Is BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) a "Killer App?"

Doctor friends always complain about those annoying people at a cocktail parties with the shoulder that hurts. As it turns out, being a Smartphone guru these days may actually be a larger target to annoy. My brother's (an anesthesiologist) favorite answer is, “You should see a doctor about that!” Unlike a doctor, the advice of a Smartphone geek like me carries no liability exposure, so I can't wiggle out of “Which Smartphone is be best for me?” so easily.

After cover what they like and hate about their current Smartphone, the conversations now always turns to apps. Apps have long been my passion, and, yes, way before “mobile apps.” In fact, I gave a speech to an MBA class some years ago about “Killer Apps” and the characteristic that put an app in that category. The acid test that undeniably make for a “Killer App” is… “Would you buy a particular piece of hardware for the purpose of running that app?” The second criteria is similar but subtly different: “If not for that app, would the utility you get from the hardware you purchased be significantly diminished?”

In a number of recent conversation about selecting a new Smartphone, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) was listed as a favorite app. Since BBM relies on the unique BlackBerry 8 character PIN number and the BlackBerry NOC, it is not available on other Smartphones. This caught my attention because in many conversations, the BBM app was turned out to be the pivotal factor for why someone selected BlackBerry over iPhone. In one case, I asked a friend if he was still seeing the same girl. He replied, “it’s strange, once she got an iPhone, we didn’t chat like we did over BBM!” Which in and of itself could make for a good mental health blog entry.

So for those that are unfamiliar with BBM, essentially it is an instant messenger from any BlackBerry in the world to any other BlackBerry in the world free for no additional charge. That is, regardless of if you’re and enterprise user or using consumer Gmail user, you can connect via BBM. Unlike SMS text message, BBM operates like a peer-to-peer IM session. Users can exchange text messages, pictures, short voice notes, files, and even hold a conference (like a chat room). By far my favorite feature of BBM is the check mark with the little “D” denoting the message has been positively delivered to the recipient.

Also, in these frugal times, especially for international communication, BBM provides substantial cost savings over voice of SMS conversations.

Considerations Before Building the Next Killer Mobile App

When brands /customers approach REGARD to build a mobile app for them, we are often aksed ..."Would you recommend first developing for iPhone, BlackBerry or Android?"  Our reply always depends on their goals.  That said, we tell them to consider these statistics from the 3 major App Stores:

• 100,000+ iPhone Apps
• 14,000+ Android Apps
• 4,000+ BlackBerry Apps

Brands must consider how well their audiance aligns with the demographic of the various Smartphone products.  Second, how likely is the Smartphone user to find your app among the noise?  I personally have never been a fan of "build it and they will come" ...rather... "Market it and they will come!"

Next consideration is pricing strategy!  As I pointed out in my post for BlackBerry Cool "Conclusions from selling apps..." investing in developing an app is only the beginning of the investment.  You need to consider also the following:

• Pricing Strategy (Free, Free to Premium, Try & Buy or Buy only)
  
• Marketing & Social Media Strategy 
• Planned enhancements (Roadmap)
  
• and, often overlooked, Support
  

All of these factors play into the decision to build a mobile app.  Not that you can't change course once underway, but you must have a plan before you jump on the bandwagon or you the chances of a succcess story in the Mobile App Gold Rush are greatly diminished.

REGARD Releases R-Vintage Lookup for BlackBerry in time for WES 2009

Realizing it is the wrong season for a new vintage release (at least in California,) REGARD today released R-Vintage Lookup for BlackBerry. (Click from BlackBerry Browser to download)

Wine lovers will be able to quickly access vintage ratings by country, region and varietal right from their Smartphone.

The FREE app will be available to BlackBerry 4.2 and above Smartphone users via the new BlackBerry App World.

A premium version will be released in coming weeks with additional features that wine enthusiasts will consume faster than a 1997 Napa Cab. The premium version will be priced well below what a wine lover would pay for a single glass at any major city nightclub.

Additional "R-App" utilities are in the works and will be released by REGARD in the coming months.

Facebook for BlackBerry 1.5

Yesterday, Research in Motion officially released Facebook for BlackBerry 1.5 as the upgrade to v1.2. This has been a long time coming as I was getting really tired of the year long "Smack-Talk" I have endured from my iPhone zealot friends.

There are two new features that alone make it worth the upgrade from 1.2 to 1.5. First, the ability to comment on my status and the status of friends....FINALLY! I find the order in which the comments display to be slightly confusing, but it works and it gives me the immediacy of mobile functionality I have been renowned for since 1998 (When I first started using the BlackBerry.)

The second key feature is my favorite! The integration of Facebook notices into the Message List. RIM has taken what had become an annoyance and made it an enhancement. Now from my regular Message List, I can click on a Facebook notice and it drops me right into the Facebook app for BlackBerry. I have noticed a little processing delay on my BOLD when first bringing up the message, it take a few seconds of processing time to figure itself out.

There have been some nice enhancement so the "Friends" interface allowing you to direct dial from facebook profile information or to connect and add Facebook contacts with you Address Book.

Some basic "look and feel" touches add sexiness such as the screen wipe and auto refresh, but those are just window dressing and don't really add much to the features. I would have preferred RIM spend that time on selecting Categories for new friend requests or adding comments to Notes which didn't make it in this release. Hey...but what do you want for free?

I was a little skeptical of a few of the other integration features between Facebook and my enterprise calendar and contacts. In fact the BlackBerry Contacts Application checkbox disclaimer reads "enabling this feature will periodically send copies of your BlackBerry device contacts (thus my Outlook contacts) to Facebook, Inc...." I'm actually OK with this so far, because I do this with Plaxo as well. BUT THEN ... it goes on to say "...and you acknowledge that access to this data will no longer be subject to your and your Facebook Friend's privacy settings once stored on your BlackBerry device"

HOLD THE PHONE (no pun intended)!!

The new Facebook app for BlackBerry is going to circumvent my privacy setting and those of my Facebook friends? This gave me pause...having worked with RIM as a partner of a dozen years and knowing their infamous legal department...how did THIS sneak through the cracks?

Upon further inspection, this is no different than any other Facebook app...RIM is just pointing out what millions of Facebook users have fully understand....Every time you allow a Facebook app to access your profile, your information and that of your network of friends is being downloaded into another company's database. Facebook ceases to have any control whatsoever over that data from that point forward. In the case of the BlackBerry app, the data is going into the persistent data store of MY BlackBerry and RIM is telling me that they and Facebook are no longer responsible for the security of that data. I am far more comfortable and have now rechecked the "BlackBerry Contacts application." I just hope it doesn't start sending out unbeknownst to me and making Facebook Friend requests!