RIM迟迟不发新OS，应用开发人员纷纷倒戈

Research In Motion公司(RIM)表示，软件开发人员们仍热衷于为其 BlackBerry 10 操作系统开发应用程序， 不但整体数字未见萎缩，甚至其“供货商基础已成长了157%，”这是RIM开发者关系部门副总裁Alec Saunders在其部落格所作的评论。Alec Saunders此番解释在于驳斥Baird Equity Research公司一位分析师指出开发人员对 BlackBerry 10 操作系统失去兴趣的报导不实，同时这也令他感到震惊。 致力于RIM装置应用程序开发人员减少对于该公司具有什么样的意义，这值得我们进一步讨论。考虑到这家加拿大公司目前已经面临的挑战，如果软件应用开发人员的兴趣降低，可能会进一步危及该公司──特别是在RIM即将更新其 BlackBerry 操作系统并且需要在市场造成轰动以力挽汪澜之际。 Saunders看来力图重塑围绕在RIM周遭的种种对话内容。但考虑到他在RIM公司中的地位，他所提出的数字应该十分具有说服力才是。Saunders说： “我们的开发人员已为 BlackBerry PlayBook 用户带来了数量惊人的应用程序。事实上，自今年1月1日以来， BlackBerry PlayBook 专属应用程序目录已经增加超过15,000种了。此外，我们也才刚宣布从 BlackBerry App World 推出以来已经累积超过30亿次应用程序下载了。” “但更重要的是，我们目前正在全球23个城市进行的 BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour 巡回发表会，几乎在每一个城市都吸引大批与会者，包括在纽约、多伦多、雅加达、新加坡、新德里和蒙特利尔等。我们已经与将近5,000名开发人员展开交流，并得到许多的反馈。” 对于Saunders的诚意以及他对于 BlackBerry 操作系统的热情，我们当然不会怀疑。不过，Baird公司分析师William Power在其报导中提出了反对的意见： “... 31%的 BB10 开发人员已从本季开始将手边的工作转移至其它操作系统了，主要是Google的 Android 系统...打算跳槽的许多开发人员也已经采取行动，使BlackBerry开发人员的基础越来越小，但也越见其忠诚。” 这其实并不难理解。就某方面来看，你可以说双方的观点都是对的。如果你是一个开发人员，你无法真的确信RIM及Blackberry操作系统将继续在行动通 信设备市场占一席之地，那么你很可能就会转向其它平台，或者在RIM应用程序上花的时间慢慢减少。相反地，如果你决定对于RIM下重注，那么你马上就写下 BlackBerry OS应用程序数量惊人的可能性就相当高。 更合理的解释是开发人员们可能更加关注于苹果公司(Apple Inc.)的iOS和Google Android ，因为这两大操作系统现正主导整个行动市场。另一方面，开发人员们也不可能会完全放弃RIM及其数千万名仍使用 BlackBerry 的用户。例如，从响应Saunders部落格的网友意见发表就清楚地看出仍有许多开发人员十分热衷于 BlackBerry 。 然而，这场争论未能改变的是RIM仍处于一个岌岌可危的情势。该公司可能仍拥有众多忠诚的开发人员，但如果再不迅速推出新的操作系统或甚至新的OS无法为市场带来震撼，那么这些忠诚的开发人员也撑不了太久。Saunder对于“BlackBerry Playbook 应用程序从今年1月以来增加到超过15,000种”的观点对我来说并没什么特别。Playbook平板电脑并不算是成功的产品。就算它拥有几百万个应用程序，但只要消费者不买帐，RIM就无法从该产品中受益。 如果RIM希望赢得这场战争，压制对于开发人员投入忠诚度的争议，它就应该停止延迟新操作系统推出时程，并确保新操作系统在市场造成轰动。RIM还需要在其设备上增加更多消费者无法抗拒的功能特色。这样才能有效地中止负面的报导，甚至还可能得到Baird公司Power的赞赏。 编译：Susan Hong 本文授权编译自EBN Online，版权所有，谢绝转载 本文下一页：参考英文原文：RIM Have an App Developer Crisis?，by Bolaji Ojo

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{pagination} RIM Have an App Developer Crisis? Bolaji Ojo Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; Toronto: RIM) says software developers are gung ho about developing applications for its BlackBerry 10 operating system and that rather than shrink, its "vendor base has growth 157 percent," according to a blog post by Alec Saunders, one of its senior executives. Saunders was responding to what he described as a shocking and allegedly erroneous report from an analyst at Baird Equity Research. The opposing view is worth discussing further in light of what the shrinkage in the pool of developers working on applications for RIM devices might mean for the company. Considering the challenges already facing the company, a decline in interest from software application developers could further endanger the Canadian company at a time it needs to make a huge splash when it finally introduces the latest upgrade to the BlackBerry operating system. Saunders tried hard to reshape the conversation surrounding RIM. Considering his position within the company, the numbers he threw out should also be convincing. Here's more from Saunders: We have developers submitting amazing apps for BlackBerry PlayBook users. In fact, the BlackBerry PlayBook app catalog has grown by more than 15,000 apps since January 1 of this year. We just announced that more than three billion applications have been downloaded from BlackBerry App World since launch. But much more importantly, the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour we are currently hosting in 23 cities across the globe has seen over capacity registration in almost every city, including New York, Santa Clara, Toronto, Jakarta, Singapore, Delhi, and Montreal. We have already spoken to almost 5,000 developers and the feedback has been phenomenal (don’t take my word for it, search Twitter for the hashtag #bb10jam). I don't doubt Saunders's sincerity or the intensity of his passion about the BlackBerry operating system. But here's the opposing view. Baird analyst William Power reportedly said: ...31 percent of BB10 developers had migrated their work to other operating systems this quarter, mainly Google's Android system... Many developers who planned to jump ship have already made the move, leaving a BlackBerry developer base that is smaller but increasingly loyal. There's no confusion here. In some ways, one could argue that both parties are actually right. If you are a developer today and you don't truly believe anymore that RIM and its BlackBerry operating system will continue to play a commanding role in the mobile communications equipment market, it is likely you've already moved on to other platforms or that you devote less time to RIM apps. Conversely, if you've decided to place a huge bet on RIM, then the probability is pretty high that you would be cranking out a prodigious number of apps for BlackBerry OS. It doesn't seem farfetched to believe developers might be paying more attention to Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iOS and Google's Android: The two operating systems currently dominate the market. At the same time, it's unlikely that RIM, with customers in the hundreds of millions still using the BlackBerry (I still have mine), would be completely abandoned by developers. Responses to Saunders's blog, for instance, showed clearly that there are still many developers passionate about the BlackBerry. What this controversy doesn't change, however, is that RIM is still in a precarious situation. The company may have committed developers but their passion won't count for much if it doesn't quickly unveil the update to its operating system and if it fails to wow the market. Saunders' point about how the "BlackBerry PlayBook app catalog has grown by more than 15,000 apps since January 1 this year," falls flat with me. The PlayBook tablet PC is not a success by any stretch of the imagination. Even if it has apps in the millions, RIM isn't currently benefitting from this because consumers aren't buying the PlayBook. If RIM wants to win this fight and squelch the controversy about developer patronage, it should stop delaying the rollout of the new operating system and make sure it rocks. It also needs to follow up with devices consumers can't resist. That should shut down the negative reports. It might even receive a ratings upgrade from Baird's Power.