Boy Genius Interviewed: Round 2

Posted
by
Steve St. Pierre
on January 10, 2007, at 3:05 PM
in BlackBerry-Help
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Comments: 22 responses
22 Comments

Just before the lunch hour, famed leaker and wireless lover Boy Genius and I got together for a little chit chat about Apple’s bombshell from yesterday, and also for some back and forth on where the BlackBerry world is at. We were able to get BG’s (and my) unabashed thoughts on the iPhone, as well as some scoops on possible 8800 delays (and changed specs?!), and a little more info on the aforementioned “perfect” device from RIM. Enjoy the read.

BBCool: So, Boy Genius – the iPhone… thoughts?

Speaking of thoughts, I just saw the recent article by Thought and couldn’t agree more. Basically, right now the whole mobile phone game is messed up because of it. Regardless of what happens, and not to toot Steve Job’s horn too much, but they really revolutionized the mobile phone industry. It’s like… look at any other mobile phone or PDA in the world and tell me the iPhone isn’t as cool? You can’t really. 8800 who?

BBCool: I agree with the whole revolutionary aspect, but do you think that the everyday mobile user is going to run out and adopt this? I don’t think that’ll happen. At least not right away.

Well, don’t forget it’s the first product in this category from Apple it’s priced high so your right everyone and their mother won’t run out and buy one right away, but there will be less expensive models I’m sure and so forth. Corporate? Not so much. That’s where RIM still has some market share. But their whole Pearl thing? You see the video of Mike Lazaridis’ speech when Pearl came out? “3 YEARS IN THE MAKING!” Dude! You added a god damn camera and a trackball!

Then look at iPhone. 3 years in the making. If Apple gets the keyboard right it’s over. Completely over. It’s all dependant on that, and how well the touch controls work but knowing Apple and Jobs, it will work, and work well

BBCool: Good point. We’ll talk about multi-touch, but take that away from the iPhone for a second and let’s look at the device. A pal of mine just brought up the fact that right now, you can get an Ericsson W810i with 4GB memory, 2mp camera, music, video, email – all for $25 on a 3 year contract (or around $359 to get it outright). Without the multi-touch, compare these two devices.If you’re looking to get the most for your buck, is the iPhone the way to go?

But that’s not Apple. When has apple been the most economically friendly company? It’s about great fun easy to use products. I think there will be spill over – I really do – from young people to old people, but they are not trying to be “you get $100 back when you signup with a 2yr agreement”

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  • George

    This was a really good interview and I can’t believe I spent time reading it. BG and BBCool come through once again …

    I’m not one to buy into hype but I’m really crazy for this thing. Hell I was just skipping most of the Blackberry stuff near the end of the interview. You can’t go from talking about the iPhone to a white Pearl, who the f*** cares! RIM is yesterday’s news …

    Also I hope you were the one that took my suggestion to register iphonecool.com, because it seems like someone just did it today.

  • George

    This was a really good interview and I can’t believe I spent time reading it. BG and BBCool come through once again …

    I’m not one to buy into hype but I’m really crazy for this thing. Hell I was just skipping most of the Blackberry stuff near the end of the interview. You can’t go from talking about the iPhone to a white Pearl, who the f*** cares! RIM is yesterday’s news …

    Also I hope you were the one that took my suggestion to register iphonecool.com, because it seems like someone just did it today.

  • George

    This was a really good interview and I can’t believe I spent time reading it. BG and BBCool come through once again …

    I’m not one to buy into hype but I’m really crazy for this thing. Hell I was just skipping most of the Blackberry stuff near the end of the interview. You can’t go from talking about the iPhone to a white Pearl, who the f*** cares! RIM is yesterday’s news …

    Also I hope you were the one that took my suggestion to register iphonecool.com, because it seems like someone just did it today.

  • George

    This was a really good interview and I can’t believe I spent time reading it. BG and BBCool come through once again …

    I’m not one to buy into hype but I’m really crazy for this thing. Hell I was just skipping most of the Blackberry stuff near the end of the interview. You can’t go from talking about the iPhone to a white Pearl, who the f*** cares! RIM is yesterday’s news …

    Also I hope you were the one that took my suggestion to register iphonecool.com, because it seems like someone just did it today.

  • JEF

    Was he serious about the $499 price for the 8800 or was that just for comparison to the iPhone?

  • JEF

    Was he serious about the $499 price for the 8800 or was that just for comparison to the iPhone?

  • todd

    I think the iPhone is cool but will never replace my BB. As a corporate user I need a reliable device and so far the 8700 has been just that. I’m not even interested in these ultra skinny devices…I think the 8800 is going to be great and will provide just enough entertainment to get people to change….including me.

  • todd

    I think the iPhone is cool but will never replace my BB. As a corporate user I need a reliable device and so far the 8700 has been just that. I’m not even interested in these ultra skinny devices…I think the 8800 is going to be great and will provide just enough entertainment to get people to change….including me.

  • http://www.rimarkable.com/ Robb (RIMarkable)

    Good interview. I am glad I am not the only one that loves the BlackBerry but think that they have a real problem on their hands on the consumer side of things.

  • http://www.rimarkable.com Robb (RIMarkable)

    Good interview. I am glad I am not the only one that loves the BlackBerry but think that they have a real problem on their hands on the consumer side of things.

  • Vishal

    Guys, the mobile phone market sells 1.1 billion phones and that keeps rising. No one phone is going to kill every other phone. BG doesn’t get it. 8100 is for consumers, and 8800 is for enterprise. So its stupid to compare it with iPhone. Also what Mike said about Pearl is totally been twisted by BG. BG if you know anything about hardware development it takes time. Its not just adding a trackball and a camera. My prediction is no matter how good Jobs and Apple are a keyboard on a screen will just not work.

  • Vishal

    Guys, the mobile phone market sells 1.1 billion phones and that keeps rising. No one phone is going to kill every other phone. BG doesn’t get it. 8100 is for consumers, and 8800 is for enterprise. So its stupid to compare it with iPhone. Also what Mike said about Pearl is totally been twisted by BG. BG if you know anything about hardware development it takes time. Its not just adding a trackball and a camera. My prediction is no matter how good Jobs and Apple are a keyboard on a screen will just not work.

  • bsic

    I think BG is right on.

    Vishal, i *do* know something about hardware design.. I am a circuit designer. My company has been active for years on components inside both the ipod, apple TV, and the iPhone (chip design). I can tell you it certainly does take time to develop hardware. Thats not the question. The question is who does it better, and has a vision of what the market will need 3 years down the road. Adding a trackball, media player, and camera (which already existed three years ago) is hardly seen as a great advance by RIM.

    Take the iPod, when it came on the scene, there were already tons of MP3 players out there. Today, there are even more. But iPod still has the marketshare… Its not about features. Its about both features AND user experience, and apple clearly has thier head in the game there. If RIM is going to spend a three year development cycle on incremental improvements, they wont gain as much as someone that thinks outside the box and really tries to change the landscape.

  • bsic

    I think BG is right on.

    Vishal, i *do* know something about hardware design.. I am a circuit designer. My company has been active for years on components inside both the ipod, apple TV, and the iPhone (chip design). I can tell you it certainly does take time to develop hardware. Thats not the question. The question is who does it better, and has a vision of what the market will need 3 years down the road. Adding a trackball, media player, and camera (which already existed three years ago) is hardly seen as a great advance by RIM.

    Take the iPod, when it came on the scene, there were already tons of MP3 players out there. Today, there are even more. But iPod still has the marketshare… Its not about features. Its about both features AND user experience, and apple clearly has thier head in the game there. If RIM is going to spend a three year development cycle on incremental improvements, they wont gain as much as someone that thinks outside the box and really tries to change the landscape.

  • http://www.rimarkable.com/ Robb (RIMarkable)

    Vishal,

    You cannot really use that logic seeing that 70% of all BlackBerry Pearls are bought by corporate business users.

    No matter what spin you put too it, RIM is trying to get into the consumer market and if the BlackBerry Pearl and a BlackBerry 8800 with a camera due in May are all they have to to offer to new consumers, the iPhone, $500 price tag and all, will win a lot of deals that RIM might otherwise have.

  • http://www.rimarkable.com Robb (RIMarkable)

    Vishal,

    You cannot really use that logic seeing that 70% of all BlackBerry Pearls are bought by corporate business users.

    No matter what spin you put too it, RIM is trying to get into the consumer market and if the BlackBerry Pearl and a BlackBerry 8800 with a camera due in May are all they have to to offer to new consumers, the iPhone, $500 price tag and all, will win a lot of deals that RIM might otherwise have.

  • http://www.boygeniusreport.com/ Boy Genius

    Completely agree with you Robb. My feelings were based on Apple + RIM in the consumer market. Corporations that use BlackBerrys aren’t going anywhere for now. And your right bsic thats what innovation is all about, having foresight into the marketplace thinking about what kind of features people want when that product is ultimately released. That’s the difference between the Pearl and the iPhone. Anyone who doesn’t understand the innovation in the iPhone is completely out of it. The innovation in the pearl is a complete joke.

  • http://www.boygeniusreport.com Boy Genius

    Completely agree with you Robb. My feelings were based on Apple + RIM in the consumer market. Corporations that use BlackBerrys aren’t going anywhere for now. And your right bsic thats what innovation is all about, having foresight into the marketplace thinking about what kind of features people want when that product is ultimately released. That’s the difference between the Pearl and the iPhone. Anyone who doesn’t understand the innovation in the iPhone is completely out of it. The innovation in the pearl is a complete joke.

  • http://itsreallyjustme.net/ justelise

    For real Blackberry users, business types, and people who are security minded – a device without true push mail is a deal breaker. Yahoo’s IMAP mail is laughable as an alternative.

    This particular release of the iPhone was really just a test for the cellular phone market on Apple’s part. If the touch screen keyboard is truly good and if the device turns out to be more resilient than it looks, there is no reason Apple couldn’t spin out a future model with the features that big business demands. Seeing as corporations generally have more money to throw at gadgets, the $499+ price range for a corporate iPhone is not going to be a big barrier. I have no doubt that if the iPhone is a big success and Apple is willing to listen to its customers and release new models at least as often as they do for the iPod with Video that they could lay a serious hurt on RIM. I hope that RIM and Apple could work together in the future and come out with a device that meets in the middle.

  • http://itsreallyjustme.net justelise

    For real Blackberry users, business types, and people who are security minded – a device without true push mail is a deal breaker. Yahoo’s IMAP mail is laughable as an alternative.

    This particular release of the iPhone was really just a test for the cellular phone market on Apple’s part. If the touch screen keyboard is truly good and if the device turns out to be more resilient than it looks, there is no reason Apple couldn’t spin out a future model with the features that big business demands. Seeing as corporations generally have more money to throw at gadgets, the $499+ price range for a corporate iPhone is not going to be a big barrier. I have no doubt that if the iPhone is a big success and Apple is willing to listen to its customers and release new models at least as often as they do for the iPod with Video that they could lay a serious hurt on RIM. I hope that RIM and Apple could work together in the future and come out with a device that meets in the middle.

  • Mortimer N. Cobblepop

    Unless I’ve missed the printer-friendly version, putting this interview across 7 pages is bad usability and smacks of whoring for ads.

  • Mortimer N. Cobblepop

    Unless I’ve missed the printer-friendly version, putting this interview across 7 pages is bad usability and smacks of whoring for ads.