How to Improve the BlackBerry

RIM dominates in sales, but the iPhone has big advantages
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2009 3:00 PM CDT
How to Improve the BlackBerry
In this photo taken Monday, May 4, 2009, a customer holds up her Apple iPhone, right, which is shown next to a Blackberry Curve, left, at a Best Buy in Mountain View, Calif.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The iPhone has become a cultural phenomenon, but RIM sells way more units than Apple does. Why, then, does the BlackBerry have such obvious flaws? Wired lists five improvements RIM needs to make:

  1. Browser. The web looks much the same on an iPhone or Palm Pre as it does on a PC. But the BlackBerry presents a bare-bones mobile version of most websites—and is slow, to boot.
  2. Touchscreen. The BlackBerry Storm's "clickable" screen was supposed to feel like a real keypad, but it just made typing slower.

  1. Apps. RIM controls 56% of the US smartphone market, but the BlackBerry's application marketplace has 2,322 programs for sale, compared with 70,000 in Apple's App Store. RIM needs to get real about courting developers.
  2. Wi-Fi. The BlackBerry Storm and Tour work with the 3G network but don't have Wi-Fi connectivity. Note to RIM: users don't like arbitrary restrictions.
  3. Desktop software. The interface runs only on PCs, is notoriously buggy, and is difficult to set up. ITunes, meanwhile, seamlessly integrates with the iPhone.
(More RIM stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X