There were four major smartphone operating systems before the iPhone release - Symbian, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, and
BlackBerry OS. After the release of the iPhone, their user interfaces all seemed out of date in some way. Both the Palm OS and Windows Mobile have essentially been replaced with new operating systems named WebOS and
Windows Phone 7. Symbian stakeholders, though, has decided that there is no need to throw out the past completely, and are instead looking toward several evolutionary upgrades to make the now open source operating system more competitive.
This week at
RIM's WES conference, the company is announcing a similar evolutionary path for the BackBerry OS. Like Symbian, the BlackBerry OS has a reputation for being fast and efficient but has not kept up with many of the aesthetic and input amenities offered by more modern competitors. The challenge will be to preserve the things that users like about the platform while making changes to it. For example, while the new BlackBerry OS will be better optimized for touchscreens, reports are that it won't require one.
RIM is launching a multi-faceted plan to
revolutionize the BlackBerry OS. Elements include replacing is browser with one using the same WebKit engine used in the default browsers of Android, iPhone OS, and WebOS. For all the discussion about the apps race that occurs, a solid browser experience is still important to reach a large amount of web content hat has not been made available as apps for any smartphone platform. Another is enhancing the OS to take better advantage of touchscreens after the makeover that has graced the BlackBerry Storm has proven unsatisfying. These improvements should include support fo the kinds of "physics"-based effects, gesture, and transitions we see in competitors to BlackBerry OS. In addition, the key RIM applications such as the email client and the media playback application should also see upgrades.
It's no coincidence that RIM has decided to upgrade the BlackBerry OS in an evolutionary way similar to that of the Symbian OS. Whereas Symbian has the highest smartphone market share globally, RIM has the highest share in the U.S. In contrast, Windows Mobile and Palm OS were struggling with low market share that begged a more radical approach. At least in the mdium-term RIM's approach places its OS revamp lower in the risk-reward curve than Microsoft's or Palm's rests. While RIM's significant enhancements may bring the BlackBerry experience roughly on parr with the Android or iPhone experience, it risks failing to create something beyond what competitors are doing. In contrast,
Windows Phone 7's hubs and WebOS's Synergy structure offer levels of integration that cause them to stand out.
Different doesn't always mean better though. RIM has been the most successful smartphone vendor by far at combining its own software into a portfolio of devices, albeit one anchored on the familiar Curve, Tour, and Bold QWERTY candy bar form factors. As the market shifts toward touch, whether its with or without physical keyboard, proving a roughly on parr experience that doesn't take big bets on motifs like social networking may backfire. RIM is taking on many of the user experience attributes that have helped create success for Android, but it may not be enough o defend against the multi-vendor assalt of the Google-backed OS.
