[reeneebob]

I don't think it matters where the company is from. The larger problem that always plagued BB was the lack of apps. This has since been rectified, but it may be too late to change public perception now.

Hasn't been rectified 100%.

I was messing with my Q5, and before I put my corporate IT policy on it I loaded Snap (since removed). I downloaded Zedge from my google play account. Worked perfectly. Out of curiosity I uninstalled it and loaded Zedge from Amazon App Store.

The version on Amazon was too old and wouldn't start unless I downloaded the new version.

Which I couldn't do because no google play.

So no it hasn't been rectified. For Amazon to be a valid alternative they need to be up to date. Not everyone can put Snap on their phone.

[Tre Lawrence]

Hasn't been rectified 100%.

I was messing with my Q5, and before I put my corporate IT policy on it I loaded Snap (since removed). I downloaded Zedge from my google play account. Worked perfectly. Out of curiosity I uninstalled it and loaded Zedge from Amazon App Store.

The version on Amazon was too old and wouldn't start unless I downloaded the new version.

Which I couldn't do because no google play.

So no it hasn't been rectified. For Amazon to be a valid alternative they need to be up to date. Not everyone can put Snap on their phone.

Wait till that can of worms gets
more exposure. Amazon is missing key apps, and then sometimes has old versions of apps to boot. It's such a problem that I've started buying the FAOTD apps I use from Google Play to ensure i have updated apps.

Still, I guess having Amazon on BB10 is better than the alternative...

[qbnkelt]

Nor does everybody want to.
Amazon/Snap are to BlackBerry's appp gap problem as a band-aid is to a 9mm jacketed hollow point bullet.

[RubberChicken76]

Wait till that can of worms gets
more exposure. Amazon is missing key apps, and then sometimes has old versions of apps to boot. It's such a problem that I've started buying the FAOTD apps I use from Google Play to ensure i have updated apps.

Still, I guess having Amazon on BB10 is better than the alternative...

This. As much as it will bring *SOME* apps to the platform like Netflix, its not the automatic fix that some seem to think it is. Trust me, I have a Kindle Fire HDX. None of the Google Services work on it. Most developers put their apps in the Play Store not the Amazon Store. Try, for example, to find Instagram or Plants vs. Zombies. Some apps are out of date and the Kindle's version controlling sucks arse. It maybe helps BlackBerry 10 be a bit more competitive against Windows Phone, but it doesn't suddenly give BlackBerry the same breadth of apps as Google Play or App Store.

It is nice to have stuff like Netflix and it is nice to have a trusted store not some pirate store, but it has its limits.

[sentimentGX4]

I don't agree. I saw plenty of marketing advertising what was new.

I think the problem with Blackberry was that it didn't really have much "new" or exciting to show. At the end of the day, while it had some new features, BB10 was still too similar to iOS and Android to distinguish itself in the marketplace.

Also, the reason many consumers didn't realize that BB10 exists is not necessarily because of failure on marketing's part. Many average Joe consumers were exposed to Blackberry advertising and either didn't understand what an OS is or didn't care about new smartphones.

I think fans like to scapegoat marketing as it is the easiest way to fail to acknowledge greater faults with the company; but, the marketing was there.

[RubberChicken76]

I think fans like to scapegoat marketing as it is the easiest way to fail to acknowledge greater faults with the company; but, the marketing was there.

There's a line in the book Crossing the Chasm where they talk about this tendency to want to tar and feather the head of marketing when something doesn't sell vs. everyone acknowledging their role to play.

As you say, it wasn't really super differentiated. Make no mistake - I think BlackBerry 10 was desperately needed. But I think it would have had a greater result if they were able to release in 2010 or 11 instead of 13. But hindsight is 20-20 ... I've heard the same thing said of John Chen by analysts - he's really good, but imagine what would have happened if he was there in 2010 instead 2013?

[ranzabar]

Resounding No.

Posted via CB10

[Josh_Gooner]

Americans are patriotic and usually only support their own country products like GMC, Ford, Apple and Microsoft.

I wish Canadians were more like that tbh.

When I go buy a piece of furniture for example: i look for where it is made and will pick the NA or Germany products any day. Usually you have to pay a premium but oh well.

You can't be serious on that 1st paragraph. Japanese made cars, and even Korean made cars, litter the roads here.

Posted via CB10

[avt123]

No, this is not a war beyond products. People of other nations seem to not want BB devices as well.

This has nothing to do with BB not being a US company. They are just not putting out products that consumers think are competitive or worthwhile, and have no ecosystem compared to iOS and Android.

The Z10 should have launched (and been ready) earlier than it was, and the same goes for the Z30. But even then, the lack of an ecosystem is killer. Many people aren't willing to give up on a platform they may have been with for 5+ years and investing money into.

Windows Phone is pretty awful in the US as well, and Microsoft is an US company. Are we at war with Canada and having a Civil War with Microsoft?

[Alain_A]

I'm Canadian and I buy a phone that work for my need. After getting out of the flip phone I went with the storm 1 (piece of crap ever) didn't last a year, throw it in the garbage after putting an axe in it. then I went with HTC
I am a full touch screen guy. A phone has to work.
So bought the Z10 when it came out never had any problem with it. Screen too small for me. Sold it with a lost.
Then went with Z30. Good phone but

Windows Phone better for me just for Cortana and the ability to block any unwanted phone call and/or sms. All that without the need to buy and app (which work sh1t anyway) for it.

[bspence87]

I'm Canadian and I buy a phone that work for my need. After getting out of the flip phone I went with the storm 1 (piece of crap ever) didn't last a year, throw it in the garbage after putting an axe in it. then I went with HTC
I am a full touch screen guy. A phone has to work.
So bought the Z10 when it came out never had any problem with it. Screen too small for me. Sold it with a lost.
Then went with Z30. Good phone but

Windows Phone better for me just for Cortana and the ability to block any unwanted phone call and/or sms. All that without the need to buy and app (which work sh1t anyway) for it.

Sounds like you're going to love 10.3. BlackBerry Assistant will be better than Cortana, and call-blocking is getting added. Not far off now..

[Alain_A]

Sounds like you're going to love 10.3. BlackBerry Assistant will be better than Cortana, and call-blocking is getting added. Not far off now..

Ah well if that is the case it will better than windows phone for me

Another thing I am waiting from Lumia is the 2 sims card into 1 phone which is coming with the L730 or something like that.

Which would be perfect for not carrying 2 phone anymore..

I don't know why BB doesn't do that?

[anon(8865116)]

It may sound silly, or even prejudice. But looking and reading comments not only on CB (GSM Arena, Phone Arena among others) made us those live outside NA to have that perception. We may be wrong, but always new hype on this appear...
BBRY not doing well in USA contributed by this factor?
Would be different if BBRY based (and originated) in USA?
Telcos in USA seems reluctant to work with BBRY.... a few examples on these recently..
Frankly, product benefit for both iPhone and BBRY is more or less the same... with BBRY outdo iPhone in some areas. Even their president using BBRY. But then, why the "anti" BBRY in USA?
I may be wrong, but things would be different if BBRY is American products.
Do you think so?

No, I don't agree with the premise. It is true that US companies are doing better when it comes to technology but there's no reason tied to nationality why the smartphone company seems to have dropped the ball.

My opinion, which is shared by many others, is that Blackberry underestimated the iPhone and did not understand the consumers' wants until it was too late. Sometimes, I think of Blackberry as Microsoft but in a much worse position. What I mean by that is Microsoft has long been dependent on enterprises needing their windows software so any OS that tries to challenge their marketshare must provide compatibility of software, ease of use, security, and enterprise management capabilities. I think a lot of it comes down to application compatibility and the overall employees' knowledge of the OS. I don't think any CIO wants to retrain his entire workforce to learn linux or macos even though most people just use the apps on the OS. To be fair, I think a lot of companies should offer multiple os's based on need but this is unrealistic and would require a lot of duplicate costs with additional support needs. Anyway, I digress.

Unfortunately, this tight grip on the enterprise is easier to circumvent for mobile device management than desktop management. I feel like blackberry was also late to the game when it comes to BYOD. Most companies just need their employees to have mobile access to email and their calendar. It also didn't help that the iPhone and android devices were taking over as the major smart phones so when presented with an alternative byod solution to the blackberry mdm, a lot of companies switched over to apps like mobile iron and good. Blackberry obviously corrected this by supporting different os platforms but that didn't happen until last year and it was way too late to the game. So once again, they were late there and it hurt them two fold. One, because most people got exposure initially to blackberry from being given one at their work. So with companies adopting alternative mdm solutions, there is no reason to even own a blackberry anymore unless you specifically like them. Two, because now there are companies offering these different solutions, blackberry potentially loses money on their software side as well.

Blackberry was in a much better position than android and even the iPhone in 2008. They dropped the ball and it wasn't because of nationality. Even if 50% of canadians owned a blackberry, Canada is probably not even in the top 5 of smart phone markets. Even if it were in the US, it might actually have a WORSE time selling their smart phones and software because everyone would think the US gov has backdoors to snoop on their so called "secure software".

A lot of people frankly believe bb10 is still way behind the iPhone and android in terms of capabilities, and really, it is mostly because of apps. Amazon App Store is a step up but I don't think it is a long term solution unless amazon can provide the latest versions and keep hold of the best apps. I realize you could download the apks and install them before the amazon app store came along... but that doesn't work for most people. Most people are dumb and could care less about spending time to 'enhance' their device. Those same people also see blackberry as a legacy device because now carriers don't sell their devices, and because of that, it perpetuates the idea that blackberry is dying and unwanted. Most people probably still think blackberry runs on bb07. It takes a lot of money and time to shift perception about a company. Really, the consumers are the best advocates for a company.


All in all, I may have sounded cynical but I think they will survive. I own a decent amount of stock that I bought when it was pretty low but it was more because I saw blackberry as a profitable software company. The stock literally trades with no hope for growth at all, even today. To give you some perspective, I think tsla makes the same amount of revenue (and still loses money) as blackberry, yet the company is valued at 32 billion whereas blackberry is like 5. John Chen's first priority was to cut the fat, which he did. He also prevented a lot of their losses from happening in the future by shedding inventory risk (foxconn). Most investors are scared to hold blackberry because excluding jc's tenure as ceo, revenue has been dropping like crazy. I think 50% year over year for the past 5 years. No investor wants to catch that falling knife.

If he can stabilize revenue and actually return a couple hundred million of profit, the stock should bounce back. If the stock bounces back (assuming they're also investing the profits wisely), they'll be able to buy some more companies that align with their new vision. I doubt JC thinks handsets could make or break their business but he obviously sees how easy it is to make money off them, and if they actually did get customers back, John Chen would be responsible for one of the greatest tech turnarounds ever. I believe he can actually do it.

[Pasha_M5]

Apple has successfully brainwashed the American public. The commercials are crazy.

Majority of consumers in America are brainless and feed into the siri commercials and stuff like that. I mean, how else has the iphone become the second best selling consumer product in history? (1st is rubiks cube) in such a short time! (less than ten years)

Apple connects with the brainlessness. How could BlackBerry do that on such a massive broad scale? They need jay z to do a commercial with the passport and people will gravitate towards it. Idk.

Posted via CB10

[Pasha_M5]

I know :: jay z bbm'ing lebron and lebron bbm'ing Kevin love. The commercial would have to feature that classic tone, If I remember correctly it's called caffeine. People will be drawn to that sound and recognize it. Or it could fail like the Nextel "bleep" thing.

Also maybe subtract kev for Justin Timberlake. Lol. $BBRY

Posted via CB10

[Heinz Katchup]

Using iDevices for WLAN and BlackBerry for WWAN. Everyone wins!

Posted with X10 via CB10

[lnichols]

Apple has successfully brainwashed the American public. The commercials are crazy.

Majority of consumers in America are brainless and feed into the siri commercials and stuff like that. I mean, how else has the iphone become the second best selling consumer product in history? (1st is rubiks cube) in such a short time! (less than ten years)

Apple connects with the brainlessness. How could BlackBerry do that on such a massive broad scale? They need jay z to do a commercial with the passport and people will gravitate towards it. Idk.

Posted via CB10

No Apple has built a lot of brand loyalty with a revolutionary product, apps, and the absolute best smartphone service and support available. The product is also simple, and works well. Yes their marketing machine is fantastic, but if the product sucked it wouldn't continue to see the growth it has year over year.

Posted with a BlackBerry Z10

[Pasha_M5]

Obviously the iphone doesn't suck. You could *try* to argue that it does because of the battery life but.... the marketing is ridiculous and what I believe to be the reason it's so successful. the commercials are so sickly unique they suck you in and make you feel like you need the iphone. It's remarkable.

Posted via CB10

[Pasha_M5]

The commercials usually show you how easy it is to do cool stuff

Posted via CB10

[eyesopen1111]

The commercials usually show you how easy it is to do cool stuff

Posted via CB10

Careful, Pasha, you're talking yourself into an iPhone! Don't go into the light...

Z-30/STA 100-5/10.3.0.1052/T-Mobile USA

[Pasha_M5]

Careful, Pasha, you're talking yourself into an iPhone! Don't go into the light...

Z-30/STA 100-5/10.3.0.1052/T-Mobile USA

This Pasha you speak of currently has a 5s but I'm forwarding everything to this bad larry

Posted via CB10

[medic22003]

You can't be serious on that 1st paragraph. Japanese made cars, and even Korean made cars, litter the roads here.

Posted via CB10

That's true, but I will buy an American car first if I can. The problem is most of them are built in Canada or Mexico. Heck gm moved a bunch to China. Vw and Toyota actually have plants in the states so why not buy them? Yeah they are foreign companies but at least American workers are getting jobs putting them together.

Posted via CB10

[Paintman321]

That's true, but I will buy an American car first if I can. The problem is most of them are built in Canada or Mexico. Heck gm moved a bunch to China. Vw and Toyota actually have plants in the states so why not buy them? Yeah they are foreign companies but at least American workers are getting jobs putting them together.

Posted via CB10

Very true. Here's a list of the top ten American made cars:

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story....op&subject=ami



Posted via CB10

[systemvolker]

Its the adoption. Average people think that iPhone has the highest tech and a whole new invention and the most advance of everything. This is what I always hear from old folks I know. Until I showed them my BlackBerry 10. I don't know where they get this from.

Some are just like sheeps.



Hehehe

[Glenn Biddle]

Sorry I but I thought Apple was an Irish company.

Posted via CB10