I wish I had some good news to report on the BlackBerry front. I really do. I believe that BlackBerry has a lot to offer, and that the patents and technology behind the company are stellar. But none of this matters when the company's corporate structure is so poorly managed. Today, it has come to some attention that BlackBerry does have a lot of apps in its app store - there's just one problem with that.
The Verge reports that more than one-third of the 120,000 apps in the BlackBerry app store have been created by the same developer. That developer is Hong Kong-based S4BB. What's wrong with this scenario? Well, a lot.
The Problem With One Developer For All Apps
S4BB has published more than 47,000 BlackBerry apps. If you sit back and think about that for a moment, you'll see the big problem here. No one company can create that many amazing apps. And, when it comes to any app store, really, the apps offered to clients should be amazing. Otherwise, consumers quickly lose faith in a company that allows sub-par apps in its store. BlackBerry can't afford to lose any consumer faith.
The other issue here is that it's really tough to find the best apps in an app store when the selection is so muddled with nonsense. A developer that is allowed to publish thousands of apps is akin to someone sending out thousands of spam emails. It's just not a good idea. But, BlackBerry is defending its app tactics.
In BlackBerry's Defense
BlackBerry told press that its App World is an open marketing for all kinds of developers, and that means that any developer can create as many apps as they like in BlackBerry World. The company did say that it's working on a way to separate the good from the bad, so that consumers can actually find decent apps.
BlackBerry also told press that the thousands of apps created by the Hong Kong developer provide the developer with a simple way to make money, and that's perfectly normal. Not a good statement, BlackBerry, not a good statement at all. In short, this company doesn't care about quality control. That's not a good message to send out to consumers. Why is BlackBerry letting quality control slip?
To impress consumers with numbers. BlackBerry wants to show that it has just as many apps as other companies like Apple, Android, and Windows. But this is a mistake.
Quantity is Never Better than Quality
The lesson here is that quantity is never better than quality. It's a lesson that's true in every aspect of life, and it's definitely true where BlackBerry is concerned. BlackBerry has also cut submissions fees where apps are concerned, and is even offering developers $10,000 per certified app.
All of this adds up to an app store that doesn't have popular apps like Instagram. This is no way to lure new users, and it's not going to be an easy mess for BlackBerry to clean up - if that's even the plan.