BlackBerry WES 2010 - The Inside Scoop!

REGARD had a great trip to Orlando for BlackBerry WES 2010 and we are excited to be back in Santa Monica armed with a whole slew of new tips, tricks and tools that we can't wait to implement for you...

RIM's executives shared a number of inspiring announcements with us regarding BlackBerry 6.0 OS, BlackBerry App World 2.0, new device models and the BlackBerry Super App Challenge.  REGARD is very excited about the myriad possibilities to construct "Super Apps" for the our consumer and enterprise customers!

SUPER APPS: THE CHALLENGE
REGARD always loves a good challenge so we were thrilled to learn about RIM's 2010 BlackBerry Super Apps Developer Challenge with over $1.5 million in prizing!

Super Apps must deliver an engaging experiences for BlackBerry users by offering a seamless, integrated, contextualized and efficient UI. For example, Super Apps are always-on running in the background and listening for specific events, waiting for inbound data and triggering notifications. Super Apps are always-connected and should be tightly integrated with native apps. Using BlackBerry's open API to deliver even more customizable options than before, Super Apps can add custom menu items and data to the message list (or inbox), address book and calendar that can be easily accessed with just one click.

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis astutely explained that the future success of mobile platforms will rest on quality saying, "It's who has the best apps, not the most."

REGARD has always been committed to providing our customers with the best quality solutions. We are eager to apply our knowledge to construct ground-breaking Super Apps that are stickier and intuitive and make users more efficient, socially connected and overall better looking ;-)  Contact REGARD today to find out how you can be part of RIM's 2010 BlackBerry Super Apps Developer Challenge with a variety of prizes valued as high as $85,000.

BlackBerry 6.0 OS
RIM revealed a sneak peek of BlackBerry 6.0 and highlighted a variety of new features that will improve functionality, productivity and user experience. They've revamped the homescreen and enriched the UI with updated native apps, universal search features, pull down notifications and a new media and music organizer. Another key addition is RIM's WebKit rendering engine which speeds up web browsing and incorporates multi-touch, tabbed browsing and a new favorites system. Aesthetic changes like inertial scrolling and elastic menus throughout polish off RIM's menu of new offerings.

BlackBerry App World 2.0
RIM unveiled its plan for the rejuvenated BlackBerry App World 2.0 (BAW) storefront for buying and downloading software applications which promises to optimize its users' ability to purchase and experience BlackBerry apps. BAW 2.0 provides purchasing freedom with host of new payment options including microtransactions and subscription capabilities that enable developers to capitalize on flexible pricing strategies to maximize their revenue. RIM also promised that they are close to offering carrier and credit card billing options in addition to their current PayPal payment system. The more efficient BAW 2.0 will be Wi-Fi capable, adds account management, search improvements and allows for more enterprise apps in the catalog. Best of all, App World will soon come preloaded on the home screen of all BlackBerry models shipping with version 5.0 or above.

With new ways to monetize, promote and optimize your mobile campaign there has never been a better time to extend your business into the BlackBerry mobile space. Now is your chance to launch your mobile apps to build your mobile reputation before the market becomes flooded with your competition. Be sure you find a trusted BlackBerry Alliance Partner that has stood the test of time to create high-quality, profit-producing apps to improve productivity, save time and increase revenue. Rely on longstanding BlackBerry relationships to help you strategically promote your brand and make a huge impact in the mobile ecosystem.

NEW BLACKBERRY DEVICE MODELS
Slimmer,sleeker, updated and upgraded - the newest devices on the BlackBerry block promise more bells and whistles than ever while maintaining BlackBerry's commitment to superior quality and functionality.

RIM announced the launch of the Blackberry Bold 9650 and the Blackberry Pearl 9100 and 9105. The Bold takes the Tour's place and replaces the dated trackball with an optical pad to easily navigate the 2.4 inch, 480 x 360 resolution display. Additionally, the memory has been doubled from 256MB to 512MB, it supports 3G speeds, has WiFi capabilities and is the first BlackBerry to offer OpenGL support for 3D graphics. Wow!

Not to be outdone, both Pearl devices will get 3G and 802.11 N WiFi support, GPS capabilities, 256MB of flash memory and microSDHC support. They will both be powered by a 624MHz processor. The 9100 retains the slim SureType keypad while the 9105 gets a traditional keypad.

Be the first to launch high-quality, user-friendly, integrated apps for the hot new BlackBerry devices that utilize all their updated capabilities.Partner with a company like REGARD Venture Solutions and be among the first to develop Super Apps - completely integrated, seamless and efficient apps that take your brand to a whole new level. We know what it takes to WIN THE CHALLENGE!  REGARD can increase your brand exposure and set you apart from the competition!

WES 2007

The annual “BlackBerry Lovefest” (formally known as RIM’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium or “WES”) draws to a close today in Orlando Florida. If the movement in RIMM stock price this week is any indicator, it was a very successful show for RIM.

Having now attended all six WES events, I’d say this year had an especially unique blend of old and new faces with many of the veteran BlackBerry Alliance Partners opting to send smaller teams and, in many cases, not exhibiting on the showcase floor. With overflowing enthusiasm, the new kids on the block sent large teams to explain to the BlackBerry faithful how their new product or service is a little bit better than the competitor across the floor.

RIM filled up any idle booth space advertising their new “Top Shelf” professional services, training and accessory offerings. These offerings have been years in the coming and will effectively serve the largest customers in North America. These teams are intentionally lean to keep overhead down with the tradeoff being scalability.

The prevailing theme at WES was “BlackBerry is not just for business anymore…it is an integral part of your personal life.” Based on the number of people walking around the show at all hours of the day and night frozen in the "BlackBerry Prayer" stance, I would have to agree.

I was very encouraged that the other prevalent theme was “wireless applications.” This was true among RIM, the carriers and customers alike. Even Jim Belushi at the evening party used the term 2 or 3 times during his performance as did the Robin Wilson (lead singer of the Gin Blossoms) during the AT&T Wireless Party at the House of Blues.

New BlackBerry Smartphones

This consumer focused impression perfectly introduced the BlackBerry 8300 or “Curve”. This sexy little number morphs the QWERTY keyboard with many of the features that made the Pearl such a winner. The Curve gets an upgraded 2 Megapixel camera, a stereo headset jack, stereo Bluetooth A2DP capability and spell checker. To round out the multimedia offering, more formats will be supported (i.e. WMA files) and Roxio for BlackBerry will be provided on the desktop to manage all the pix, movies & music files.

The other exciting smartphone announcement was the BlackBerry 8830 for US based Verizon Wireless and Sprint. This little beauty will be the first of its kind offering seamless international roaming on GSM/GPRS while connecting via the CDMA/1x/EVDO antenna when in the US.

BlackBerry Software Roadmap

As a natural evolution, RIM continues to enhance the handheld and server side software marginalizing the ISV Alliance Partner offerings. Many thrifty ISVs were whispering among their colleagues as RIM announce their future intension to bake-in monitoring, roles based security, .Net and Eclipse snap-in for developers and a number of other features under partner NDA.

After years of trying to downplay the need for the Desktop Manager, it is BACK! It will become the mechanism to manage multimedia files on the BlackBerry family of smartphones.

ISV Partner Products and Services

There were few products and services that I would categorize as new or revolutionary. Many things that one would naturally expect to be built were now being demoed. There were RSS readers, geo positioning & emergency contacts and the like. Most were varying twists on one of the following themes: CRM, Dispatch, Geo-tracking / mapping / directions, business process improvement, content / document management, voice recognition, IT admin tools (monitoring / remote control / security / failover), software "middleware" platforms and 31 flavors of professional and hosted services.

I saw many strong and valuable products for customers to solve unique problems. Of the products that I reviewed, I found the following to be most memorable.

GPS Snitch offers BlackBerry client for 8800 (or GPS puck) that reports back via the cellular data network the precise location of the device. Projecting forward, the service could be used not only for monitoring, but also for social networking purposes. eTrace is an on-demand enterprise dispatch service based on the same technology. Both products can monitor and alert users if a driver is speeding or not where they should be.

Chalk Mobile’s Content Management Solution showed very well. From a BlackBerry 8800, Chalk showed a technician’s training demo complete with audio and video (stored on MicroSD not streaming) with step by step instructions and a test at the end of each section. The results were tracked back at the server. The Chalk demo was the best produced at the show.

REGARD’s R-Approval v3.0 product which enables traveling managers to receive approval requests for timecards, expense reports, purchase requisition and the like into a unique approval inbox received a lot of interests from tier 2 US carriers and tier 1 international carriers. The goal of this carrier class is to find sticky solutions that are easy to install, support and deliver high utility out-of-the-box.

WES Summary

Year after year RIM continues to produce a high quality show that continues to grow among the customers, partners and carriers internationally. The momentum of the Eco-System they have built is very compelling and should be for some time to come.

I remember the first meeting I took with RIM in 1998 they told me they felt they had an 18 month lead on their nearest competition. I believe they continue to extend that lead as they push into more international markets.