BlackBerry is alive

In preparation for the release of the new version of BlackBerry, RIM is trying to lure Android developers to its side. Despite the general belief that the battle in the field of mobile devices has narrowed down to the struggle between iOS and Android only, RIM emphasizes at every step that the BlackBerry platform is not dead.

In an effort to attract the attention of developers to its platform, RIM representative Larry McDonough admitted mistakes in his last speech, however, noting that the company had successfully corrected them. Naturally, the advantages of BlackBerry and the disadvantages of iOS and Android were also highlighted. He also once again noted that RIM plans to update its mobile platform, making it unified for both smartphones and its PlayBook tablet.

McDonough also tried to characterize the small number of applications in the BlackBerry App World as, on the contrary, an advantage for developers. There are about 46 thousand applications in RIM’s online store now (for comparison, there are about 500 thousand in the Apple App Store and 300 thousand in the Android Market). “If you remove all duplicates of games, you will get about 30-40 thousand applications in these stores,” he said. For example, there are 900 different types of Solitaire games in the Apple online store, and 1200 in the Android Market, according to PC World. “Of course, it’s great that they have so many things and it’s probably important, but we only have a couple of versions of this toy.”

He also insists that developers have a much better chance of making money by creating applications for Blackberry than with the support of its competitors. As proof, he cites the following: approximately 13% of developers for BlackBerry earn more than 100 thousand dollars. He did not give the figures of developers’ income for the App Store and Android Market, but suggested that the figure is smaller.

How did the Android-friendly audience react to this speech?

For example, Christian Grant, director of Android development at DroidOmics, which creates medical applications, noted that “BlackBerry has great features, including the PlayBook.” He likes some of the BlackBerry features available in real time. “I’ve already uploaded several test apps to the PlayBook, and I’ll be watching what happens next.” Karl Steil, president of the company that creates mobile applications, Appception, said that he gives RIM the highest mark for trying to revive the platform. “I think they’re doing their best.” But when asked if they will continue to make applications for BlackBerry, he replied: “We’ll wait and see.”