Research In Motion公司(RIM)表示，軟件開發(fā)人員們?nèi)詿嶂杂跒槠?BlackBerry 10 操作系統(tǒng)開發(fā)應(yīng)用程序， 不但整體數(shù)字未見萎縮，甚至其“供貨商基礎(chǔ)已成長了157%，”這是RIM開發(fā)者關(guān)系部門副總裁Alec Saunders在其部落格所作的評論。Alec Saunders此番解釋在于駁斥Baird Equity Research公司一位分析師指出開發(fā)人員對 BlackBerry 10 操作系統(tǒng)失去興趣的報(bào)導(dǎo)不實(shí)，同時(shí)這也令他感到震驚。
致力于RIM裝置應(yīng)用程序開發(fā)人員減少對于該公司具有什么樣的意義，這值得我們進(jìn)一步討論?？紤]到這家加拿大公司目前已經(jīng)面臨的挑戰(zhàn)，如果軟件應(yīng)用開發(fā)人員的興趣降低，可能會(huì)進(jìn)一步危及該公司──特別是在RIM即將更新其 BlackBerry 操作系統(tǒng)并且需要在市場造成轟動(dòng)以力挽汪瀾之際。
Saunders看來力圖重塑圍繞在RIM周遭的種種對話內(nèi)容。但考慮到他在RIM公司中的地位，他所提出的數(shù)字應(yīng)該十分具有說服力才是。Saunders說：
“我們的開發(fā)人員已為 BlackBerry PlayBook 用戶帶來了數(shù)量驚人的應(yīng)用程序。事實(shí)上，自今年1月1日以來， BlackBerry PlayBook 專屬應(yīng)用程序目錄已經(jīng)增加超過15,000種了。此外，我們也才剛宣布從 BlackBerry App World 推出以來已經(jīng)累積超過30億次應(yīng)用程序下載了。”
“但更重要的是，我們目前正在全球23個(gè)城市進(jìn)行的 BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour 巡回發(fā)表會(huì)，幾乎在每一個(gè)城市都吸引大批與會(huì)者，包括在紐約、多倫多、雅加達(dá)、新加坡、新德里和蒙特利爾等。我們已經(jīng)與將近5,000名開發(fā)人員展開交流，并得到許多的反饋。”
對于Saunders的誠意以及他對于 BlackBerry 操作系統(tǒng)的熱情，我們當(dāng)然不會(huì)懷疑。不過，Baird公司分析師William Power在其報(bào)導(dǎo)中提出了反對的意見：
“... 31%的 BB10 開發(fā)人員已從本季開始將手邊的工作轉(zhuǎn)移至其它操作系統(tǒng)了，主要是Google的 Android 系統(tǒng)...打算跳槽的許多開發(fā)人員也已經(jīng)采取行動(dòng)，使BlackBerry開發(fā)人員的基礎(chǔ)越來越小，但也越見其忠誠?！?/i>
這其實(shí)并不難理解。就某方面來看，你可以說雙方的觀點(diǎn)都是對的。如果你是一個(gè)開發(fā)人員，你無法真的確信RIM及Blackberry操作系統(tǒng)將繼續(xù)在行動(dòng)通 信設(shè)備市場占一席之地，那么你很可能就會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)向其它平臺，或者在RIM應(yīng)用程序上花的時(shí)間慢慢減少。相反地，如果你決定對于RIM下重注，那么你馬上就寫下 BlackBerry OS應(yīng)用程序數(shù)量驚人的可能性就相當(dāng)高。
更合理的解釋是開發(fā)人員們可能更加關(guān)注于蘋果公司(Apple Inc.)的iOS和Google Android ，因?yàn)檫@兩大操作系統(tǒng)現(xiàn)正主導(dǎo)整個(gè)行動(dòng)市場。另一方面，開發(fā)人員們也不可能會(huì)完全放棄RIM及其數(shù)千萬名仍使用 BlackBerry 的用戶。例如，從響應(yīng)Saunders部落格的網(wǎng)友意見發(fā)表就清楚地看出仍有許多開發(fā)人員十分熱衷于 BlackBerry 。
然而，這場爭論未能改變的是RIM仍處于一個(gè)岌岌可危的情勢。該公司可能仍擁有眾多忠誠的開發(fā)人員，但如果再不迅速推出新的操作系統(tǒng)或甚至新的OS無法為市場帶來震撼，那么這些忠誠的開發(fā)人員也撐不了太久。Saunder對于“BlackBerry Playbook 應(yīng)用程序從今年1月以來增加到超過15,000種”的觀點(diǎn)對我來說并沒什么特別。Playbook平板電腦并不算是成功的產(chǎn)品。就算它擁有幾百萬個(gè)應(yīng)用程序，但只要消費(fèi)者不買帳，RIM就無法從該產(chǎn)品中受益。
如果RIM希望贏得這場戰(zhàn)爭，壓制對于開發(fā)人員投入忠誠度的爭議，它就應(yīng)該停止延遲新操作系統(tǒng)推出時(shí)程，并確保新操作系統(tǒng)在市場造成轟動(dòng)。RIM還需要在其設(shè)備上增加更多消費(fèi)者無法抗拒的功能特色。這樣才能有效地中止負(fù)面的報(bào)導(dǎo)，甚至還可能得到Baird公司Power的贊賞。
編譯：Susan Hong
本文授權(quán)編譯自EBN Online，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載
本文下一頁：參考英文原文：RIM Have an App Developer Crisis?，by Bolaji Ojo
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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.
責(zé)編：Quentin
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