BlackBerry 10 launches with the Z10 and Q10

Today, RIM announced that they will be changing their name to BlackBerry. That makes sense given that the BlackBerry brand really defines the company. Its Nasdaq trading symbol will become BBRY.

Also, the launch of the Z10 puts BlackBerry up against all the other slate-based smartphones that lack hardware keyboard buttons. I know that some loyal BB users will really miss the keyboard buttons, so the Q10 will continue the legacy hardware keyboard for those who can't live without buttons. I often wonder if laptops will lose their hardware keyboard buttons someday.

For those in the medical community - it's all about apps. So, what types of mobile medical apps will get developed for the BlackBerry 10 OS?

RIM in Serious Trouble?

Author: Riley Alexander, MD, MBA

I've said on here before that I feel like RIM is lost in the current smartphone market and they don't seem to have a cohesive plan with what to do with Blackberry in the age of the iPhone and Android. Unfortunately for them, it seems to be getting worse. RIM shares recently hit a 5-year low and their co-CEOs seem to negate that there's a problem--and that seems to intensify the problem to outsiders. With the Playbook essentially a flop and all of their iPhone/touchscreen devices being the same, they're stuck with essentially the same kind of phone (keyboard candy-bar style) and the same kind of client (corporate) that they've always had. And with many companies now allowing their employees to choose their phone, this client is no longer a given. To make matters worse, one of the new features of iOS5 will be iMessage--Apple's version of BBM. Essentially the only "killer app" Blackberry has.

U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

A few months ago, comScore revealed "U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share."  As we can see, the Android platform is gaining momentum and we'll see this trend continue for the next few years as Google puts Android on a number of different smartphones. Here are some interesting charts from their report:

Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Oct. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2010 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
	Jul-10	Oct-10	Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
RIM	39.3%	35.8%	-3.5
Apple	23.8%	24.6%	0.8
Google	17.0%	23.5%	6.5
Microsoft	11.8%	9.7%	-2.1
Palm	4.9%	3.9%	-1.0

Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Oct. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2010 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Jul-10	Oct-10	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Samsung	23.1%	24.2%	1.1
LG	21.2%	21.0%	-0.2
Motorola	19.8%	17.7%	-2.1
RIM	9.0%	9.3%	0.3
Nokia	7.8%	7.1%	-0.7

Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Oct. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2010 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Jul-10	Oct-10	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Sent text message to another phone	66.0%	68.1%	2.1
Used browser	33.6%	36.2%	2.6
Used downloaded apps	31.4%	33.7%	2.3
Accessed social networking site or blog	21.8%	24.2%	2.4
Played Games	22.3%	23.7%	1.4
Listened to music on mobile phone	14.5%	15.4%	0.9

About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics.

Smartphone OS trends

According to comScore's February 2010 report (comScore Reports February 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share), between November 2009 until February 2010, Google's Android jumped from 3.8% to 9.0% while Microsoft's Windows Mobile dropped from 19.1% to 15.1%. RIM's BlackBerry increased from 40.8% to 42.1%. Meanwhile, Apple's iPhone remained fairly flat at 25.5% to 25.4%. Palm dropped from 7.2% to 5.4%.

So, as we all anticipated, Google's Android OS has leaped to 4th place, and my prediction is that in the next 3 months, we'll see Android jump to 3rd place. By the end of 2010, it could be up there converting BlackBerry and iPhone users. I'm sorry Palm, but it looks like we're going to have to see you go. Let's see what happens when Microsoft rolls out Windows Phone 7 Series.

Read the comScore's report here.

Top BlackBerry medical apps

If you visit the BlackBerry App World, you'll see a category called "Health and Wellness." Within this category, you can refine your search to "Medical Guides." Let's talk about this category for a few minutes. What happens if you sort these medical apps by popularity? You'll see a list that looks like this:

• Woman Calendar for BlackBerry
• Pregnancy Wheel
• Cardio Calc
• Age Calculator Pro
• GI Calc
• Heme Calc
• Skin Cancer Image Viewer
• Neph Calc
• QuantiaMD
• Skyscape OCM
• Voxiva
• RxDrugs Dosing Companion

Now, if you sort by ratings, you'll see a similar list, but the apps will be in different order.

Many of you may be wondering, "where's Epocrates?" The strange thing is that you won't find Epocrates in the BlackBerry App World. I'm not entirely sure why that's the case, but to install Epocrates on your BlackBerry, visit: get.epocrates.com on your mobile browser. Make sure to sign up for an Epocrates account before you install it on your BlackBerry.

RIM soon launching a new web browser (WebKit) for BlackBerry

Will this new BlackBerry web browser compete against the browser found on the Apple iPhone?  How about Opera Mobile or Skyfire?

Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry phone, unveiled an overhauled Internet browser for its devices today to attract more non-business customers.

You can read about the details at BusinessWeek.

I wish I could be at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. 

Lexi-Comp ON-HAND for BlackBerry 5.0

Got this in my e-mail today, so I thought I would pass it along:

Newest Update Now Available on BlackBerry 5.0 devices...Order today!

February 2, 2010 - The newest update to the Lexi-Comp ON-HAND software for BlackBerry 5.0 devices is now available! 

Taking advantage of many of the features in version 5.0 of the BlackBerry OS, the Lexi-Comp ON-HAND software just got even more powerful! Devices running OS 5.0 or higher will be able to:

• Store the entire ON-HAND program on an SD Card
• Access the program without cell or wifi connection
• View charts, graphs, and special topics from all Lexi-Comp printed Appendices
• Update your software over the air whenever it's convenient

Requirements: BlackBerry device running OS version 5.0 or higher and 650MB free storage on SD card. Not using a device that's OS 5.0 compatible? No problem! You can still access the Lexi-Comp ON-HAND software on your BlackBerry, just select, "BlackBerry 4.x" from the dropdown list when you purchase at our webstore.

Take a free 30-day trial of the new BlackBerry 5.0 software! 

RIM Reports BlackBerry Email Delays

If you're a BlackBerry user in North America, you should expect delays in receiving email over your device. You shouldn't have any problems with browsing or BlackBerry Messenger, but your e-mail system could be down right now.

Reviewing medical apps

I've had the opportunity to review many different types of medical apps (applications) for the Apple iPhone, iPod touch; RIM BlackBerry; Palm OS; Google Android; and Microsoft Windows Mobile. I enjoy testing devices, apps, etc. It's fun to play around with different devices and apps because I find myself thinking like a software developer. In other words, I'm constantly asking myself: "What would I do differently?" "Where would I place these buttons?" "How should the navigation function?" "Is the interface confusing?"

Do you ask those questions? What may seem intuitive to one person may not be intuitive to someone else.

If you like to test and review medical apps, then perhaps you'll want to join me as I recruit people to test medical apps. You may wish to have an opportunity to test and evaluate a current app so that it could be better. Or, perhaps you'll want to provide feedback to the development team before an app is released. If you're interested, then I encourage you to join my "non-clinical healthcare professionals" network to learn more about possible future opportunities to test and evaluate smartphone medical apps.

Why is webOS limited to Sprint?

Does it seem fair? Currently, Apple's iPhone OS is limited to AT&T. Palm's webOS is limited to Sprint. That doesn't seem like it's the best way to market a product if you ask me. Let's take a look at a few other smartphone operating systems:

• Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS can be found on all the major carriers.
• RIM's BlackBerry OS can also be found on all the major carriers.
• Google's Android OS is now on almost every networks (currently on T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint, but not on AT&T yet)

Does it make sense to limit iPhone and webOS to single carriers? From a marketing perspective, the answer clearly seems to be 'no.' We've heard rumors that Palm's webOS devices will begin to appear on Verizon Wireless. The international GSM version of the Palm Pre can be used in the U.S. if you can find it on eBay. We've heard rumors of an Apple iPhone for Verizon as well.

So in 2010, will all the major smartphone operating systems be available on all the major U.S. mobile phone networks?

BlackBerry Bold 9700 (Bold 2) now on T-Mobile

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 (also known as the Bold 2) is now available from T-Mobile. This new device is a little bit smaller than the previous Bold, but it still lacks a touch screen. I'm waiting for RIM to release a BlackBerry model that includes a hardware QWERTY keyboard and a touch screen. What are they waiting for? Why should a touch screen and a hardware keyboard be mutually exclusive?

AT&T will also have its own version of the Bold 2. Maybe the Bold 3 will have a touch screen.

I realize that business users may not recognize the critical importance of a touch screen, but if you're working in the health care industry, then you will quickly recognize that a touch screen is invaluable because of the way many medical apps are designed. You will find that you are much more efficient using a device that has a touch screen.

Smartphone discussions on Sermo

Sermo is a U.S. physician-only community. It's an exclusive club, so if you're not a U.S. physician, then I'm afraid you can't join. However, you can pay to conduct a market research survey. There are currently several interesting discussions regarding smartphones, iPhone, BlackBerry, and even Android. You'll even hear physicians discuss and share some ideas about new medical apps (especially for the Apple iPhone) on Sermo.

2009 J.D. Power and Associates smartphone survey

Have you seen the results of the 2009 J.D. Power and Associates smartphone survey? I always read these types of surveys with a grain of salt, because many of these factors (such as design, features, etc.) are quite subjective. What one person likes, another may hate.

Here are some of their key findings:

These three studies measure customer satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets and smartphones across several key factors. In order of importance, key factors of overall satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets are operation (30%); physical design (30%); features (20%); and battery function (20%). For consumer smartphones, key factors are ease of operation (30%); operating system (22%); features (21%); physical design (18%); and battery function (9%). For business smartphones, key factors include ease of operation (29%); operating system (23%); physical design (21%); features (16%); and battery function (11%).

Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of smartphones used primarily for personal reasons, with a score of 811, and performs particularly well in ease of operation, operating system, features and physical design. LG (776) and RIM BlackBerry (759) follow Apple in the rankings.

Among customers who use their smartphones primarily for business purposes, Apple ranks highest with a score of 803, followed by RIM BlackBerry (724).

To view the entire summary of their survey results, click here.

BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac OS X

If you're a Mac user and you also happen to have a BlackBerry, then I'm sure you'll be excited to know that the BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac OS X has finally been released by RIM! Sync your mobile music with iTunes. Sync contacts and calendar with iCal and Address Book (who needs Outlook?).

Medical software for the BlackBerry

There are a growing number of medical software solutions for the BlackBerry. Here's a list to get you started:

• Epocrates
  
• Skyscape (they offer a suite a products)
• USBMIS (Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia, Sanford Guide)
  
• mobile MPR (Monthly Prescribing Reference)
  
• Unbound Medicine (like Skyscape, they offer a suite a products)
• PEPID
• Up to Date (via mobile web browser)
• QxMD
• mobilePDR (coming "back" soon)

This is a growing list (and this isn't a comprehensive list either). I simply wanted to highlight some of the more popular options that are out there. Navigation is often quite limited if you don't have a touch screen on your device, regardless of your operating system. The BlackBerry Storm 2 should be coming out soon (and may appear on more networks if rumors are true).

Hottest New Phones

According to infoSync, the hottest new phones are currently:

• Palm Pre
• Nokia N97
• LG Arena
• Samsung S8300 UltraTouch
• RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900
• Pharos Traveler 137
• Sony Ericsson C901
• Sony Ericsson W508

Want to read more about each of these? Go here for the infoSync story

BlackBerry Storm 2

You can see pictures of the BlackBerry Storm 2 on CrackBerry. We know it will have Wi-Fi. Looks like the buttons are a part of the capacitive touch screen. Could it be thinner? Image source: CrackBerry

Medical Students and BlackBerry

Medical students often need to get some type of PDA for their clinical clerkships. They may be required to enter patient information or log their procedures. Also, since they're often asked to write prescriptions (not sign them, just write them), they need to know how to look up drug dosing. Software like Epocrates can be very helpful when you're filling out 15 scripts on different medications. Gone are the days of flipping through a huge PDR to look up dosing.

So how does the BlackBerry fit into all of this? Traditionally, Palm had the greatest marketshare in the medical field. Recently, the Apple iPhone has become very popular among medical students, residents, fellows, and attendings. Yet you still find some medical students who are in their early years of training who are attracted to the BlackBerry. Why? Part of the reason could be that they may have come from a corporate background. Others may be serious "texters" and they may have gravitated to the BlackBerry because of the excellent keyboard and texting capabilities. For others, it's simply about cost. You can get a free BlackBerry from many carriers.

I've been wondering why RIM hasn't been more aggressive with their marketing towards medical professionals. They should partner with more software developers and have more available for their devices. Otherwise, they'll be left in the dust with the Apple iPhone and the Microsoft Windows Phone running off into the sunset.

BlackBerry Storm and Medical Applications

It really is a shame. I've not seen many medical applications for the BlackBerry Storm. The iPhone has a growing number of medical applications that are currently available, but the paucity of apps for the BlackBerry Storm is truly sad. Having Epocrates just isn't enough. I suppose the folks at RIM weren't thinking about medical students and residents when they released the Storm.

The developers and marketers at Apple have the right idea - focus on education by creating the iTunes U (the U stands for University) and get students and professionals to use their iPhone or iPod touch to learn or to engage in continuing education. This is the right way to apply technology, innovation, and education to improve healthcare.