Veer Marketing Challenge (Instant Messaging)

cmahy · 05/02/2011, 08:30 AM

A bit of a revelation on my part. This may be old news, but, I thought it was worth mentioning. Not much has been said / built to bolster WebOS's messaging functionality. I started wondering why BB's were doing so well with the 16-21 (age) demographic & I got my answer this weekend -- messaging.

My niece got a shiny-new BB Bold (OS 6.x). When I helped her get set-up, I was surprised to find-out she could care less about eMail, the main things she wanted were:
-BBM
-Texting
-MSN Messenger
-Facebook
etc...

I had another niece tell me she didn't want an iPhone, etc.... but, she wanted a BB (presumably for similar reasons).

This got me thinking IM plus social networking is the key ingredient for what HP dubbed a 'teen phone' (I still think the Veer is more than just that).

Marketing challenge: with WebOS sorely lacking in the IM category (beyond standard texting, all we have is Facebook chat and AIM, at least with a stock 1.4.5 install), how does HP hope to overcome this deficiency when trying to grab market interest?

Related concern: now that multiplatform alteratives to BBM are out there (ie: What's App messenger), I suspect the market will either see BBM become cross-platform, or, a new alternative IM app (What's app, skype, etc..) will take the lead. The reason this is a concern -- none of this is currently supported by WebOS.

From a business perspective, this has been a source of frustration for me. in my Company, we make heavy use of Skype, & to a lesser extent, BBM. When traveling for business, I end up ditching WebOS for Blackberry so I can use BBM and Skype text chat (Verizon) - an invaluable tool when troubleshooting issues remotely (co-worker collaboration). I would like to see the day that WebOS does everything my aging BB does & more.

Anyone have any related thoughts / concerns on WebOS IM functionality (or lack of it)?

4r4qg · 05/02/2011, 08:44 AM

agreed good points.

marclh1992 · 05/02/2011, 09:09 AM

There needs to be support from HP/Palm for IM, it has to be added into webOS from stock. Not through patches or catalog downloads. I believe that this would help webOS quite a bit.

cmahy · 05/02/2011, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marclh1992

There needs to be support from HP/Palm for IM, it has to be added into webOS from stock. Not through patches or catalog downloads. I believe that this would help webOS quite a bit.

I completely agree. Even though the Homebrew community has greatly enhanced WebOS functionality, the fact remains that a significant majority of Smartphone buyers will only use what they get 'out of the box' (and base their purchase decision accordingly).

As I see it (loosely put) :

-iPhone = the 'idiot-proof' simple smartphone for consumers
-Blackberry = Enterprise-friendly and the best overall for eMail and messaging
-Android = The 'tinker phone' I see it really as the 'mobile incarnation of Linux' (both for good & bad)

-WebOS --> in-theory, this is meant to be the best of all worlds above (ie: you can tinker, but, you don't have-to, elegant interface, etc..), but, because of glaring functional deficiencies, it's currently sharing market share with Symbian (regardless of anything good to be said about Symbian, it's EOL)

Until WebOS ships 'firing on all cylinders', I don't expect it to make any dents in iOS device sales.

I know the above sounds a bit like a rant.... meant more as 'wishful thinking' for our upcoming devices -- I want WebOS to succeed!

Syndil · 05/02/2011, 03:11 PM

Non-issue IMO. Kids love the BBM because they're kids. Can't really justify it. If you want BBM, get a BB. Otherwise, IM just is not important. Nowhere near as big as it used to be.

Courousant · 05/02/2011, 03:56 PM

you forgot GChat

cardfan · 05/02/2011, 04:37 PM

RIM preparing to bring BBM to iOS and Android, change everything again? -- Engadget

cmahy · 05/03/2011, 12:43 PM

Cardfan -- exactly my point. We all know that not everyone will care about IM -- but, as long as it interests a big enough demographic to garner interest (ie: why else would RIM be porting to Android & iOS), it's worth being on HPs radar.

I can imagine the conversation happening at a local phone store something like this:

"What new smartphones do you think I'd be interested in?"

"How about this HP Veer running WebOS?"

"Looks great & what an amazing interface. I love synergy too. Can I communicate with my friends/colleagues, <misc> with Skype messaging?"

"Sorry -- only Verizon Customers can do that -- AND, even they can't skype when roaming"

"Too bad. I guess I'll fall-back on using MSN, What's app or BBM now that it's available to other smartphones"

"Sorry -- can't do that either"

"Uh, That stinks. How do I videochat?"

"You can't do that yet either -- HP thinks it might be ready in the coming months....."

You get the picture. If the sales guy/gal has to say "no, it doesn't" do stuff enough times, the next question would be "how is this better for me than a iPhone or Android?"

Yes, we all know the answer (WebOS is just that much better), but, it's a hard sell.

As much as I applaud HP/Palm for wanting to do things right, a re-design of the OS so soon after the 2009 re-design inevitably means the core (cr)apps we have to suffer with (eMail, PIM & lack of Messaging conduits) have been virtually ignored since being delivered in 2009.

Ok. I'll get off my soapbox now.

4r4qg · 05/03/2011, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmahy

Ok. I'll get off my soapbox now.

No, you are smart; you put what i have thought into words.

All these post's are exactly my thoughts and i hope HP is watching.

You should submit this to HP....

hux · 05/04/2011, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmahy

stuff

I agree 100%.

05/02/2011, 08:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
cmahy Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: The Great White North Posts: 292 Likes Received: 7 Thanks: 49 Thanked 43 Times in 34 Posts	Veer Marketing Challenge (Instant Messaging) A bit of a revelation on my part. This may be old news, but, I thought it was worth mentioning. Not much has been said / built to bolster WebOS's messaging functionality. I started wondering why BB's were doing so well with the 16-21 (age) demographic & I got my answer this weekend -- messaging. My niece got a shiny-new BB Bold (OS 6.x). When I helped her get set-up, I was surprised to find-out she could care less about eMail, the main things she wanted were: -BBM -Texting -MSN Messenger -Facebook etc... I had another niece tell me she didn't want an iPhone, etc.... but, she wanted a BB (presumably for similar reasons). This got me thinking IM plus social networking is the key ingredient for what HP dubbed a 'teen phone' (I still think the Veer is more than just that). Marketing challenge: with WebOS sorely lacking in the IM category (beyond standard texting, all we have is Facebook chat and AIM, at least with a stock 1.4.5 install), how does HP hope to overcome this deficiency when trying to grab market interest? Related concern: now that multiplatform alteratives to BBM are out there (ie: What's App messenger), I suspect the market will either see BBM become cross-platform, or, a new alternative IM app (What's app, skype, etc..) will take the lead. The reason this is a concern -- none of this is currently supported by WebOS. From a business perspective, this has been a source of frustration for me. in my Company, we make heavy use of Skype, & to a lesser extent, BBM. When traveling for business, I end up ditching WebOS for Blackberry so I can use BBM and Skype text chat (Verizon) - an invaluable tool when troubleshooting issues remotely (co-worker collaboration). I would like to see the day that WebOS does everything my aging BB does & more. Anyone have any related thoughts / concerns on WebOS IM functionality (or lack of it)? __________________ Palm History: Sony Clie T615C --> T\|X --> Pre+ --> Pre3 Aspirations -->
	Liked by Thanked By: 4r4qg

05/02/2011, 08:44 AM	#2 (permalink)
4r4qg Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: HTML-land Posts: 192 Likes Received: 1 Thanks: 17 Thanked 32 Times in 27 Posts	agreed good points. __________________ Palm IIIx >>> Palm V >>> Palm Vx >>> Tungsten T5 >>> webOS 2.1 emulator Pre\|central Peacekeepers SO easy anyone can do it! HP webOS First App Tutorial If i have helped you; please click the Thanks button.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
	Liked by

05/02/2011, 09:09 AM	#3 (permalink)
marclh1992 Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Kanata (Ottawa), Ontario, Canada Posts: 352 Likes Received: 14 Thanks: 20 Thanked 52 Times in 36 Posts	There needs to be support from HP/Palm for IM, it has to be added into webOS from stock. Not through patches or catalog downloads. I believe that this would help webOS quite a bit. __________________ W370 -> 3500c -> Instinct ->Pre -> Legend -> Pre 2 -> Bold 9900 -> iPhone 4 Rogers -> Fido -> Bell Mobility ------------------------------------------------------------------>
	Liked by

05/02/2011, 03:11 PM	#5 (permalink)
Syndil Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Jeffersonville, IN Posts: 1,393 Likes Received: 86 Thanks: 47 Thanked 242 Times in 161 Posts	Non-issue IMO. Kids love the BBM because they're kids. Can't really justify it. If you want BBM, get a BB. Otherwise, IM just is not important. Nowhere near as big as it used to be. __________________ Touchscreens are a fad.
	Liked by

05/02/2011, 03:56 PM	#6 (permalink)
Courousant Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 527 Likes Received: 24 Thanks: 145 Thanked 91 Times in 46 Posts	you forgot GChat
	Liked by

05/02/2011, 04:37 PM	#7 (permalink)
cardfan Banned Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 3,614 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 264 Thanked 466 Times in 285 Posts	RIM preparing to bring BBM to iOS and Android, change everything again? -- Engadget
	Liked by Thanked By: cmahy

05/03/2011, 12:43 PM	#8 (permalink)
cmahy Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: The Great White North Posts: 292 Likes Received: 7 Thanks: 49 Thanked 43 Times in 34 Posts	Cardfan -- exactly my point. We all know that not everyone will care about IM -- but, as long as it interests a big enough demographic to garner interest (ie: why else would RIM be porting to Android & iOS), it's worth being on HPs radar. I can imagine the conversation happening at a local phone store something like this: "What new smartphones do you think I'd be interested in?" "How about this HP Veer running WebOS?" "Looks great & what an amazing interface. I love synergy too. Can I communicate with my friends/colleagues, <misc> with Skype messaging?" "Sorry -- only Verizon Customers can do that -- AND, even they can't skype when roaming" "Too bad. I guess I'll fall-back on using MSN, What's app or BBM now that it's available to other smartphones" "Sorry -- can't do that either" "Uh, That stinks. How do I videochat?" "You can't do that yet either -- HP thinks it might be ready in the coming months....." You get the picture. If the sales guy/gal has to say "no, it doesn't" do stuff enough times, the next question would be "how is this better for me than a iPhone or Android?" Yes, we all know the answer (WebOS is just that much better), but, it's a hard sell. As much as I applaud HP/Palm for wanting to do things right, a re-design of the OS so soon after the 2009 re-design inevitably means the core (cr)apps we have to suffer with (eMail, PIM & lack of Messaging conduits) have been virtually ignored since being delivered in 2009. Ok. I'll get off my soapbox now. __________________ Palm History: Sony Clie T615C --> T\|X --> Pre+ --> Pre3 Aspirations -->
	Liked by Thanked By: hux

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