RIM rumored to lay off 2,000 more workers soon

I've used a Galaxy Nexus for the last week or so, and my parents have iPhones. E-mails and notifications arrive on the Galaxy relatively quickly, I would say almost on par with the BlackBerry, with a very slight edge given to BlackBerry. To be honest, if RIM wants to maintain their existing BES/BIS infrastructure, they're going to have to give more compelling reasons than just push notifications, because it's a problem that is almost solved on other platforms. However, as a developer, to integrate the notifications into your own app, it's easiest on the BlackBerry, and more powerful. That may be good enough reason, especially for enterprises.

You are correct about one BES/BIS account only being able to be associated with one PIN. Remember, this is something that was developed nearly 10 years ago. They could never have foreseen the day when people would need multiple devices. Remember, 10+ years ago, convergence of devices was all the rage.

That said, it was a bit shameful that they couldn't make that change, but it is somewhat understandable. I think RIM didn't foresee the need for native PIM apps on the PlayBook, because they figured most everyone would just use web-based clients if necessary. I'll be frank, I have a BlackBerry, so I used the Bridge apps, and I continue to use them.

The multiple PIN situation is, I believe, solved. If you look at the SDK documentation, there are numerous references to PPIDs and PINs. Basically, a user has one PPID which is unique to them, but they can have multiple PINs, each representing a different device.

I've tried the Cascades SDK, and I do have a Dev Alpha. The Dev Alpha is just a smaller and faster PlayBook, with a bunch of new APIs added and a cell radio (I'm simplifying of course). It's a great little device that has made development much easier. That said, a lot of us are really looking forward to OS updates as there are a bunch of niggling quirks. It's very alpha...

I've tried the Cascades SDK, but I haven't done much work with it because I've been focusing on PlayBook apps right now using Qt. Actually, Cascades is built on Qt, and it's wonderful to work with. It truly makes development quick, fun, and easy. You can make some beautiful apps.

Actually, a friend and I have just finished porting PySide to the PlayBook, so you can use Qt in Python. Yes, you can write native Python apps on the PlayBook and the Dev Alpha. It is NOT officially supported, but it is there. I've taken advantage of this in my own apps.

This post is already quite long, so I won't get into the advantages of QNX over iOS or Android. To be frank, my RTOS course was over 6 years ago, and I'm by no means an expert. I would likely botch the discussion.

>Here's my prediction, Blackberry 10 devices will turn out to be beautiful, well-made and generally pretty darn good annnnnnnnd it won't make a lick of a difference. I don't see RIM breaking the momentum of Apple and Google.

I will agree with you and say that RIM's problem has never been engineering prowess. I would say that RIM makes better hardware than Google's OEMs or Apple. Just put a Bold 9900 beside a Galaxy Nexus or an iPhone. It really holds its own, and I'd say it's better. RIM's problem has always been a) software (which they're fixing b) marketing.

OH GOD HAS THE MARKETING BEEN BAD! Atrocious. I don't have answers on this front, but Apple has everyone beat in this regard. They are the trend setters, not the trend followers. Google can't even compete with them in this regard.

But Apple's momentum HAS been broken. Fact is, there are more Android handsets being sold than iPhones. Is it because Android is a better product? People feel the iPhone 4S is old? I have no clue, I'm not an expert at all. I'm just saying, it is possible to beat them. Not easy, but no impossible. And the fact is, consumers are fickle creatures. They'll go wherever the next best thing is. It may be RIM that day when they sign a new contract. And RIM can easily lose that the next time around.

But if RIM can nail the marketing, they stand a chance.

>How so? In hindsight, it did nothing for them. Playbook, though a pretty good tablet, was a financial failure, and it's taking them until Q4 2012 to re-purpose QNX to phones - in the meantime they are hemorrhaging money, users who are switching to iOS and Android, and developers who don't want to support the current, and dead BB7 platform. It looks like they should have instead jumped on Android bandwagon and gave Samsung a run for its money.

You need to understand that QNX was purpose built to run on embedded platforms. CNC machines, medical devices, automobiles, you name it, it likely runs QNX today. Re-purposing it into a mobile platform for the 2010s and 2020s is not an easy move, but it's a sound one. Moreover, RIM is building it with different goals in mind. To this date, BlackBerry is still the only platform lauded by the US government for its secure mobile needs. RIM would like to maintain that.

And I'm not going to be as eloquent here: Jumping on the Android bandwagon is the stupidest fucking choice any company can make right now, and I'm not even going to detail why. Google it yourself.