckle with media reports that question RIM’s survival, IF BB10 will launch (yes), and IF developers will support it (yes).  To the latter point, it only takes a Google search to confirm the obvious. :-) In addition, chatter within my network of mobile professionals simply validates strong support for Playbook and the BB10 platform go forward.

My guess is that future articles from the tech media may fall on DEAF EARS and some….

#BB10Believe

Related articles

• BlackBerry 10: RIM Demos Key Features Of Next-Gen Mobile OS Ahead Of Q1 2013 Release (techcrunch.com)

A great presentation from my colleague, Volker Hirsch.  Great slideshare as always. ;-)

The media had a field slow day yesterday so they opted to keep harping on the same old boring drumbeat.  But we have good people at Research in Motion fighting the good fight.  Until then, we’ll let them speak and build their “Klout”. ;-)

And so on, and so on.  Now onto more serious stuff. 

My good friend, Volker Hirsch (Director, Global Head of Business Development - Games), is a likeable, tall, well-spoken international man (Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego Volker Hirsch?) has his own view on games.  Here’s the slideshare presentation.  Volker, oddly your name “Volker” gets auto-corrected to “Revolver” — Volker (aka Revolver) Hirsch.  It’s in the game! LOL  Great presentation mate!

Looking forward to new devices, a new U/X and tons of games.  I almost have too many of them on other devices. :-)

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