Apple and Microsoft make life difficult for Canadian companies: RIM, Bell, Rogers to see major competition
It’s a big week for the tech world, as the combination of Apple’s WWDC and the wider-reaching E3 conference start the summer with tech and game nerdvana. Each conference promises to enlighten us all with the promise of a gadget paradise to come, but naturally, not until pre-Christmas 2011. The bad news with some of these announcements is that the new products and services put Canadian companies in a bind.
Take Research in Motion, the creators of the BlackBerry. One of the new features that Apple introduced yesterday was a revamped messaging app that is pretty clearly aimed at the uber-popular BlackBerry Messenger. Apple still hasn’t cornered the market on business IT the way RIM has, but according to the National Post, the market was impressed.
Meanwhile, for businesses that are a lot less sympathetic in our eyes, Bell and Rogers have a new set of problems. While the CRTC debates what to do about monthly bandwidth caps, Microsoft and Apple both released a slew of new features for their systems that are likely to make everyone “bandwidth hogs,” in the lingo of the industry. Apple’s iCloud service will move music playing to online servers, and Xbox 360 owners may eventually get live TV streamed to their game boxes (no word on when that would launch in Canada). Both services are going to run up against Canadian Internet service providers’ bandwidth caps pretty quickly, which leaves Bell and Rogers with an unenviable choice: deal with more consumer outrage like they faced this winter, or watch as customers abandon them for independent ISPs who don’t have ludicrous caps. That or they continue the slow backtrack on this idea of theirs and accept that the industry is changing. Crazy talk, we know.
• Microsoft expands Kinect, adds TV to Xbox in U.S. [Globe and Mail]
• Move Over RIM, iOS 5 and iCloud Just Took Your Market [PC World]
• Wall Street sees Cult of Mac growing stronger, RIM reeling [National Post]
Here is an idea! Rogers and Bell can start being so greedy upgrade their systems to allow for more bandwidth. Stop the bull give customers what they pay for, Unlimited Internet Service.!! Its 2011 folks!!
Why is Canada always behind the times ie Netflix (Canadian Version is a Joke) no TiVo HD Service unlimited data texting calling on Mobile Phones!!
Greed is what keeps us Canadians behind the times not technology!!
A few things to keep note of:
Microsofts new service (live tv) is online out in the UK and Australia. None of the major networks in the US really care much about adding content to this service unless they are paid big time. I’d guess the same well happen here in Canada
Apple’s new cloud service still relies on wifi service which still uses dsl or cable which if its only pushing music, photos and files won’t hurt the majority of users caps
Also RIMs BBM and Apple’s iMessage are closed message services. So really its not going up against RIM unless iMessage magically started working on Blackberrys
I know its easy to beat up on Bell/Rogers/Telus/Shaw but if you know how to use your data well you really shouldn’t come up to any major problems when you’re on the internet with these services
Finally RIM needs to get their ass in gear when it comes to putting out better products. Yes its Canadian and no one wants them to deep six, but if you put out crap and expect people to buy your products (hey its got BBM in it..really??) you’re going to get beaten down by products that didn’t even exists 5 years ago
Canadian are treated like second class citizens of the Internet age. I don’t understand why the govt continues to let Bell/Rogers screw us.
Apple’s iCloud service doesn’t technically move music “playing” to the cloud, as streaming of files isn’t available. It simply allows you to store and retrieve your files from their servers to your device.