{"id":651963,"date":"2013-04-11T16:09:47","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T20:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=630239"},"modified":"2013-04-11T16:09:47","modified_gmt":"2013-04-11T20:09:47","slug":"with-negative-surveys-high-return-rates-blackberry-10-software-improvements-may-be-on-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/651963","title":{"rendered":"With negative surveys, high return rates, BlackBerry 10 software improvements may be on the way"},"content":{"rendered":"

BlackBerry’s next software update could arrive with the company’s second handset, the BlackBerry Q10. Pre-orders for the smartphone with physical keyboard have already started and now a BlackBerry enthusiast site claims to have information on the updated software<\/a>, which will also be pushed to the currently available BlackBerry Z10.<\/p>\n

Some of the expected improvements, says the BBNews blog, are support for sending PIN-based text messages in the BlackBerry Hub, an update to the camera to support HDR photos, and BlackBerry Link, which is a way to browse data files on a remote computer. The blog, based in Poland, isn’t one I’ve followed prior, but the reported features don’t sound far-fetched. Even if these functions do arrive on BlackBerry 10 devices soon, they can’t come soon enough.<\/p>\n

\"BlackBerry<\/a>A survey by Raymond James, reported by AllThingsD on Thursday<\/a>, show that 71 percent of survey participants would never use a BlackBerry. That compares to 31.3 percent who have no interest in using Android, while 19.7 percent say nothing would get them to buy an iPhone.<\/p>\n

Additionally, analysts are starting to dig deeper in BlackBerry 10 sales figures and finding that return rates are rising<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cIn several cases, returns are now exceeding sales, a phenomenon we have never seen before,\u201d noted analyst Detwiler Fenton in statement to Bloomberg. Fenton says the unintuitive interface is a barrier, which could be the case, although there are only a handful of gestures needed to use the phone in my experience.<\/p>\n

The bigger issue in my mind? Marketing. I haven’t seen the type of media blitz on television or elsewhere that Samsung and Apple typically use to promote their products. Software improvements are welcome — as are more native apps from top-tier development shops — but even the best products on the planet will never reach their sales potential without good old marketing.<\/p>\n

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