RIM CEO on BlackBerry Storm: "nobody gets it perfect out the door"

If there's one two things we love, it's hearing RIM's own Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis open their gaping traps. While the former was sufficiently panned back in January for exclaiming that buggy smartphone software was simply the "new reality," his partner in crime may have just done him one better. In a recent sit-down with Laptop Mag, Mike was specifically asked to address that aforementioned quote. His response? "That's our first touch product, and you know nobody gets it perfect out the door. You know other companies were having problems with their first releases." If you're struggling to translate that into layman speak, allow us: "Tough luck, early adopters!"

As the interview progressed, the co-CEO took the opportunity to snub Apple on its inability to get Push Email out early on, noting that BlackBerry OS has "constantly been underestimated" and was "designed to multitask from day one." He also stumbled all over himself when it came to speaking about the BlackBerry's web browser, stating that "by writing our browser in Java, that provides our CIOs and wireless managers the assurances they need, to allow the browser to access internal information at the same time it accesses external information." We've literally meditated on that for a solid half-hour, and we still have absolutely zero idea what it means in English. Nevertheless, the whole thing is a pretty great -- if not comical -- read, so give it a look and share your colorful opinions in comments below.

[andy @ Apr 16th 2009 8:13AM]

Storm is not so terrible, it's just not a great Blackberry and certainly not an iPhone. But you're still better off than you would be with an enV or other such "feature phone"

[spach1975 @ Apr 16th 2009 8:17AM]

Agreed

[mdscinto @ Apr 16th 2009 8:28AM]

So if it's not a blackberry or an iphone... what is it?

[superfresh @ Apr 16th 2009 8:37AM]

What's terrible is the shoddily painted red table that Engadget keeps shooting tech on. Please, for the love of cool gadgets, stop.

[P.A.C Man @ Apr 16th 2009 9:12AM]

Well, just to be fair to Apple, RIM didn't get their first smartphone right either. Go read an old review of the Blackberry 5810 back in 2002. People are complaining about the lack of a real keypad to dial numbers or a lack of a backlight for the screen or the lack of a speakerphone or microphone, which is very interesting because on the 5810 you had to use the headphones to speak. Sound familiar?

I even read a review with a guy saying, "Reasons not to consider the Blackberry outweigh the reasons to buy one. It is one of those devices that would be fun for a week, but then I know I would wind up going back to using my old cell phone just because the usability on my cell phone is easier."

Sound familiar? That's exactly what people were saying about the first iPhone, except ironically, many people were going back to using their Blackberries. Companies like RIM had years to get their smartphone right. It's pretty remarkable that Apple got so much right the first time. Remember that when people complain about the iPhone not having something silly like MMS.

[chris2 @ Apr 16th 2009 9:30AM]

A buddy of mine bought one at launch and I held my tongue after playing with the Storm for a half hour. Fast forward six months and he can't stand the thing. It wouldn't be quite so bad if not for the chintzy click screen...that "feature" is a kludgy piece of shit.

[skant @ Apr 16th 2009 9:55AM]

I god damn love mine...The difference is I've gone and updated the OS before offical releases. I'll have to agree that in it's original form it was just too buggy. I bang away accurate, lengthy emails all the time with ease and at very fast speeds. I never used a Blackberry before the Storm, I'm certainly sold on it.

That said, 90% of the people who comment on this thread, comment from an iPhone and have never used it. Even more annoying is the constant sarcastic tone of Darren believes is proper for a tech blog. If you were attempting to be funny, you failed. If you were attempting to sound like an arrogant prick on his high horse, you've succeeded.

[Tin @ Apr 16th 2009 10:36AM]

@skant

Many of us who comment here had tried it in the carrier store or bestbuy, etc. Two thing I hate about Blackberry storm is requiring to press the screen for every key (that's just plain stupid, I hope it is not the case anymore), the browser is still nowhere near safari/anroid for javascript/css intensive stuff.

[skant @ Apr 16th 2009 11:56AM]

@Tin I respect that you innately dislike the click feature, since that's more a personal preference (I'm assuming that you think that clicking just takes too much additional effort as opposed to a simple tap on a keyboard). I think it's brilliant and find that it's the exact reason why I type very quickly on it. The feedback really gives me a lot of faith in what I'm typing, I don't know how to better describe it. Surely there is an actual mechanical reasoning beind it. For me though I find the click screen to provide additional functionality in the form of a third dimension of usability. Without the screen being a button, differentiating between a selecting and typing would have to be done within the construct of tapping as in the iPhone or others (HTC, Onnia etc.). What Blackberry has done is seperate the two, leaving selecting to tapping the screen and dragging, while typing is exclusively done by clicking the screen. While I have to accept that some people will take longer to get use to typing through a floating screen-sized button, it was very intuitive for me and my mind just wrapped around the concept quite easily. This same seperation is used in the media player to bring up the timeline for instance, or the browser to bring up functionality buttons and to my disappointment I think RIMM hasn't done enough to exploit this seperation (and neither do I think they had it in mind when they initially developed it).

The execution hasn't been the best, and I've tried some handsets, where the screen felt significantly different than mine. Some the button barely felt present and with others it feels like it takes too much force to click. Next version has to be far more consistant and truly find that sweet spot. Rimm has made plenty of mistakes and it's easy to focus on them exclusively, but there's two sides to every story...well unless Darren is writing it.

[iphonerulez @ Apr 16th 2009 5:28PM]

RIMs been in the business of push notification for about seven years. It definitely should have gotten it right by now. Apple still has a few things to learn about smartphones but so far they're doing fairly well. A heck of a lot better than most smartphone companies.

[Ramsin @ Apr 16th 2009 8:16AM]

I would have went with "FIRST" but, good comment...

I think the guy looks like a total shit shoveler...Damn Canadians...

[andy @ Apr 16th 2009 10:59AM]

Aren't the Canadians afraid of dark?

[CraigJ @ Apr 16th 2009 12:37PM]

awww. Looks like the Canadian apple hater has a thin skin.

[CraigJ @ Apr 16th 2009 1:41PM]

Actually, I've just been made aware that "shit shoveler" is a derogatory anti-gay slur. I thought it was, you know, a hick cleaning out a barn or something...

Anyway, not cool.

[Freakin Ijit @ Apr 16th 2009 8:20AM]

>>> "...You know other companies were having problems with their first releases..."

An aside about Palm and the Pre?

Can't get much "first" than new underlying Linux OS, new Web-oriented next layer including cloud-based servers, new hardware!

[Shinigami @ Apr 16th 2009 8:32AM]

Nokia XM 5800. First Nokia touch-screen phone, fist symbian touch-screen phone. They spent their time perfecting the OS before the release, not after.

[Mark Anderson @ Apr 16th 2009 8:40AM]

Eh, I have a 5800 and Nokia didn't get everything right out of the box by any means.

That said, Nokia are speedy with firmware updates so it's very good now plus, of course, the 5800 is a test model for Nokia's future touchscreens which will continue to improve on an already excellent proposition.

[Jay @ Apr 16th 2009 9:40AM]

Or could be referring to the iPhone. Even the world's most perfect phone wasn't perfect out of the box

[KarlW @ Apr 16th 2009 10:18AM]

No, but compared to the Storm, the flaws were minor. And they were addressed in free software updates so that a year from original release, it would gain an Application Store. In another year, that store would be counting down to a billion apps served and a software release that addresses nearly all the software flaws. For free.

Blackberry got it entirely wrong (see: cliky screen), and haven't been very forthcoming with updates, instead telling early adopters to just eat it. You wouldn't have to do that with Apple, Android, or hopefully Palm,

[Jay @ Apr 16th 2009 10:33AM]

Wrong, the presence of the dozen or so leaked OSs is proof that RIM has not told their customers to eat it. They are working to get updates out (and they are if you're willing to get a leak) but its the CARRIERS (VZW) who determine what version is made official. And frankly, if VZW doesn't think something is good enough to be official, I'm fine with that because I'll get it and try it anyways. BTW: the newest leaked OSs are awesome. Not quite as smooth as the iPhone, but getting very close. As soon as RIM starts using OpenGL (maybe in 5.0) it will be as good as the jesusPhone

Also, whether the updates are official or leaked, they are free. The App Store is free as are some of the apps in it. Its up to the dev to decided if they want to sell the app or not, as it should be. It should never be up to RIM to decide if a product is good enough for someone to try and make money for their hard work.

[coolblue @ Apr 16th 2009 10:38AM]

@KarlW

The clicky screen makes the phone far easier to type on than the iphone in my opinion (I had stayed away from the iphone due to the typing but as soon as I had a go on the storm I went out and purchased one straight away). It has got a lot of bad press due to the slightly buggy OS and the fact that compared to a normal blackberry it is nowhere near as good to type on. However this is true of of any touch screen device.

The iphone may not have been exactly buggy from launch in os general terms but the failiure to implement any sort of cut and paste, video capture, multimedia messaging etc could be seen as worse than some small bugs.

The Storm is not perfect but it is the best phone I have ever had and does what I want it to do brilliantly. I love the GPS and the email functionality is excellent.

[kdfwagen @ Apr 16th 2009 8:23AM]

one does not spend millions on R&D and focus groups simply for them to say "no body gets it perfect out the door" in the end. i think its a cheap excuse.

also does anyone else see the irony in making a statement like then then bashing on apple for not getting things like push and multitasking "out the door" right away?

[dolapo10 @ Apr 16th 2009 8:32AM]

its a FOCUS GROUP to give them an idea what people want, it will not satisfy everybody not even the iphone can do that. He talked about the iphone as an example of a good product that didn't get everything right straight out of the box and not to bash it with insults. If that was the case Apple had the focus group and the whole world complaining and push email and copy and paste and it is only now they decided to make changes

[Prokanda @ Apr 16th 2009 10:06AM]

ahh.. could you be more of a cliche? VW and an Apple fan? Do you wear cardigans too? love expensive ikea crap?

anyway, maybe he wasn't just talking about push notifications:

cut/copy/paste
mms
shoddy camera
push/the entire mobile me set up
storage
battery life
signal
dropped calls
stereo bluetooth
several others....

the iphone wasn't perfect either... yet, apple had more time than any of the others to get it right. let's see, it hasn't quite been two years and we're JUST NOW getting excited about being able to use a "mobile multimedia do-it-all POWERHOUSE" that has stereo bluetooth, MMS, and cut/copy/paste.... on its third generation.

give me a break.

having said that, I will most likely go for my first iphone with the 3rd gen... but don't dilute yourself into thinking that apple is perfect. now, go back to driving your oil-leaking nazi-wagon.

[Félix @ Apr 16th 2009 10:25AM]

I don't see the irony since Push mail and Multitasking are well mastered technology and Apple just decided not to implement them.
So they could make a 3.0 OS and millions of fanboys would rush to the Apple store to buy their brand new iPhone with brand new OS which features PLAIN OLD stuff like Copy/paste, multitasking (but not really that's for the 4.0 OS) and Push Mail which have been offered by the other manufacturer for several years now.

[wako @ Apr 16th 2009 11:43AM]

@dolapo10



true Apple also didnt get it right straight out of the door either. But at the very least as soon as problems came up, they quickly released software patches. The Storm on the other hand patches trickle through every couple months and lets just hope to god that it will actually fix something or anything at all.

[Ryan @ Apr 16th 2009 12:43PM]

There has to be an understanding in "getting it right" and "getting it perfect". The Apple's and the RIM's and the Palm's do not want to put everything in their "first" attempts because, if they did, they would lose out on the upgrades.

So, I think they intentionally leave out certain functions in order to add them on later products to say that these later products have "new" technology. But that is no excuse for buggy-ness....

[Skeezle @ Apr 16th 2009 3:24PM]

"ahh.. could you be more of a cliche?" says the guy with the chin strap beard & oversized earring plug things! The irony!
Bet you have a ton of stupid tattoos too!

[Prokanda @ Apr 17th 2009 8:16AM]

@skeezle

and what cliche are you referring to about me? I don't look good with a goatee and I can't shave my whole face every day or I get razor bumps.. not to mention, I think it looks good on me. And so what about my "plugs"?

Your name is "skeezle" and you have a picture from A Clockwork Orange on your profile.. how very original of you as well. At least I have the balls to come up with an original name and have my real picture on my posts.


....but 'ultra-violence', raping a housewife, and beating up old homeless men is so much better. Nice movie character to represent yourself by. Go back to your mother's basement, child.

[Ramsin @ Apr 16th 2009 8:24AM]

Not to turn this to a palm discussion, but they couldn't get their FIRST os correct...I wouldn't buy the pre if you paid me to.

And, the storm does indeed suck....pretty badly...

[Freakin Ijit @ Apr 16th 2009 9:05AM]

I certainly wouldn't buy it for about 6 break-the-software/hardware-in-REAL-WORLD-use months (*); assuming the many competitors have been sitting on their hands and don't come out with something equally (or more!) interesting, I'd consider it.

(*) Palm has mentioned the "scalability" of their web servers (remember, WebOS is aimed at offloading functionality/data to the Web and that means Palm's/Sprint's web servers as a starting point) but I'd bet they haven't tried 50,000 to 100,000 simultaneous accesses in a real-world test!

[Rufo Sanchez @ Apr 16th 2009 8:25AM]

Yeah, that first iPhone was such a complete disaster.

[Mark Anderson @ Apr 16th 2009 8:28AM]

It sure wasn't perfect though, was it?

As for the Storm, that was a disaster.

[Daryl @ Apr 16th 2009 11:02AM]

how so? The first iPhone is exactly the same as the iPhone 3G minus the 3G and GPS, WIFI and Edge make the device very usable and the core location technology it uses feels like GPS. The original software is still leaps ahead of anything on the market.

[Brian @ Apr 16th 2009 11:25AM]

hmm, 1 very large thing

NO APPS
At that point in time, the iphone was just any other feature phone except that it had a good media player. Hell, it was a crap phone, and it had no folders in the mail app. The texting could be done in landscape, one of the touted features of the phone. Sometimes, you just have to face it that the iphone SUCKED at launch.

[Squid7085 @ Apr 16th 2009 12:12PM]

The "success" of a device at launch is determined on how many people wanted one and how many sold. The original iPhone, despite having a very limited feature set, sold more than many other phones that were on paper much better. I would say Apple hit a slam dunk with their FIRST try on a phone. Not to mention all the upgrades you would have, and still will receive if you have an original iPhone. How many other phones can you buy two years ago and still be getting upgrades that add many features.

I agree that the original iPhone was very much lacking, I had mine jailbroken within the first week. But to dismiss the iPhone is just plain silly. You could have the suckiest piece of crap, but if it becomes the number one selling device, it is a complete success. And on top of that it was at a very high price point.

[CJ @ Apr 16th 2009 7:50PM]

The only reason Apple hit a 'slam dunk' with the first generation iPhone is that it a) Marketed the damn thing more heavily (even before it's official announcement) than any other device I've seen, and b) OMG!!!!11! It's an iPod and a Phone, AT THE SAME TIME!!!!1

[Josh @ Apr 16th 2009 8:26AM]

Oh RIM, you make me laugh. I cant wait to see how big of a flop the Storm 2 will be.

[mdscinto @ Apr 16th 2009 8:29AM]

Come on dude it's gonna have Wifi ;)

[Ryan @ Apr 16th 2009 10:56AM]

It should have had WiFi already...

[Michael Scrip @ Apr 16th 2009 1:49PM]

MMMMM... battery draining WIFI... bring it on...

[Josh @ Apr 16th 2009 8:28AM]

haha ya I bet Verizon will be kicking themselves for a long time coming for turning that partnership down!

[b @ Apr 16th 2009 8:30AM]

Fair enough - it wasn't perfect when it was launch.

Now since you have fixed a lot of the bugs with newer Firmware - how about your put some pressure on Verizon to actually release the update?

You are allowing Verizon to make your product look bad.

[Cheryl @ Apr 16th 2009 8:44AM]

Is the Storm still lousy. I would love it, but not if the problems haven't been fixed.

[Jay @ Apr 16th 2009 10:07AM]

No, the phone isn't lousy if you go and get one of the leaked OSs. The most current offial OS is very stable, but slow. Still wouldn't call it lousy tho.

[Gregory Pius @ Apr 16th 2009 12:56PM]

If there's one thing I learned about the Verizon Wireless Bridge and Iron Works, they don't release an update until it's damn well good 'n tested. I learned this with a Treo 700p (that I ultimately replaced with my BlackBerry Curve). I waited months for a maintenance release that was to fix some very serious flaws with the 700p, only to have it come out and make the phone worse. Incidentally, it was at that point I chucked my Treo and became a BlackBerry defector. I haven't looked back.

Incidentally, I think the Storm is kind of cool--it's just that I've been typing on smartphone keyboards since my first Handspring Treo 300 that it would be difficult for me to switch to a touch-screen keyboard. The Storm's keyboard/display is a love-it-or-hate-it affair. I don't feel I can type as fast on it as I can with my Curve. And I send a -lot- of mail with it.

[apple nerd without a cause @ Apr 16th 2009 8:30AM]

thats a ceohh no he didn't. I know u will think i am a fanboy but the first iphone was not buggey. 2.00 was buggey but was not the first touch screen phone apple did.

How do i know that i will be lowly ranked?

[Gnormie @ Apr 16th 2009 8:37AM]

He's not talking about bugs, he's talking about how not everyone gets it perfect (i.e. pleasing everyone) which is impossible anyway but the iPhone isn't anything like perfect/exceptional. It may be very good but it certainly hasn't pleased everyone nor did Apple get everything perfect first time around (or there would be no need for firmware/hardware revisions)

[lurch_mojoff @ Apr 16th 2009 8:58AM]

@Gnormie: There is a difference between not being perfect and being crappy. The iPhone, for example, was not perfect when it was released, and actually it is still not perfect today, but people generally liked it. The subsequent software and hardware updates of the iPhone brought features that built on top of the solid core functionality, but none of them was really a crucial essential thing - neither push email, nor the SDK, nor even 3G. The Storm on the other hand is generally disliked for being clunky, clumsy and cobbled together. It is really a far cry from the usual Blackberry user experience, which although being quite a good one on its own is still behind the one the iPhone provides.

[P.A.C Man @ Apr 16th 2009 9:39AM]

Ironically, the first iPhone was not buggy at all. The iPhone 3G on the other hand, was very buggy. In fact, the iPhone 3G is what most people expected the first iPhone to be, but somehow, Apple really delivered a solid platform the first time around. Most companies get it in reverse. They deliver something slow and buggy at first, but then it gets better in the second version.