A week on from the much anticipated Blackberry 10 launch, there has been mixed reaction to the two new smartphones launched by Blackberry along with the new BB10 platform.
The omission of Blackberry Internet Service from the new BB10 smartphones (BIS will be limited to BlackBerry messenger usage) has been a topic of much discussion amongst consumers in Africa, more importantly the question is whether the Canadian smartphone manufacturer will be able to persuade Android and iOS users to switch.
Adam Leach, Principal Analyst at Ovum, said: “The BlackBerry 10 platform offers a differentiated user experience in today’s crowded and homogenous smartphone market. The Blackberry Z10 and Q10 will stand out from the Android masses and look distinct from Apple’s iPhone.
“The user experience of BlackBerry 10 introduces some nice new features, but importantly builds on BlackBerry’s UI heritage and therefore will certainly appeal to existing BlackBerry users. However, the challenge for the company will be to attract new users and those that have already moved to alternative smartphones.”
He further elaborated and echoed his colleague’s (Jan Dawson) sentiment before the launch when he said: “Ovum believes that despite being well-designed, Blackberry 10 platform, that will certainly attract short-term interest from existing users the company will struggle to appeal to a wider audience and in the long-term will become a niche player in the smartphone market.”
