BB10, Z10 and Q10: why they won't save BlackBerry
BlackBerry, BlackBerry, BlackBerry â€" that's probably all your tech news feed has been pushing at you all day. BB10, the Q10, the Z10: BlackBerry has come in swinging with the hopes that when the final bell rings, it'll still be standing, rather than flat on the canvas. Sadly, it is almost definitely a swing and miss. If you read the coverage, the praise for both hardware and software has been constantly tempered by one refrain: this is great for a BlackBerry. It's somewhere between condescending and damning with faint praise â€" BlackBerry gets a pat on the back for doing its gosh-darn hardest and not sucking. One attendee at the launch in New York even offered this high praise of the Z10: "It's easy to forget that you're using a BlackBerry". Plenty of phone operating systems haven't sucked. The Nokia N9 was a combination of breath-taking hardware and clean, concise and above all eminently usable OS in the form of MeeGo. Windows Phone is also a good OS and it has still failed to take any real market share away from Android and Apple since its 2010 debut.One of the big issues is that BlackBerry isn't offering anything real that can't be found on other platforms. In the past couple of years, nobody has looked down at their iPhone and thought "this just doesn't do what my BlackBerry did". Same for Android. BlackBerry's core concept that it was the phone for business people has fallen by the wayside â€" there's just no longer that requirement to have a split between a work phone and a personal phone.There's no real "killer app" from any of BlackBerry's offerings. Our US colleague Jessica Dolcourt said of BB10 that "happy Android and iOS users won't find a reason to switch" â€" and at this late stage in the game, switching is what had to happen for BlackBerry to climb back up the charts and give Apple and Android cause to get nervous. There are two key points that seem to best illustrate what BlackBerry has done wrong. One is the fact that the Q10 â€" the phone with the physical keyboard â€" is launching after the full touchscreen Z10.BlackBerry needed to take a leaf from its own marketing collateral and "be bold" in this instance. A keyboard phone was the closest thing BlackBerry had to that aforementioned "killer app" â€" a genuine point of difference from every single other phone around today. More than that, it would have sent a clear signal back to old users that this was a true BlackBerry. That underneath the new OS and shiny hardware was the heart and soul that once made BlackBerry the cult device it was. The other is apps. Much has been made of the 70,000 apps that will be available at launch. It's not enough. Not compared to Google Play and the iTunes App Store. And where are the incentives to get devs building and creating for a third platform? If they're barely willing to do it with Windows despite all of that Microsoft money, why will they do it for BlackBerry?In fact, they're barely even doing it for BlackBerry now â€" it's been hardly mentioned in all the hoopla, but 40 per cent of those 70,000 apps are just Android apps with a different hat on. They're not native for BB10.As we said yesterday, a phone ecosystem lives and dies on its apps these days, and this seems to put BlackBerry in intensive care already. If it were 2010 or even 2011, then we might be having a different conversation. But it's not and we aren't. BlackBerry will get some solid buzz from this, and curious customers will give the new handsets a little love, but barring an absolute left-field miracle, it'll be a blip for the company. At the end of the day, BlackBerry can hold its head up and say that it went down swinging, that it went down with a bang, not a whimper â€" but, sadly, it's still definitely going down.
Pandora, Spotify top ranking of music apps -- so where's Beats-
Pandora, Spotify top ranking of music apps -- so where's Beats?
New music-app rankings put Pandora and Spotify at the top of the charts, but go a little lower in the standings and things get interesting. App Annie, an analytics company that monitors and reports on app downloads and revenue, released on Wednesday lists of the top US apps in the Google Play store and Apple's App Store, the primary shops for apps on the two biggest operating systems for smartphones. For both downloads and revenue in September, Pandora and Spotify come out No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. But players like Beats Music are relatively low in the listing for top apps by downloads. Beats placed ninth, below iHeartRadio, SoundCloud and Apple's own GarageBand. App AnnieGiven that Apple bought Beats for $3 billion in a high-profile deal earlier this year, that may come as a surprise. With 250,000 subscribers as of May, after four months operating with a high-profile partnership with AT&T, versus Spotify's 10 million paying members, it may not be that surprising that Beats is ranked so low. Beats may not continue long in its current form, as Apple is widely believed to be integrating its streaming service into iTunes next year. The lower download ranking may also reflect the fact that Beats Music has no free, ad-supported model; people must pay for the service to use it at all. Rivals like Pandora and Spotify have the option of listening free with commercials on mobile devices.Despite Beats' lower ranking by downloads, it is relatively high for revenue, at No. 3. App Annie's revenue measurements include payments made to download an app and payments made within the app itself but don't capture revenue from sources like advertising.Marcos Sanchez, App Annie's vice president of global corporate communications, said the firm has observed Apple-related apps perform well on revenue elsewhere. "We have seen consistently in the US for sure that folks on the Apple platform tend to monetize better," he said. "It's a premium product, it's not cheap. You're probably going to have a demographic with more to spend." The rankings come from App Annie Intelligence, analytics data based on estimates calculated with the company's proprietary algorithm. The algorithm uses data from App Annie's more than 55,000 analytics users and provides estimates on absolute download and revenue numbers.Other big money-makers that may come as a surprise are music "creation" apps Magic Piano and Sing Karaoke by Smule. Though perhaps overlooked amid the fervor over streaming-music listening services, Smule has been rapidly increasing its number of users and revenue."We noticed that [music creation apps] are becoming increasingly popular, and people are starting to use them more," Sanchez said. "This is probably a reflection of how games have always been an enormous seller in apps...Music creation can almost mimic games."Plus, he said, "everyone wants to be rock star."
New music-app rankings put Pandora and Spotify at the top of the charts, but go a little lower in the standings and things get interesting. App Annie, an analytics company that monitors and reports on app downloads and revenue, released on Wednesday lists of the top US apps in the Google Play store and Apple's App Store, the primary shops for apps on the two biggest operating systems for smartphones. For both downloads and revenue in September, Pandora and Spotify come out No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. But players like Beats Music are relatively low in the listing for top apps by downloads. Beats placed ninth, below iHeartRadio, SoundCloud and Apple's own GarageBand. App AnnieGiven that Apple bought Beats for $3 billion in a high-profile deal earlier this year, that may come as a surprise. With 250,000 subscribers as of May, after four months operating with a high-profile partnership with AT&T, versus Spotify's 10 million paying members, it may not be that surprising that Beats is ranked so low. Beats may not continue long in its current form, as Apple is widely believed to be integrating its streaming service into iTunes next year. The lower download ranking may also reflect the fact that Beats Music has no free, ad-supported model; people must pay for the service to use it at all. Rivals like Pandora and Spotify have the option of listening free with commercials on mobile devices.Despite Beats' lower ranking by downloads, it is relatively high for revenue, at No. 3. App Annie's revenue measurements include payments made to download an app and payments made within the app itself but don't capture revenue from sources like advertising.Marcos Sanchez, App Annie's vice president of global corporate communications, said the firm has observed Apple-related apps perform well on revenue elsewhere. "We have seen consistently in the US for sure that folks on the Apple platform tend to monetize better," he said. "It's a premium product, it's not cheap. You're probably going to have a demographic with more to spend." The rankings come from App Annie Intelligence, analytics data based on estimates calculated with the company's proprietary algorithm. The algorithm uses data from App Annie's more than 55,000 analytics users and provides estimates on absolute download and revenue numbers.Other big money-makers that may come as a surprise are music "creation" apps Magic Piano and Sing Karaoke by Smule. Though perhaps overlooked amid the fervor over streaming-music listening services, Smule has been rapidly increasing its number of users and revenue."We noticed that [music creation apps] are becoming increasingly popular, and people are starting to use them more," Sanchez said. "This is probably a reflection of how games have always been an enormous seller in apps...Music creation can almost mimic games."Plus, he said, "everyone wants to be rock star."
Crave giveaway- Philips Fidelio SoundRing wireless speaker
Crave giveaway: Philips Fidelio SoundRing wireless speaker
Editor's note: Since CNET comments were disabled for several days due to site maintenance, we have extended the deadline for this giveaway to 12 p.m. ET on Friday, March 14, 2014.Congratulations to Kenneth T. of Coldwater, Mich., for winning an amplified HDTV antenna from Winegard in last week's giveaway. This week's prize will have you going 'round in circles -- in a good way.We're offering up a Philips Fidelio SoundRing DS3881W portable wireless AirPlay speaker, which, as the name suggests, features a circular design. And a striking one at that. Related storiesCNET's review of the Philips Fidelio SoundRing DS3881W AirPlay, in case you need a refresher, is a wireless-streaming feature found on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or any Mac or Windows PC running iTunes. The SoundRing offers what Philips calls a "360-degree surround-sound effect," and in his CNET review, David Carnoy reports that it exudes "superior sound."The 16-watt speaker measures 7.8 inches at its widest and weighs 3.3 pounds. It has a built-in rechargeable battery and a USB port for charging smartphones. Normally, this speaker would run you $299.99, but this is your chance to get one for zilch, nada, bupkis. How do you go about doing that? Our rulemakers have made a few rules, as rulemakers do, so please read carefully.Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful, it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated. Leave only one comment. You may enter for this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Philips Fidelio SoundRing DS3881W, with a retail value of $299.99.If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. The winner must respond within three days of the end of the sweepstakes. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.Entries can be submitted until 12 p.m. ET on Friday, March 14.And here's the disclaimer that our legal department said we had to include (sorry for the caps, but rules are rules):NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU HAVE NOT YET WON. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OLD OR AGE OF MAJORITY, WHICHEVER IS OLDER IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, March 10, 2014. See official rules for details.Good luck.
Editor's note: Since CNET comments were disabled for several days due to site maintenance, we have extended the deadline for this giveaway to 12 p.m. ET on Friday, March 14, 2014.Congratulations to Kenneth T. of Coldwater, Mich., for winning an amplified HDTV antenna from Winegard in last week's giveaway. This week's prize will have you going 'round in circles -- in a good way.We're offering up a Philips Fidelio SoundRing DS3881W portable wireless AirPlay speaker, which, as the name suggests, features a circular design. And a striking one at that. Related storiesCNET's review of the Philips Fidelio SoundRing DS3881W AirPlay, in case you need a refresher, is a wireless-streaming feature found on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or any Mac or Windows PC running iTunes. The SoundRing offers what Philips calls a "360-degree surround-sound effect," and in his CNET review, David Carnoy reports that it exudes "superior sound."The 16-watt speaker measures 7.8 inches at its widest and weighs 3.3 pounds. It has a built-in rechargeable battery and a USB port for charging smartphones. Normally, this speaker would run you $299.99, but this is your chance to get one for zilch, nada, bupkis. How do you go about doing that? Our rulemakers have made a few rules, as rulemakers do, so please read carefully.Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful, it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated. Leave only one comment. You may enter for this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Philips Fidelio SoundRing DS3881W, with a retail value of $299.99.If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. The winner must respond within three days of the end of the sweepstakes. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.Entries can be submitted until 12 p.m. ET on Friday, March 14.And here's the disclaimer that our legal department said we had to include (sorry for the caps, but rules are rules):NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU HAVE NOT YET WON. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OLD OR AGE OF MAJORITY, WHICHEVER IS OLDER IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, March 10, 2014. See official rules for details.Good luck.
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