[anon(1464249)]

I have been amused by the way people are reacting on the new CEO of BlackBerry and I do mean amused in a good way.
While most of the reactions are positive, some people are keeping their opinions to themselves or are quick to say he needs to still 'prove' himself.
I got asked by a lot of people to write a follow up on my previous threads The Future of BlackBerry is RIM /+/ The future of BBM and while I tried writing one, I just can't write about the new CEO Chen and provide an informative picture on the future of BlackBerry simply because he's reshaping it as we speak and it's still in early stages.

He's a successful, celebrated and competent businessman that has the know-how to turn a troubled business in the mobile industry like BlackBerry around given the resources. Let's keep it at that and see what plays out in the next couple of months...

I can however write an opinion piece on where I see BlackBerry evolving (or hope) and see what you all think of it. So let's do that.

Motivation
I have somewhat of a ritual, every day, I get up from behind my desk, close my office door, frost my glass office and fire up the CB10 app for a good 10 minutes. I do it during work hours because it's the perfect time to see the majority of new posts as I'm in Europe and most of CrackBerry visitors are from the US and Canada. So I then read the posts and threads they left when I was tossing and turning in what was undoubtedly another sleepless night.
The things I read and I sometimes respond to are partly why I write my little opinion pieces, because they give me inspiration.
The main trigger for this opinion piece (besides the requests for a follow up on the old one) were threads in which people were asking themselves and the community why BlackBerry isn't making or releasing a desktop computer or a BB10 based TV. Another part I'm doing this write up, is because of something BlackBerry demoed when going cross platform, but more about that later.

Now let's get practical here for a bit. BB10 will never find it's way to your desktop by means of being the main OS. It's not build for it, it has extremely little hardware support (drivers) and it's just not common sense to take on the likes of Microsoft and Apple who are firmly cemented in just about every range of computer users from business to geek to grannies to your average joe.

Microsoft made a gutsy move with putting out Windows 8 with it's alternative start screen. While the rapid deployment of the OS without a start button was a mistake or not is another discussion altogether but they are trying to create a flow between their hardware devices that makes it easier for them to convey the feeling of synergy and for the user to stay within one ecosystem, theirs.

The desktop computer is as far as I'm concerned here to stay for the foreseeable future, but nevertheless the transition to handheld based computers is fully underway and slowly all bits and pieces are coming together. (the new Nvidia Tegra K1 chip is a nice example of mobile devices catching up to the power of the desktop)

I strongly believe that tablets/portable devices with the ability to dock to a domestic/work system and use bluetooth hardware will become more prevalent in the future. BlackBerry has a part to play in this future.

SYNERGY
Synergy is a marketing word that was thrown around excessively some years back. Every company that started restructuring or downsizing or change in any way whatsoever contributed their efforts to synergy. It once was big and as per what usually happens to big things, it quickly was forgotten and it was not heard of again. Now what exactly is it and why do I think the industry is evolving to all things synergy.

Synergy is the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect different from or greater than the sum of their individual effects. The term synergy comes from the Greek word synergia συνέργια from synergos, συνεργός, meaning "working together".

While most of the tech industry's focus was on pushing out new products, new apps and new OS iterations, the signs of evolving to a synergy between products were clear all across the board.

First up...Apple.
Apple is a company that gets it. They create one of the worlds most popular phones (if not THE most popular phone) catapulting them to a major global player and no matter what happens, bad press, premium pricing, etc...they get to hold on to that supremacy. Now why is that? Simple. Their entire product line is based on synergy. They created a closed app ecosystem, got it populated rather quickly and expanded on that, thrived on it.
This allowed for the phenomenon of "Apple families". Parents buying nothing but Apple gear for their kids and outfitting them with iPads, iPhones, iTV, etc... Why? Because of the interconnectivity among them. Dad can quickly video chat with mom on his iPad while she's out shopping and carrying her iPhone and while he's video chatting he can control whatever wireless hardware he has in the house that has an iOS app.

Apple builds premium Apple products and allows for hardware creators (hifi systems, tv's, security systems, lighting, etc...) to create an app that works on their devices. It's a two-way street and they got there first.

Google
Google quickly catched up giving non-Apple fans an alternative with their Android phones. Thanks to BlackBerry and Microsoft unable to catch up, they rose to the number two spot and had their fill. While Apple is a private, closed ecosystem, with limited hardware, Android exploded on a plethora of hardware devices. People weren't being forced to go with one premium brand and stick with it, they were allowed to choose whatever brand they wanted, felt comfortable with and still got the functionality of high-end brands thanks to the apps that were able to run on every Android device, regardless of it being a $100 or $600 piece of hardware.
While Google didn't really saw the need to come out with it's own branded hardware, they did dabble a bit with the Q, probably just to test the waters at that time. Now however, thanks to their recent purchases and noticeably the Motorola and NEST purchase, they have acquired the technology and know-how to release hardware that interjects in peoples lives other than mobile devices. Google is slowly introducing synergy among it's products by acquiring tech that encompasses greater parts in our lives besides wireless connectivity. They're streamlining their core business.

*Major speculation*: while I don't see this happening any time soon. I dare to speculate that Sony could be acquired by Google in the near future or Google may broker a deal with Sony to incorporate the PS4 into their growing domestic peripheral line up by incorporating their Android OS into the PS4 or writing specific and exclusive apps for the PS4. This would give them a bigger foothold into domestic hardware and it would of course **** off MS

Microsoft
The behemoth Microsoft. It's a company you hate to love but you can't but love it considering their track record. They have the most used OS in the world, allowing several billion people to connect to each other every day, they have an amazing gaming experience thanks to the Xbox but they seem to struggle with the smartphone industry. Their struggle is easily contributed to their reaction time when Apple and Google started dominating. They lingered and produced a half-baked OS which needed several updates to finally be use worthy. Microsoft was actually the company positioned the best to take over the domestic space. They have a big presence in a lot of households around the globe but never really did anything with it.
The recent release of the Xbox One shows that MS is again catching up. The Xbox One was released, not as a gaming console, but as a media center. A central HUB that connects the entire household to their business online. Xbox One is integrating Skype, Web, Gaming, TV and much more in one single package and thanks to the release of Windows 8 and WP8, it comes with a familiar OS to navigate in.

Here comes the BlackBerry
Or rather, here is the BlackBerry phone, period. BlackBerry had it tough, because of their stubbornness to adapt to the world changing around them, they almost got sold to the highest bidder and they came close to missing the boat in the high-end smartphone wars. While fellow analysts and forum members still think they did miss the boat with BB10, I sincerely think they didn't. They delivered a rock solid OS (especially the 10.2.1 builds) and their hardware lineup is among the top performing on the market. I do feel however that they're again in danger of missing an important technological wave by folding back to their core business which is security and enterprise. The wave of domestic domination is at hand and in order to get in on it they need....you guessed it SYNERGY.

The SYNERGY of BLACKBERRY
BlackBerry currently has no synergy, it doesn't have several hardware devices that it can link up and deliver our daily domestic needs.
I see BlackBerry with it's grand BB10 OS becoming a big part of a domestic household without the need to break the bank. The future, NOW. BlackBerry is positioned well to deliver this and in my opinion they should.
Smart TV's and smart watches are the rage at this moment but you can't see past the price they carry. What if you could use your BlackBerry smartphone to make your house, a smart house.


Listen to this... STORY 1

Imagine you're coming home from your work, you unlock your front door by using your BB10 smartphone's NFC capability, go inside and close the door. You go into your living room and dock your BlackBerry in a nicely designed dock that's connected to your TV through HDMI and to your network (either wireless or by optic cable) this docking action also enables bluetooth and the build in voice assistant. Your BlackBerry charges and syncs whatever needs to be synced because it is of course connected to your desktop computer through your network all the while it also connects to whatever bluetooth device you paired it with. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, but here comes the juicy part. Suddenly you receive a phone call and instead of picking up your BlackBerry, you pick up one of two (you always keep one in the kitchen) dummy phones that are connected to your BlackBerry through bluetooth these are basically paired handsets that show you the caller ID (make them a nice black and you can call them design handsets) just like the ones you can buy now for $40. So without the need to pick up your phone you can answer and make calls.
Synergy? Check!

You're done with your call and decide to BBM some friends using your TV as a screen. You either use your bluetooth keyboard with build in trackpad (for convenience) or by using the virtual assistant and doing it all through voice command and voice recognition, or maybe a combination of both; your choice. Suddenly someone calls you through BBM Video, no problem since you have your virtual assistant on you simply accept the call using a voice command and your BB phone compensates for the fact that your BlackBerry is docked so the camera is tilted (software tilts your camera in the background). Now you're video chatting on your TV, without the need for a so called 'smart tv'.
Synergy? Check!

When you're done with the call, you decide you want to play some racing game, well thanks to your bluetooth gamepad you can simply pick it up, tell the voice assistant to open 'kick *** over the top racing' and you're on your way playing your race game on your TV screen in full HD. Thanks to the great detail in games and the flawless implementation of HDMI the quality and gameplay is amazing (dare I say console-like?) No need for an extra console, no need for $69 games, just mobile games, small prices and a big experience.
Synergy? Check!

Of course the wife gets home and you get in trouble for playing a game instead of vacuuming the massive dust specks all over the place that strangely only women can see but after your kick *** excuse combined with a steamy but brief make up session all is forgiven and all she wants to do is sit down in front of the tv and watch Family Guy. You having paused your game reluctantly relinquish your favorite spot on the couch and move to your desktop that thanks to LinkSync with only a flick of a button emulates the BB environment on the PC and syncs with your BB smartphone so you can resume on your PC monitor where you left off on your TV but not before your wife adds a task to your agenda by shouting 'don't forget the milk tomorrow' which automatically thanks to voice recognition gets flagged as a priority task.
Synergy? Check!

After a good rest you go to work and use your phone's NFC capability to 'punch' in and unlock your office or a conference room, dock your phone and start a BBM group video chat or make some BBM calls to colleagues oversees that use the hotel's WIFI connection to avoid roaming charges, create tasks that automatically popup on your 60 inch flatscreen tv in your office, showing what still needs to be done for today, showing your calendar,...
Synergy? Check!

I think you get where I'm going with this. You can even be bold for a second and imagine your BB10 camera being able to read your gestures like the Kinect so you can flip to channels, apps and play gesture based games on your TV... You can even be so bold as to imagine that the second you dock your phone your housealarm gets deactivated, and when you undock it the alarm gets activated, a domestic control system, a music system by using bluetooth speakers throughout the house, etc...

---

Listen to this... STORY 2

Imagine going abroad. I go on trips a lot, I go on them for my work and I like traveling in my personal time so suffice to say i'm away from home a good amount of time. My trusty BlackBerry is always with me as it's my lifeline to my work, my family, CB and news from my home country. I need it and I use it a lot. Unfortunately, BlackBerry while it has an amazing OS, it doesn't have any synergy between their stock apps. Here's what I'm imagining a hopefully not so distant future of BlackBerry could be.

I get an email on my BlackBerry from my boss telling me I have to go to sunny Portugal for 2 days. In the email is also a rough itinerary. BlackBerry Travel which is always on (thanks to Inbox monitoring) registers this email and starts to do some preliminary work in the background. I open it up, take a quick glance at it and sees a button that popped up allowing me to go straight into BlackBerry Travel to get everything in order for the trip. Once BB Travel opens, it's already showing me the available flights on the correct dates (it has extracted them from the email) and even the correct times (I have a lunch meeting so it shows me all flights that land in Portugal before lunch). If I already used the app previously or maybe I set a favorite airline in my preferences, it shows me flights from that airline first. I look at the available options and I can book the flights straight from the app, paying by credit card.

When the flights are booked it shows me suggestions for a hotel in the area that I have my meeting in (again extracted from the email). Because of deals BlackBerry made with online search engines (booking.com / hotels.com,...) or taking into account my preferences for a hotel I might have set in the settings, I am given a number of hotels to choose from. (I might have set that I need wifi, breakfast, business center,...).

When the flights and the hotel is booked, I get a nice summary of the total cost that I can immediately send/share to my boss or anyone else... This sounds simple and logical, but currently this is not available in the BB Travel app with exception to book a hotel but the provided options are very poor (making me wonder what use it has at the moment). BB Travel should be the go-to app for handling everything that involves travel (booking flights, hotel, data usage, roaming usage, expenditure, ...)

I fly to Portugal, and first thing I do is make a picture of some local, BB Travel recognizes I'm in a foreign country and asks me if I want to group my pictures I'm taking into a separate folder. I say yes and away we go, every picture I take while being abroad is being saved in this special folder for easy access. Because I told my boss I would keep him updated about the country and the culture I decide to "share" my pictures in my special picture folder with him that I tag as 'business' realted. What this does essentially is send every picture I take and flag as business that ends up in the special folder to my boss over BBM traffic. Now this would require some tinkering with BBM cause it would be annoying to receive 100 pictures one by one over BBM. How I envision this working, is that my boss gets a notification I want to share a folder with him and he just accepts. This would create a folder on his phone where my pictures are 'streamed to'. Every X amount of time my boss receives a message in our BBM chat that another X amount of pictures have been received. Talk about Synergy.

Once the trip is over and I'm home, I hook my phone up to my PC and fire up BlackBerry Link, I see my folder with all my pictures and can easily drag and drop them on my PC for savekeeping. I also get an email from BB Travel with a summary of my trip, detailing my flights, hotel, expenditures (If i recorded them), weather, amount of pictures taken and sent to recipient X and Y or group A,... Incoming calls that were marked 'business' (thanks to a relationship field in the contacts app), data usage, etc...

While this example, details a business environment, it can easily be used in a personal environment. In which case the summary would include weather reports from the days you were there, personal calls, data usage... In a personal environment you could share your folder with a BBM group consisting of family members, etc...

It's just one example of having stock apps work together by harnessing the underlying power they have. Most of this is already possible after some tweaks. BB Travel is already pretty powerful but it can be so much more once BlackBerry partners with hotel search engines, flight search engines, the Calendar app, a Statistics module, etc...
The BBM Folders are technically possible by triggering a hidden BBM transfer every time a picture with the correct tag is added to a shared folder, no cloud needed and no third party needed, all BBM. It's possible, it's logical, it's unfortunately unavailable...

---

These are some small features that would help BBM and BlackBerry stand out with both Business and Personal consumers.

There's a whole bag of tricks out there that isn't all that hard to realize and more importantly isn't all that expensive to realize.
Creating this post 'BlackBerry Synergy' was triggered by seeing the proof-of-concept of syncing BBM with your desktop computer by mirroring the screen, If you could do everything you can do on your phone (play games, chat, send messages, make calls, see presentations, browse, etc..) on your existing household hardware by just docking your phone, I wouldn't hesitate for a bit.

This is what's coming next, this is what Apple, Google, Microsoft and others are trying to do, slowly but surely. This is what BlackBerry needs to do as a side project or proof of concept right now to get back in favor with the consumer.

As always, these are my 2 cents, it's all speculative, it's all for fun, don't go mouthing off, just post your opinion and thoughts negative or positive and get some dialogue going...
If you spot any spelling mistakes kindly disregard them.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

There's a whole bag of tricks out there that isn't all that hard to realize and more importantly isn't all that expensive to realize.
BlackBerry Synergy triggered me by seeing the proof-of-concept of syncing BBM with your desktop computer by mirroring the screen, If you could do everything you can do on your phone (play games, chat, send messages, make calls, see presentations, browse, etc..) on your existing household hardware by just docking your phone, I wouldn't hesitate for a bit.

This is what's coming next, this is what Apple, Google, Microsoft and others are trying to do, slowly but surely. This is what BlackBerry needs to do as a side project or proof of concept right now to get back in favor with the consumer.

As always, these are my 2 cents, it's all speculative, it's all for fun, don't go mouthing off, just post your opinion and thoughts negative or positive and get some dialogue going...
If you spot any spelling mistakes, well deal with it as I didn't proofread this piece and I have other things to worry about.

It's not the getting you desktop computer to do everything you can do on your phone that people really want. It's the getting you phone to do everything your desktop can do that they want.

I've been dealing with "smarthouse" technology for 15 years now... I can tell you that it is expensive to make your house smart. You can do some basic stuff for a few hundred dollars, but the things they always show in TV commercials (like the ones AT&T are running) can easily get into the tens of thousands of dollars depending on how large a home you have and how far you want to take it. It is very cool what can be done, and today it is much easier to control and to make changes with some of the newer tablet interfaces..... but the "isn't all that expensive to realize" I don't agree with.

But I agree that everyone is working on this "synergy" stuff and BlackBerry needs to also to compete. Just don't agree that much of this matters to an average consumer, now "prosumers" are another matter.

[anon(1464249)]

It's not the getting you desktop computer to do everything you can do on your phone that people really want. It's the getting you phone to do everything your desktop can do that they want.

I've been dealing with "smarthouse" technology for 15 years now... I can tell you that it is expensive to make your house smart. You can do some basic stuff for a few hundred dollars, but the things they always show in TV commercials (like the ones AT&T are running) can easily get into the tens of thousands of dollars depending on how large a home you have and how far you want to take it. It is very cool what can be done, and today it is much easier to control and to make changes with some of the newer tablet interfaces..... but the "isn't all that expensive to realize" I don't agree with.

But I agree that everyone is working on this "synergy" stuff and BlackBerry needs to also to compete. Just don't agree that much of this matters to an average consumer, now "prosumers" are another matter.

I don't think you understand. While I agree that 'smarthouse technology' is expensive, I'm merely suggesting BlackBerry being able to control it. They won't be building the hardware for the house alarm (although this might make sense later on when they're financially ready) they'd just be creating the interface necessary to control it.

Most of my suggestions I made are inexpensive and as far as I know already available as conceptual products or actual products. I can already hook my phone up to my TV and play games using my bluetooth controller...

You're right in saying that all the expensive smarthouse stuff doesn't appeal to the average consumer (or it does but they can't afford or justify getting it) but I'm confident that the stuff I suggested which is borderline inexpensive does appeal to the average consumed in terms of comfortability and it would help BlackBerry get a more prominent presence in the average household.




Posted via CB10

[milo53]

BB doesn't have the resources for a project of this size.

Great stuff though!

[anon(1464249)]

BB doesn't have the resources for a project of this size.

Great stuff though!

I beg to differ.
What do they need to see this through?

1. Software

They need a virtual assistant that can respond to voice input. They already have this and the voice commands do work well on my BB10. All they need is additional commands and some tweaking.

2. Hardware

They need a dock that allows for HDMI output and AC input, which they already have.

3. Virtual Machine

In order to get the BlackBerry experience on a PC they need to incorporate a VM into their Link software. Both pieces of software already exist, they just need to bundle them and of course create a wireless sync option.

4. Handsets

Handsets are abundant and cheap, I picked up 2 wireless handsets the other day for about $40. BlackBerry just needs to modify it, add Bluetooth to it and let it sync with a BB10 handset in order to activate the sets.

5. Controllers

Third party controllers and in game Gamepad support is already here.

6. NFC

Yup, it's here already. Programmable NFC locks are available for sale.

Most of the stuff I'm dreaming about out loud is already a possibility in some way or another, I'm just suggesting creating a layer between it all so it works together without having to bat an eye at it.

Most of the work will be software that runs in the background. They are sitting on some great potential with existing hardware, all they need is to combine it, create a synergy between that hardware.

Don't think I want to see BlackBerry create the hardware, I don't. It's not their market and they don't have the resources for this. I'm speaking purely software here with third party hardware.

Posted via CB10

[anon(3732391)]

A most interesting and insightful post!
Thanks for taking the time to share this.

[anon(1464249)]

A most interesting and insightful post!
Thanks for taking the time to share this.

http://bestanimations.com/Careers/En...nt-02-june.gif

Thanks for the compliment

Posted via CB10

[anon(1464249)]

So I got another example of SYNERGY for you guys. In the original post I created a small story about BlackBerry being the main control of connected hardware in a domestic home or office and I think judging by the messages I'm getting people are a little too hung up on the hardware aspect. So in order to change this and create a broader picture I added a second story to the original post. It should clarify that SYNERGY is also achievable by mere software tweaks.

I particularly like the idea about BBM FOLDERS, read the second story to understand what I'm talking about.

As always, give your opinion and spew your thoughts

[early2bed]

OK, so let's say I understand how "SYNERGY" connects all of these devices that people have in their work or home. Why is Blackberry the company to do it rather than Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, etc? Is it because the other companies haven't thought of it? Or, is it because those other companies don't have the talent to execute that kind of thing? The tech giants like Google seems to be adding talent and technology (i.e. acquisition of Nest, etc.) while Blackberry seems to be shedding it.

One would think that prerequisite #1 for synergy is more than one smart device and I haven't heard any hint from Chen that Blackberry is expanding into other types of mobile devices.

[anon(1464249)]

OK, so let's say I understand how "SYNERGY" connects all of these devices that people have in their work or home. Why is Blackberry the company to do it rather than Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, etc? Is it because the other companies haven't thought of it? Or, is it because those other companies don't have the talent to execute that kind of thing? The tech giants like Google seems to be adding talent and technology (i.e. acquisition of Nest, etc.) while Blackberry seems to be shedding it.

One would think that prerequisite #1 for synergy is more than one smart device and I haven't heard any hint from Chen that Blackberry is expanding into other types of mobile devices.

I'm not saying BlackBerry is the one to do it, I'm saying they should be part of this movement as all of the others are doing it.

The idea behind synergy between hardware is having one brand for multiple devices. It allows companies to get a foot in the door and sort of take over your household. Think of it like this, when you have a Sony DVD player and Sony offers you the option to do something only a Sony TV combined with a Sony DVD player can do, like for example 'super sharp HD'. Would you or would you not buy a Sony TV next time you go TV shopping? You would cause a Sony TV would give you that super sharp HD. Now imagine that you need wireless speakers. Sony sells wireless speakers that produce thanks to a link between the Sony DVD and TV a special 'super clear audio'. Would you buy the Sony speakers? Yes you would...this is Synergy, this is what big companies are evolving to, getting as much of their products in a household.

BlackBerry is missing the boat on this and will slip further away from their consumer base which still has a significant size thanks to Asia and Africa.
Moreover, my original post details that they can already do this quite easily not by pouring in Billions of dollars in hardware but by creating a specific hardware set (dock) and an accompanying software set.

Thanks to these relatively small costs they can become a welcome presence in domestic homes and I feel they should focus on getting this to market in order to stay relevant for consumers.

Posted via CB10

[Tatwi]

Great post Wout000.

The point you spoke to was very much what I had in mind when I wrote about BlackBerry making an alliance with Kodak, except I was mostly concerned with what can be accomplished with enterprise customers. Regardless of what some folks would say, there is a world of opportunity for BlackBerry at this point. They have the cash, they just need the vision and the resolve.

It's funny that a few years ago I was thinking someone needs to release a "black box", about 2" square by 1/4" thick, that is essentially the heart of a person's digital world. You take the square and stick it into whatever form factor you needed at the time and all of your everything would be there, in a single coherent interface. Once attached, the square could use the added hardware to achieve computation beyond the capabilities of the processor in the square, by way of a "coprocessor" architecture. Data would automatically be "folded" on and off the memory in the square based upon usage patterns, with the majority being stored online. And rather than use radio waves or physical contacts, it would use an array of tiny surface mount transformers/electrical induction for a fast, low power, extremely short range wireless communication method (less wear, better battery life, very secure). At the end of the day, this sort of system achieves "synergy", by centralizing the user's data and the user interface by allowing the user to interact with it however is most useful to them at the time.

BlackBerry stands a good chance to bring the sort of value to their customers through the synergy Wout000 outlined. An important consideration is that they by no means need to do it alone and behind closed doors. Much can be accomplished through partnerships, cross licensing, and other symbiotic business relationships throughout the industry. Partnering so quickly with Foxconn shows me that Mr. Chen understands and embraces this reality, where perhaps the old guard felt they needed to soldier on alone.

Posted via CB10 on BlackBerry Z10

[anon5759238]

Once virtual voice command/ control is like Jarvis from iron man I'll be more inclined to use it more hehe

Swordsmanship Channel C000C9AF6

[anon(1464249)]

Great post Wout000.

The point you spoke to was very much what I had in mind when I wrote about BlackBerry making an alliance with Kodak, except I was mostly concerned with what can be accomplished with enterprise customers. Regardless of what some folks would say, there is a world of opportunity for BlackBerry at this point. They have the cash, they just need the vision and the resolve.

It's funny that a few years ago I was thinking someone needs to release a "black box", about 2" square by 1/4" thick, that is essentially the heart of a person's digital world. You take the square and stick it into whatever form factor you needed at the time and all of your everything would be there, in a single coherent interface. Once attached, the square could use the added hardware to achieve computation beyond the capabilities of the processor in the square, by way of a "coprocessor" architecture. Data would automatically be "folded" on and off the memory in the square based upon usage patterns, with the majority being stored online. And rather than use radio waves or physical contacts, it would use an array of tiny surface mount transformers/electrical induction for a fast, low power, extremely short range wireless communication method (less wear, better battery life, very secure). At the end of the day, this sort of system achieves "synergy", by centralizing the user's data and the user interface by allowing the user to interact with it however is most useful to them at the time.

BlackBerry stands a good chance to bring the sort of value to their customers through the synergy Wout000 outlined. An important consideration is that they by no means need to do it alone and behind closed doors. Much can be accomplished through partnerships, cross licensing, and other symbiotic business relationships throughout the industry. Partnering so quickly with Foxconn shows me that Mr. Chen understands and embraces this reality, where perhaps the old guard felt they needed to soldier on alone.

Posted via CB10 on BlackBerry Z10

This pretty much sums it up they have a world of opportunity out there now other partners are realizing that that big companies (Google, MS,...) all want to invade the home and push them out. Strategic partnerships around a central BlackBerry unit to control it all isn't that hard to fathom.

As I said before, most of the tech is already there, it's up to BlackBerry to make it all work together.

Once virtual voice command/ control is like Jarvis from iron man I'll be more inclined to use it more heh.

Save from reacting to non-interaction (like giving comments) I don't see why it's not already there.

By using wireless microphones throughout your house all connected to the BlackBerry central unit (which is basically a dock with your phone) you can give commands from anywhere in your house. By personalizing it you can name your virtual assistant the name you want (by prerecording it's name so it would respond to it)

I talked about the unit controlling lights, temperature, etc..

Think about going down to your basement. And saying "Jarvis, lights". The virtual assistant would recognize the command is coming from the basement microphone and turns the light in your basement on or off.

This isn't the year 2100 future stuff, the tech is here. It just needs to be refined, implemented at a domestic level.

Microsoft's Cortana VA will be a great example once it's released and so is Siri.

Posted via CB10

[Nine54]

What you're suggesting is that, basically, the phone becomes "Hub for your life" (marketing opportunity there!). The Microsoft Office team has concept videos depicting a similar vision:



What you describe in your home example is exactly what the Playbook should have been. You get home, dock your phone, and use the Playbook as a the larger screen for your phone. But in your example, the Playbook doesn't just become a larger screen for communications; rather, it is like a better Creston remote for controlling your home. That definitely would be cool.

But as others mentioned, it's unclear what distinct advantage BlackBerry would have here. Google and Apple already are doing this, but instead of the phone being the center of everything, their cloud services are. In Google's case, Android is just the gateway to Google's services; any device running Android can bring the services you use right to you--no phone is needed. The notion of devices needing to sync with each other is obsolete; instead, devices sync with the cloud. And BlackBerry doesn't have a robust suite of cloud services, a virtual assistant as good as Google Now or Siri, or a thriving partner ecosystem. It has a solid real-time OS, but the OS has been commoditized.

Also problematic is the notion that BlackBerry could rely on third-party hardware vendors. What incentive would they have? These hardware manufacturers already are trying to differentiate their products by incorporating their own experience and services into their devices. Samsung SmartTVs might be powered by Android, but they also give you access to Samsung's growing suite of services. They also include integrations with other Samsung products you may have. If you buy a Samsung TV, you get a decidedly Samsung experience vs. an LG experience, for example. The hardware vendors don't just want to be a "dumb screen" for someone other company's experience; otherwise, there's little to differentiate them.

[anon(1464249)]

What you're suggesting is that, basically, the phone becomes "Hub for your life" (marketing opportunity there!). The Microsoft Office team has concept videos depicting a similar vision:

**video**

What you describe in your home example is exactly what the Playbook should have been. You get home, dock your phone, and use the Playbook as a the larger screen for your phone. But in your example, the Playbook doesn't just become a larger screen for communications; rather, it is like a better Creston remote for controlling your home. That definitely would be cool.

Whether its the PlayBook or your smartphone, it doesn't matter, what matters is that your phone's functionality expands to so much more than just a handheld device.
The video is really nice but it's still a concept. Some of the technology that's being shown off is not yet possible on a smale scale or just isn't here yet. I created the first post with current technology in mind. If BlackBerry wanted to, they could have a proof-of-concept product to market as early as a couple of months, providing seemingly futuristic controls that people are in awe off. It's possible with current hardware, it's just not utilized.

But as others mentioned, it's unclear what distinct advantage BlackBerry would have here. Google and Apple already are doing this, but instead of the phone being the center of everything, their cloud services are. In Google's case, Android is just the gateway to Google's services; any device running Android can bring the services you use right to you--no phone is needed. The notion of devices needing to sync with each other is obsolete; instead, devices sync with the cloud. And BlackBerry doesn't have a robust suite of cloud services, a virtual assistant as good as Google Now or Siri, or a thriving partner ecosystem. It has a solid real-time OS, but the OS has been commoditized.

I'm not saying BlackBerry needs to take over your life or create a vast cloud behind this technology, it's not necessary. They need interoperability inside the house between various hardware components, they don't need to send constant analytic data to some cloud, it would only negatively affect the idea of security within the BlackBerry brand.
People are glued to their phones, they go to bed with it and wake up with it. By making it the center of 'smarthouse' technology you just expand on your functionality with piece of mind that even though your phone isn't in your hand, every feature is still possible by using various other hardware components as if you were holding it in your hand.

Also problematic is the notion that BlackBerry could rely on third-party hardware vendors. What incentive would they have? These hardware manufacturers already are trying to differentiate their products by incorporating their own experience and services into their devices. Samsung SmartTVs might be powered by Android, but they also give you access to Samsung's growing suite of services. They also include integrations with other Samsung products you may have. If you buy a Samsung TV, you get a decidedly Samsung experience vs. an LG experience, for example. The hardware vendors don't just want to be a "dumb screen" for someone other company's experience; otherwise, there's little to differentiate them.

What incentive you ask? Why wouldn't they do it? They're slowly but surely losing ground to Apple who produces their hardware on their own, they're falling back behind the likes of Samsung and Microsoft who are powerful enough to create a closed environment around their media hardware. Third party hardware vendors, are too small to create closed environments for their products, too small and unlike those other behemoths, they don't have a bottomless money pit. They need to partner up, bringing their hardware together by means of a central hub. BlackBerry can be that hub, company X can provide speakers, company Y sells tv's, etc...
Strategic partnerships and a well thought out business plan will mark their success in bringing this kind of functionality and technology to market today. Not in a year or two, but today. This is what separates them from the crowd, this is what BlackBerry needs to jump aboard on. Do it now, create partnerships, get technicians to work on the software and beat the giants to their game. The market is just yet beginning to form and take shape and the likes of Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, etc... are already hard at work at creating the necessary hardware and software to conquer it. This all takes time and resources.

BlackBerry has the advantage here, a golden opportunity to become a brand thats present in households again ... they need to act now.

[lnichols]

BB doesn't have the resources for a project of this size.

Great stuff though!

Really? How much money did Nest start out with for a smart Thermostat, then Carbon Monoxide and Smoke detectors? In my opinion they can't afford to not build out the product portfolio beyond the phone! They don't have the user base to have third parties develop things with them in mind.

Posted via CB10

[anon(1464249)]

Really? How much money did Nest start out with for a smart Thermostat, then Carbon Monoxide and Smoke detectors? In my opinion they can't afford to not build out the product portfolio beyond the phone! They don't have the user base to have third parties develop things with them in mind.

Exactly. As I mentioned before, they don't need to invest billions of dollars, most of the tech and software is already available to some extent. They just need to put a team on it that tweaks it all.
Chances are you are already using products involving synergy through your phone's bluetooth capabilities. Third party hardware paired and controlled via your phone...

[Nine54]

Whether its the PlayBook or your smartphone, it doesn't matter, what matters is that your phone's functionality expands to so much more than just a handheld device.
The video is really nice but it's still a concept. Some of the technology that's being shown off is not yet possible on a smale scale or just isn't here yet. I created the first post with current technology in mind. If BlackBerry wanted to, they could have a proof-of-concept product to market as early as a couple of months, providing seemingly futuristic controls that people are in awe off. It's possible with current hardware, it's just not utilized.

Agree, but just as it's possible for BBRY to do this now with current hardware, it's possible for the other guys to do it now as well. And regardless of the technology, the other players are in a much better position financially to invest and make something like this happen. When you have financial stability, it's much easier to innovate than if you're living "paycheck-to-paycheck," so to speak (yes, I realize it's not that dire for BBRY, but investment will be challenging until they can get into the black).

I'm not saying BlackBerry needs to take over your life or create a vast cloud behind this technology, it's not necessary. They need interoperability inside the house between various hardware components, they don't need to send constant analytic data to some cloud, it would only negatively affect the idea of security within the BlackBerry brand.
People are glued to their phones, they go to bed with it and wake up with it. By making it the center of 'smarthouse' technology you just expand on your functionality with piece of mind that even though your phone isn't in your hand, every feature is still possible by using various other hardware components as if you were holding it in your hand.

Good points. And there is something more logical and efficient in this "machine-to-machine" approach to communication instead of "machine-to-network," especially in terms of security. I think the car is a great example of this. Why does my car need to run its own smart OS and have its own apps, etc.? It's useless when I'm not in it, but now presents a security risk if I've configured a whole bunch of apps/services on it or added data to it. My phone already has all this stuff and, like you said, is always with me, whereas my car isn't. Why can't my phone broker all of this instead of every single device in our lives needing its own smart OS and data connection? And it goes beyond simple Bluetooth connectivity and Miracast/WiDi screencasting...it's like intelligent screencasting that enables "smart" displays with input capabilities.

What incentive you ask? Why wouldn't they do it? They're slowly but surely losing ground to Apple who produces their hardware on their own, they're falling back behind the likes of Samsung and Microsoft who are powerful enough to create a closed environment around their media hardware. Third party hardware vendors, are too small to create closed environments for their products, too small and unlike those other behemoths, they don't have a bottomless money pit. They need to partner up, bringing their hardware together by means of a central hub. BlackBerry can be that hub, company X can provide speakers, company Y sells tv's, etc...
Strategic partnerships and a well thought out business plan will mark their success in bringing this kind of functionality and technology to market today. Not in a year or two, but today. This is what separates them from the crowd, this is what BlackBerry needs to jump aboard on. Do it now, create partnerships, get technicians to work on the software and beat the giants to their game. The market is just yet beginning to form and take shape and the likes of Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, etc... are already hard at work at creating the necessary hardware and software to conquer it. This all takes time and resources.

BlackBerry has the advantage here, a golden opportunity to become a brand thats present in households again ... they need to act now.

I agree that not all these vendors have the resources to compete with Apple, Samsung, etc. And every hardware manufacturer shouldn't have to become an expert in software just to compete. It's not their core competency and actually could threaten to stall innovation in hardware and manufacturing. All the time and energy spent focusing developing software expertise could be spent on advancing materials science and fabrication processes. Hardware does have a tendency to become commoditized over time, but that's just more incentive to identify new hardware and process improvement opportunities--not simply shift the focus to software. Yes, more than ever, users want a tightly integrated experience between hardware and software, but I don't think that necessitates having all capabilities under the same roof. Otherwise, you risk becoming a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-nothing. There should be room to focus on what you're good at and leverage strategic partnerships to help fill the gaps. I agree that BBRY has a lot of opportunity here and has not been aggressive enough in the past. It seems to have a little bit of Not-Invented-Here syndrome, but hopefully Chen changes that.

[anon(1464249)]

For the Dutch speaking people reading this thread... I will translate the article to English soon but I'm about to board a plane so it will have to wait.



Small summary:
The Internet of 'things' is about to happen... a new revolution is at hand just like the Internet revolution that swept the globe, a new trend is forming with connected hardware.



Posted via CB10

[Zidentia]

The concepts and momentum is trending towards clouds because companies want to monetize these and the overhead is extremely low compared to other options. If you look back at other forward thinking projections most do not follow the path completely. The influences of other things including world events, the evolving mindset of the population and others attempts at changing your habits derail most projections. The cloud, while holding many advantages, is highly susceptible to hacking. It also suffers from service disruptions, adoption rates and a lack of conformity. One more recent example is the disruption of Gmail service for several hours which seemed to panic the many that depend on it. A good majority flocked to the competing services which diminishes the ability to predict one unified cloud.

I think Blackberry has an equal shot at being an integral part of the future evolution of interactivity of business, homes and commerce. The number one argument would be the security advantage they have always offered. This will become much more important as people continue to become far too dependent on convergence technologies to "simplify" their lives. In addition there will always be individuals who want to disrupt the harmony of your mundane life by stealing your financial data or causing network failures just to show they wield the power to do so.

The future is indeed connectivity and all of the old technology companies are trying to evolve by promoting the smart house sector and the connected products but this will prove to be disastrous. In the near future as we continue to converge there will be a call for layers of disconnection between the handheld, the personal appliances, the household systems and our personal data as it will become abundantly clear we are more exposed than ever by poorly coded software that uses vague protocols and multiple loop routines in a mishmash of synergistic links with other systems. The future would indeed be bright if one company with a secure track record handled it all with aplomb but sadly the world works much differently. The winner in this scenario will always be the digital deviant.

I mentioned that Blackberry has a shot at this dismal state of affairs. They do and so does Apple and Microsoft. Companies will have to agree on common protocols to be able to interact with competing systems as they battle each other for mind share and financial advantages. Consumers will look for security and peace of mind as they trust even more of their data and to be stored digitally. The winners here will be the ones who prove to be the safe haven for that precious information. Disambiguation though has already begun and it is not Luddites or the aging boomers but people who recognize that companies cannot be trusted with everything.

The internet of things is not coming. It is here and it is horribly implemented and very open to disruption. You already are connected almost everywhere. Soon your privacy will be become non existent and putting your hopes on a corporation to be morally centered is pure folly. Corporations exist to make money. They make money for people. The "cloud" is here and has been for thousands of years. It has taken a few forms but one very common one is paper. You also have your own "cloud" if you own a hard drive or solid state drive or even a file cabinet.

[Alain_A]

Geez that was a long thread to read...1 and 2...I enjoyed it very much..

Good stuff Wout000

[tinochiko]

I see the vision!

TechCraze C0008DDD1