[Superfly_FR]

Lenovo bought what Google didn't want of Motorola... they bought the company and it's hardware business. Lenovo bought a company that had a brand with a still sizeable marketshare, that they hoped to build on.

TCL has paid for licensing rights for the BlackBerry name and some IP (keyboard). TCL hope to there is a NICHE in Enterprise and Government (and a few prosumers - yes someone brought that phrase back again) that really, really needs BlackBerry's special sauce for Android and the PKB business form factor. They are probably hoping to do with smartphones, what they did with TVs using the RCA and Thomson brands back in the beginning. In the end, if you watched TCL CES event, TCL is all about the TCL Brand... as that is their true marketing tool. I expect they'll use Palm and BlackBerry in a way that will work to their benefit. If that's good for BlackBerry long term or just short term.... no way to know.

I believe one marketing key is the geographic location.
Seems clear that those BlackBerry will contract with will be charged to build specific "localized" smartphones aimed at a specific region/country.
As of date, TCL seems to be in charge of the "occidental" side of the world so that there's not a major difference with BlackBerry building its formerly "worldwide" designs. But for the next bunch of partners, we might see some exoticism in the designs & features. I'm not sure if TCL will follow this path, in Asia for instance, but who knows; there's still a large part of the world where BlackBerry brand is iconic and, mind you ... the growth rate and revenue perspective (licensing is ~ 99% margin) are impressive, even with a mid-priced devices constraint.

[Superfly_FR]

Typing in 'the zone': Why the physical QWERTY keyboard still matters to some - Technology & Science - CBC News

Kevin's reactions about it and CB members comments, start here : http://forums.crackberry.com/general.../#post12732837

Hey All,

Yeah... this was a fun interview! I wasn't *entirely* happy with the way my quotes turned out (but mainly all good). Spoke to Haydn for like 45 minutes. My exact quote would be "There's no demand for physical keyboards on smartphones, only for BlackBerrys with physical keyboards". That's actually a quote I've used a lot over the years which I borrowed from a friend who works at Samsung who told me that. Samsung tried to build some keyboard smartphones and quit - they know it's a game BlackBerry won.

I also took Haydn through all of the points as to why BlackBerry keyboards still have demand based on this article I wrote in 2014:

Why there's still demand in 2014 for phones with physical keyboards | CrackBerry.com

Of course, he only focused on the two most minor points - older population and long fingernails (kinda ticked about that).

Overall though, I'm pretty excited for the Mercury. May need to come out of CrackBerry Kevin retirement for it and have some fun.

I played with it back at CES in Las Vegas. Immediately was smitten. Beautiful device - looks nice just sitting there. Keyboard was easily usable. Not going to be the BEST BB keyboard ever, but it takes up a minimal footprint and the screen size was still quite big. Can still type on the touchscreen if you don't need/want to use the keyboard in a given scenario. Really loved it.

Timing is kind of good too. It's weird, but we're in a spot right now in mobile tech where everybody's poopoo stinks. Apple ticked off lots of people with iPhone 7 and killing the headset port. Samsung has the Note 7 debacle. A lot of these other Asian-based handset manufacturers just aren't driving and real emotion / love from customers. It sort of feels like 2017 is a year where anything can happen and a nostalgia play like the Mercury will totally find it's audience. For BB users past and present, it's a feel good phone that should perform well too. Kind of reminds me how Nintendo just brought out the Nintendo Classic. This is BB building a phone for the audience who's first smartphone was a BBRY and there's an updated and better model to try now.

Instagram Photos:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO--A4Xj...=kevinmichaluk

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO8tdxiD...=kevinmichaluk

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO8tSE1j...=kevinmichaluk

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO8tA70D...=kevinmichaluk

CrackBerry's 10th Anniversary Coming up next month... so you never know... between that and Mercury... feeling genuinely excited again. It's a good feeling to have!

[Bacon Munchers]

BlackBerry discusses the future of BB10 | MobileSyrup.com

Thanks, S!

I just can't dump bb10. I like it too much, but I tell you what; if BlackBerry drops bb10 into this beast, I will buy 2.
That would be the only way I would let my Passport slip from my clutches.

Man, getting laughed at a lot these days with not only sporting a BlackBerry device, but the stock...
Doesn't bother me a bit though. I truly see a strong future in this company, as you all do.
Actually, I quite like being the only guy in the room wise enough to have such a device. The looks alone make it worth it. Heh.

[rampagingpanda]

In-case anyone else was looking for John's CES 2017 SuperSession discussion on self-driving cars:
CES Super Sessions / Self-Driving Cars: New Rules of the Road

[Corbu]

Introducing the BlackBerry Development Platform: Software Is the New BlackBerry | Inside BlackBerry

[Corbu]

BlackBerry aims to put ‘smart’ in every aspect of life and business | GulfNews.com

[_dimi_]

https://www.mobileiron.com/en/compan...-and-generates

Posted via CB10

[Corbu]

https://www.mobileiron.com/en/compan...-and-generates

Plus this:
https://www.mobileiron.com/en/compan...g-key-business
synfis Migrates From BlackBerry to MobileIron, Making Key Business Processes Mobile

[masterful]

Plus this:
https://www.mobileiron.com/en/compan...g-key-business
synfis Migrates From BlackBerry to MobileIron, Making Key Business Processes Mobile

From the net Synfis roughly have 50 or less staffs.

[rarsen]

OT with again another serious hack out there and FWIW some opinions leading up to Trump's Cybersecurity Plan :

Oracle's monster security update: 270 fixes and over 100 remotely exploitable flaws | ZDNet
"As with previous updates, Oracle is urging customers to apply the updates "without delay" as "it has been reported that attackers have been successful because targeted customers had failed to apply available Oracle patches". Patches for Oracle's FLEXCUBE financial applications make up 20 percent of this update. Overall, 16 of the 17 Java flaws are remotely exploitable without needing user logins, while five of the 27 MySQL flaws are remotely exploitable. POS systems have emerged as a prime target for malware designed to nab credit cards from retailer and hotel chains.

How Symantec, FireEye, Cisco and Others Could Fit Into Trump's Cybersecurity Plan
https://www.thestreet.com/story/1395...HOO&yptr=yahoo
Companies like Symantec (SYMC) , FireEye (FEYE) , Cisco (CSCO) , Proofpoint (PFPT) , Splunk (SPLK) and BlackBerry (BBRY) could all play a larger role in the nation's defenses.

[rarsen]

Double item

[Bacon Munchers]

From the net Synfis roughly have 50 or less staffs.

... Tantamount to saying "Bob's Fabulous Burger Stand drops Mercedes for Yugo".

[OlympusMons]

OT: Wonder what's up with SPHS today. Some large positions being taken during the last half of trading today.

[BanffMoose]

From the net Synfis roughly have 50 or less staffs.

I think Synfis AG (the link in the MobileIron press release), is the parent company which has less than 50 employees. Synfis Service, who is cited in the press release as the customer adopting MobileIron's solutions, appears to have more employees.

Per: Company synfis SERVICE – your fair and reliable service partner

Figures, data, facts

Technical service provider for 30 years
230 employees
150 engineers
35 logistic bases
300 customers nationwide
80,000 technical operations each year.

The article was fairly brief on the nature of the win. Since the article said Synfis started with BlackBerry in 2006, I'm willing to bet Synfis went from BES5/BBOS phones straight to MobileIron. Pure speculation on my part though.

[W Hoa]

Short numbers for BlackBerry down an additional 3% on TSX after 10% drop in prior two week period

Short Positions at 2017.01.13

BlackBerry Ltd

BB

23,452,045

22,680,854

771,191

[RonSchofield]

OT: For those of you still using BB10, UTBBlogs reported a new stock app was launched on Jan 6, 2017! Yes, just last week! Check out StockBook for $2.99. I just bought and downloaded it. No permissions requested. $2.99. No free version that I saw.

Looks like the old Stocks app, but not broken.

Posted via CB10

Hi,

Thanks for the shout out about the app. I have done some fixes and updates and will be adding additional features like tracking mutual funds.

https://appworld.blackberry.com/webs...ode=CA&lang=en

Also looking for for feedback and requests to make the app better.

[rarsen]

Food for thought with general information getting rather routine at times:

Cyber security scare stories could sharpen focus at banks
Speaking to the BBC, cyber security expert Richard Benham, a visiting professor at the University of Gloucestershire, warned that a major bank will not recover from a cyber attack this year. He said there would be a run on a bank as a result of a cyber attack. He said the speed that a crisis could emerge after a cyber attack posed a major challenge. This would see customers withdraw their money at the same time due a lack of confidence, leaving the bank in breach of solvency rules.
Although one source doubted that a major bank would fail because of a hack or similar attack, he did expect banks to increase their focus on cyber security this year.

Fears will only increase among the public as successful cyber attacks on banks hit the headlines. In November 2016, for example, Tesco Bank halted online banking after 40,000 current accounts were compromised and half of them were hit by fraudulent transactions by hackers over one weekend. A total of £2.5m was stolen from 9,000 accounts.

[Corbu]

OT:
Edward Snowden says BlackBerry will be "erased from the pages of history" for its stance on privacy | BetaKit

[Corbu]

BlackBerry secures domain names after win at WIPO

[Corbu]

BlackBerry is ‘dead money’, warns portfolio manager - Article - BNN

[FeitaInc]

OT:
Edward Snowden says BlackBerry will be "erased from the pages of history" for its stance on privacy | BetaKit

Not sure what to make of that statement by Snowden. JC has been rather vocal about being 'a good citizen first' and that the tech community needs to sit down with the government and iron out some new privacy rules. For me at least, it seems like BlackBerry has always had an 'enterprise compliancy' way of thinking about privacy, which is why they came up with BlackBerry Balance.

[bbjdog]

Reading material

http://blogs.blackberry.com/2017/01/...kberry-agrees/

And

http://blogs.blackberry.com/2017/01/...fied-response/

[Corbu]

QNX looking to drive up interest in Kanata autonomous vehicle hub - Ottawa - CBC News

[farmwersteve]

QNX looking to drive up interest in Kanata autonomous vehicle hub - Ottawa - CBC News

If BlackBerry and QNX can nail this autonomous driving thing they could grow exponentially.

Fingers crossed the are looking at this with a 20 year outlook and how to monetize each step of the way

[CDM76]

Hi,

Thanks for the shout out about the app. I have done some fixes and updates and will be adding additional features like tracking mutual funds.

https://appworld.blackberry.com/webs...ode=CA&lang=en

Also looking for for feedback and requests to make the app better.

How about an Android version?