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Ask HN: Are any startups interested in Windows Phone/Blackberry?

5 points by gjulianm ↗ HN
Reading the latest Who is hiring/Freelancer HN posts, I was a little bit surprised about the number of Windows Phone and Blackberry related offers. I know they're not as profitable/big market as Android or iOS, but I didn't expect so little attention (3 offers at most out of ~400).

I'm pretty curious about this, both personal and professionally (I'm a WP dev), so I wanted to ask if this is the actual scenario. Maybe there are startups working on Windows Phone / BB that don't think HN is the best way to find the proper dev, maybe no one is interested in such a little markets... I would like to know your opinion.

3 comments

[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 18.7 ms ] thread
thoughtcriminal
My comment is going to be down voted into oblivion but I think startups ignore Windows Phone and BBZ10 at their own peril.

I currently own a WP8 and it's a lustworthy phone. I see a lot of opportunities for app developers. I'm hearing good things about the Z10 too and friends are buying it. Not many apps though. Not much competition it seems.

Reminds me of the saying "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

dragonwriter
Okay, perhaps they are nice devices. But, from a startup point of view, the fact that they are small current markets mean you are taking an extra gamble -- you are counting on all the factors that would normally go into making your product plus the success of the platform. Unless there is some superlative feature of the platform that makes practical something central to your concept that is impractical on more-currently-popular platforms, it seems like an unnecessary risk.
shyn3
I can't speak for the WP8.

As for the BlackBerry 10 environment there are many android applications but from what I am seeing the BlackBerry 10 Native application app land is empty and ripe for the taking.

The BES 10 environment applications are also something I am shocked to say that has no competition. There are many different niches that you can work on for BlackBerry 10.

SharePoint, Remote Desktop, Stock Data Applications, Alternative to BlackBerry Work Drives, Real File Manager