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Ford Ditching Microsoft for Blackberry


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From today's Detroit News:

 

"Ford Motor Co. plans to ditch Microsoft Corp. for Blackberry Ltd. for future upgrades to its Sync voice-activated systemicon1.png, according to a source with knowledge of the plans. The Dearborn automaker has been plagued with softwareicon1.png problems on Sync and its MyFord Touch infotainment system that have stained the company’s vehicle quality ratings and could make the switch from Microsoft to Blackberry and its QNX operating system this year or next. QNX, acquired by Blackberry in 2010, has quickly begun replacing the Windows operating system as a popular choice for automobiles."


From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140222/BIZ/302220033#ixzz2u50a99lE

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Don't start the party too quickly. This has the makings of trading one mobile electronics loser for another. Blackberry has become so irrelevant to consumers that the Wall Street Journal has predicted the complete demise of the company. The only reason this entity appears to even be alive is its long-term contract with the Federal Government. I had one through my federal job and it felt and performed like an antique next to my IPhone. I see that QNX is now under Blackberry. Maybe they can let it compete unfettered. A sick parent acquiring a more nimble division is far from a recipe for guaranteed success, though.

Edited by TBirdStangSkyliner
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Something's missing here.

 

Sync was a pretty stable piece of software and had a good feature set for when it debuted. MyFordtouch had a lot issues and was unstable when it debuted but it wasn't written by Microsoft. It was written, I believe, by BSquare. When ish hit the fan fan it was Microsoft who came to Fords aid to help rewrite the software. The revised software has been pretty well received, considering what they inherited from BSquare.

 

Now if Microsoft changed the game on pricing or couldn't meet deadlines then I could see Ford moving. But I doubt it considering the success the partnership has produced.

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Considering BB's rather dire overall position I can't say I'm thrilled about this choice vice an Android solution. But as long as they're still around BB is pretty good at interface design.

 

I've seen a steady stream of rumors out of Redmond that Microsoft is going to massively shed non-core business. A vocal minority of the board is even trying to get the games/Xbox division sold off (which I personally feel is INSANE). So I'm thinking this move is a sign that Microsoft is getting out of the automotive infotainment software biz.

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People complaining of Microsoft issues, remind me of the people nowadays I gotta hear with "Oh I'll never buy Ford again, my mother had an 85 Taurus and it was such a POS"...and I'm like "Oh yes, cause back then the competition was any better".

 

Then follow it up with, "Well I wouldnt have bought FWD period". With this I'm like "Never had an issue with my Ford vehicles (Insert Microsoft here)"... same with "Oh I had the bluescreen of death!!" -Sorry ive never experienced that. "Oh I only do Apple because they never crash (Hm ask me about how many times I KNOW and CAN cause my iPhone to freeze up and crash :-) In all these, "Operator Error sorry".

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I've been waiting for this day to come Richard to tell you....I told you so!

 

Microsoft is shedding this business and won't be supporting it going forward.

 

And btw, Uconnect 8.4, 8.4N, 8.4A, and 8.4AN are all based on QNX, the most praised system in the business.

 

Have fun defending Microsoft again on this.

 

I'll be over at FIN, I won't be back here to follow-up.

Edited by BORG
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Don't start the party too quickly. This has the makings of trading one mobile electronics loser for another. Blackberry has become so irrelevant to consumers that the Wall Street Journal has predicted the complete demise of the company. The only reason this entity appears to even be alive is its long-term contract with the Federal Government. I had one through my federal job and it felt and performed like an antique next to my IPhone.

I had the same initial reaction. Not only is the Fed mostly Blackberry, but many other state and local agencies are also.

 

This combined with the fact that all of the upper tier Ford management have Blackberries (but no other white collars do) made me feel it was another classic 1% versus 99% decision ("What, the rest of the world doesn't have Blackberries ?")

 

I see that QNX is now under Blackberry. Maybe they can let it compete unfettered. A sick parent acquiring a more nimble division is far from a recipe for guaranteed success, though.

QNX may ultimately save Blackberry's a$$. But a low level OS is NOT a user interface and that is what everyone complains about. Ford IT was involved with the earlt design of Sync and MFT, which is why techno-geeks have no problems. Unfortunately, they ae not the "sweet spot" for car buyers !

Edited by theoldwizard
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Don't confuse consumer electronics with commercial software sales.

Still (mostly) irrelevant !

 

What the customer see (and what has been dragging JD POWERS scores down) is the User Interface. The underlying operating system has litle if anything to do with this. Designing an intuitive UI for "consumer electronics" requires a special talent. Apple has understoof this and had this capablity since they came out with the first iPod.

 

And don;t confuse "traditional" computer UI with consumer electronics UI. There are some similarities, but the target audience/"user experience" is very different.

 

 

I am "cautiously optimistic" about QNX CAR, a combination of the QNX OS and a Software Development Kit. Putting good tools into average software/UI engineers hands does NOT guarantee success. Sadly, many of Ford's middle management think they are experts in software development because they can make chart and graphs with Excel. Well, ... they did it once !

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