Heins: Size doesn't matter, of app stores that is

BlackBerry App World

RIM CEO Thorsten Heins is going to be a household name by the time January comes around. As we get closer and closer to the January 30th introduction of BlackBerry 10, Heins will be quoted in the blogosphere, the business press, and the mainstream media. And to paraphrase one of Heins' latest pronouncements, size doesn't matter. 

Before you jump to conclusions about the subject matter, let's tell you right away that Heins is talking about comparing the number of apps in BlackBerry App World to the competition. When BlackBerry 10 is ready to launch early next year, BlackBerry App World will have a far fewer number of apps available compared to the large number in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. But Heins says that the number of apps doesn't matter and he does have a game plan in place. BlackBerry will focus on having the top 200 to 400 apps available for each country and region.

"In my view it is really short-sighted to say, you have 600,000, you have 400,000 and you only have 100,000 apps, so you are not good. Look at how many actually get downloaded. …We don’t have 1,500 Solitaire apps. That is not what BlackBerry is about."-Thorsten Heins, CEO, RIM

While Apple and Google swing around the number of apps available in their respective app stores like a giant phallic symbol, Heins does have a valid point. How many of those 700,000 apps available for iOS orAndroid are actually installed by users, or actually serve a useful purpose? The problem for RIM is that the mainstream media and much of the smartphone buying public responds to size with bigger being perceived as better.