As for the webkit browser, I am pretty sure from the rumors that I have heard that I will never see it or OS 6 on my BlackBerry 9700. Unfortunately that puts me in a bad spot when OS and the webkit browser is finally released. Stick with BlackBerry or just go somewhere else because no matter what my current phone is end of life.

If / When Apple goes to other carriers will they be able to coordinate a yearly launch across carriers?

To be the new devices while exciting are more MID then smartphone. While yes it's sexy and fun to have larger screens, video conferencing etc. The core most use a mobile device has stayed pretty static for 10 years.

- phone calls
- TXT / Email

Thus Blackberries position. The grass is not always greener. I use all the devices and on the MID/App devices you have to accept a lesser email experience, I just don't feel as “productive” but then I'm usually dicking around with all the fun stuff and not plowing through 100 emails etc.

I'd like detail on changewaves demos. What was the Blackberry users made up of?

Age?
Was the device Personal Liable / Corporate Liable?
What model Blackberry? OS?

If I was some BB users on a Corporate Liable 8310 of course I'd feel it sucked compared to a iPhone 4 / latest Android device.

Not a fan boy, just thinking about this logically.

If people are not going to upgrade their software, than you want to have your absolute newest code out there when the first purchase it. RIM should be releasing their software aggressively enough that there are no leaked OS versions.

I really see this as more of an argument for automatic updates than anything else. (Something RIM is getting better at, and doing well for third party applications with their AppWorld notifications.)

I also think that release-early-and-often is good practice in most cases, but you have to remember that the browser is not a normal app that you can install OTA, but it's an essential part of the OS and it will be deeply integrated into the system. I don't know if the webkit browser will be available for OS 5.0 or only 6.0+, but in any case you'll have to update your OS to get it. Now let's assume that about 1% of all BlackBerry owners are powerusers like we are, people who are active on sites like bbcool or crackberry, install lots of apps and who are always running the latest leaked OS. Most of the other 99% is probably still running the OS that was preinstalled on their devices, even if there have been official updates by their providers. I think most of them doesn't even know that the OS _can_ be updated or how to do it. People just go to a store, buy a smartphone and use it. If it doesn't work, they'll buy a smartphone from another brand next time. (This is about private users. People with corporate BlackBerry devices will have an administrator who updates their devices – or not).

As a company like RIM you just can't release a OS version with a buggy browser and then release 10 further OS versions with bug fixes in short intervals and expect all users to update their devices or just live with a buggy/broken browser. Especially when you're releasing a new device with the broken browser preinstalled.

The 83xx line has finally been discontinued, and RIM allowed the 9630 to quickly disappear and make way for the 9650. With the exception of the 8900 (which is now mostly just sold overseas) every phone that RIM currently sells was released in the past 11 months.

Unlike the 83xx and 81xx lines that were around far longer than they should have been, RIM now seems ready to update their phones quicker…

Additionally I think BlackBerry's biggest problem is getting their products out the door. AppWorld 2.0 was publicly demoed about a month ago, yet it hasn't been released. Whatever they are waiting for could just be added to version 2.1

In a more extreme example we saw the webkit browser half a year ago but still do not have it. It is not that RIM can't develop good software, but instead that there is this large delay between when the software is finished and when we get it. Internally RIM isn't worried, because what they have looks great, externally we are a bit disappointed because it is so obvious that they can do so much better.

There are understandable reasons that hardware sometimes gets delayed, but when it comes to software you need to release early and often…

I was honestly excited when I first heard of an then saw images of the slider but seriously there isn't even a release date yet and it isn't even as visually impressive as current phone already on the market. I will probably get the slider but every day that goes by I'm thinking of going to a droid phone instead (not apple , had one and they are crap).

For a long time RIM has bragged about the number of device they have been selling, but a lot of them have been old Curves, dirt cheap, that dont even come with OS5 or an OS version that looks 3 years old+. Though price is attractive, they cant sustain any comparison with newer OS interface, browsing and hardware from Apple or HTC/Android.

Its just like comparing an old WinPhone with the first generation of iPhone.

I was so dissapointed when Rim was pushing so many obsolete handsets out the door….

It's obvious what the problems are to anyone who's used an iphone or android device in the past year.

1) browsing sucks, has sucked, and will probably continue to suck. OS isn't horrible but could use some updates, we'll see if OS 6 is anything more than hype.
2)the app world is a joke. Selection is pitifiul, and not just the selection, but the prices. 20 and 30 dollar apps are the norm, whereas on other platforms that would be laughable. I think this is mostly a product of the core demographic, namely rich white guys who a) don't know what apps are, b) are willing to pay whatever for an app they determine they need.
3) Hardware sucks. Sorry, but having 256 mb for app storage is bullshit. Why has every other phone manufacturer figured out how to give you several gigs without the need for buying micro SD cards?

So what are we left with 1) first party software sucks; 2) Hardware sucks; 3) Third party software sucks.

Game set match. if RIM doesn't figure things out soon its only a matter of time before enterprise clients start leaving. The writing's on the wall…All it takes is one tech savvy CEO who really loves his android phone and doesn't want to have to carry around it and his blackberry to lose a company.