John Chen, chairman and CEO of Blackberry Ltd., recently
wrote a letter on net neutrality. He wants developers to make applications
compatible with all platforms.
Perhaps the motivation for this letter is the fact that as
of July 2014, Blackberry is in last place among the leading providers of apps.
It offers a mere 130,000 apps, compared to 1.3 million and 1.2 million apps
available to Android and Apple users respectively (source: Statista).
Although I am one for leveling the playing field and
ensuring everyone has a fair shake in life, this just does not feel right to
me. Blackberry (or Research In Motion, as it was known back then) was at the
top of its game until Apple introduced its smartphone in 2007. They had their
chance to respond and they blew it.
I love shiny, new things but what I love even more is
choice. App developers should not be forced to develop for every single
platform out there. Many are independent developers and the start-up costs
would be prohibitive. According to Apps Unloaded, simple apps cost between
$4-10K, moderate apps between $50-100K, and complex apps can run $150K+ to
develop….per platform.
You get the picture. Developing for two platforms costs
twice as much, three platforms is triple the cost, and so forth. How could the
little guy survive?
Today, Blackberry is a shadow of its former self, still
trying to regain market share it lost. They have introduced the Passport,
emphasizing its large screen size and new keyboard design. According to The Guardian, sales are below expectations and so Blackberry must
find another way to survive. Improving their product offerings, engaging with
and creating more loyal customers, converting other smartphone users, and
marketing to a specific segment of the population are examples of ways to
increase market share. Whining about the lack of apps available on your
platform and lobbying for changes in legislation is not.
Pull up your bootstraps, Blackberry. Unlike the movie Field of Dreams, if you build it, they* might not
necessarily come.
*potential customers
Sources:
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