1. felixlives's Avatar
    So, to start of, no, I am no troll and i love BlackBerry, not a fanboy but someone who likes to tell it like he sees it .
    I keep hearing (reading) about people saying that the main issue with BlackBerry is the apps, everytime it's apps here apps there ,so i am going to clarify all this once and for all, so if there are any BlackBerry executives reading (yeah right, as if they do....) pay attention.
    It just isn't apps, think about it for a second, if by some miracle all of the Android AND apple apps were available in app world, would people go out like crazy and buy Blackberrys.....the answer is NO.
    There are three big factors here at play and these are as follows
    1. Sorry but BlackBerry has lost its street cred/coolness whatever you want to call it, it's just not cool to carry a BlackBerry anymore, even though to me the Z10 (bb10) devices are better in many aspects to android and or apple, most people won't give BlackBerry a chance, because it's already in the pot of uncool and inferior devices, people just don't care (tech world is very harsh)
    2. Specs....this is a bit of a low blow because it's not about the specs but the user experience, but you know consumers, specs are less so it HAS to be inferior right?!, although, of course, they are wrong because bb10 doesn't need all that muscle again, people just don't care anymore, or enough to look extra into that, after all all their friends already have a Samsung (or apple) so why bother going against what feels natural, i believe they call this conformity.
    3.Management, i am sorry but it just sucks to see this beautiful OS, so many people worked their *** of for this, and management just screwed up, PR, and advertising was nothing short of a train wreck, wasting sooooo much money on a super bowl commercial (that sorry in my opinion was absolut crap), they could have done way way better, try to get some hip, new age ,more current, celebrity (key word is hip ,current) celebrity's on board, Alicia is great, but i am not to sure it's the right celebrity for this kind of thing.
    price point was another disaster,......simple it's a new OS, you've just lost a lot of, brand power (street cred/coolness whatever) you need to seed the market don't go in thinking we are going to make millions now, seed it first at less of a profit to rebuild your brand power than later come up with a higher end device to sell at a premium (z10/z30) strategy but the Z10 started way way too expensive (i bought mine for almost $800)

    I love BlackBerry I really do, i think honest to God their product is good (bb10) in my opinion better than Samsung and or apple, but bad management is a tough pill to swallow.
    Constantly being late with updates and releases, while sometimes it might not be Blackberrys fault, you have to understand, a tech company that sells old or outdated tech is a dead company.
    I really hope they pull through, and just so you guys know, I love my Z10 so much I typed this whole thing on it and it was a pleasure ,try doing that on another phone



    Posted via CB10
    grumpyaeroguy and drkpitt like this.
    10-10-13 08:55 PM
  2. macberry33's Avatar
    I totally agree.

    Posted via CB10
    10-10-13 09:12 PM
  3. drjames05's Avatar
    Your point #3 really stands out.. the marketing was really painful to see.

    Posted via CB10
    10-10-13 09:15 PM
  4. Chanlion's Avatar
    Their old reputation.
    I'm being serious here.
    10-10-13 09:41 PM
  5. Aljean Thein's Avatar
    There's more reason to it. But it's sad to see BlackBerry go..

    Posted via CB10
    10-10-13 09:56 PM
  6. drkpitt's Avatar
    Here's an article that just came out with a funny intro that helps explain part of the problem with BlackBerry not selling - perception. You could replace "HP" and "Laptop" with "BlackBerry" and "Z10".

    HP's New Radical, $279, Apple-Killing Laptop - TheStreet

    "NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- I'm typing this review on a radical new $279 laptop that, if it had an Apple (AAPL_) logo and were sold in Apple stores, would sell 50 million units in the first month alone. It's the best-spent $279 technology you can buy in the market today. I give it my highest recommendation ever.

    Sadly, we live in an unfair world where ignorant consumers tend to buy products based on brand perceptions that often lag reality by a decade or more. As a result, this Hewlett-Packard (HPQ_) laptop will probably only sell in decent quantities, but not anywhere near the 50 million units had it worn an Apple label.

    So what is this radical new $279 laptop and what's so special about it?"
    10-10-13 09:56 PM
  7. joeldf's Avatar
    Your point #3 really stands out.. the marketing was really painful to see.

    Posted via CB10
    Or, the lack of marketing...

    Actually, the pitiful marketing is something that's been brought up a lot around here. More than the app situation.

    Posted via CB10
    10-10-13 10:43 PM
  8. skibnik's Avatar
    Or, the lack of marketing...

    Actually, the pitiful marketing is something that's been brought up a lot around here. More than the app situation.

    Posted via CB10
    No matter how much blackberry spends/spent on marketing the other guys Apple Android or whoever, have outspent berry with negative attack adds and/or reviews all helped along by the short sellers tying to make a buck off BlackBerry's misfortune. If they are able to go private a lot of this bs won't matter anymore.

    Posted via CB10
    10-11-13 01:03 AM
  9. eddy_berry's Avatar
    I can't fully agree with what you are saying. Most of what you said is absolutely true and it's been beaten to death on these forums countless times. What I can't agree with is that your argument implies that if all the apps were available for BB we would still be in this situation. I can't agree with that. Not everybody knows the old BlackBerry and not everyone hated their old BlackBerry. Many people moved on because all the other guys had these cool looking and useful apps that transformed their phone into more than just a communication/social device and it became the norm. Things would be very different if all the big names apps jumped right in, but in reality they would have to treat Windows Phone the same way and that factor alone would have changed the current mobile technology landscape drastically. I'm not saying people would be fighting for the last Z10, but I am saying that we could have seen quarters where they met analyst expectation or better yet exceeded them by a small margin. Something even WP8 has taken a few years to accomplish.

    I have to add, does anyone else think that HTML5 crossplatform apps becoming more commonplace could have been the solution for both BB and WP8 to gain more marketshare?
    10-11-13 01:21 AM
  10. felixlives's Avatar
    I can't fully agree with what you are saying. Most of what you said is absolutely true and it's been beaten to death on these forums countless times. What I can't agree with is that your argument implies that if all the apps were available for BB we would still be in this situation. I can't agree with that. Not everybody knows the old BlackBerry and not everyone hated their old BlackBerry. Many people moved on because all the other guys had these cool looking and useful apps that transformed their phone into more than just a communication/social device and it became the norm. Things would be very different if all the big names apps jumped right in, but in reality they would have to treat Windows Phone the same way and that factor alone would have changed the current mobile technology landscape drastically. I'm not saying people would be fighting for the last Z10, but I am saying that we could have seen quarters where they met analyst expectation or better yet exceeded them by a small margin. Something even WP8 has taken a few years to accomplish.

    I have to add, does anyone else think that HTML5 crossplatform apps becoming more commonplace could have been the solution for both BB and WP8 to gain more marketshare?
    I am not saying it won't make a difference at all, it will help, but not like BlackBerry needs to, apps help but it's not the definitieve answer.
    Marketing plays a huge role, and i think they have underestimated it big time.
    I've had many legacy devices, including storm 1 and 2, but I'm sorry, in a tech obsessed smartphone industry, those are/were dinosaurs, and i am talking OS here, hang times were ridiculous, my main issue with my 9860 was hourglassing, it was driving me crazy, and was slowing me down big time.
    It's one thing not to have fancy apps, graphics heavy,or productive wise, but the device NEEDS to just work, in this day and age those issues should already have been solved, apple and android did (for the most part, or at least better than BlackBerry) .
    The tech industry is a brutal one you have to keep up, and of course keeping up is not enough people have to know you have tech that can compete (marketing).
    It's very sad, because when I tell people I have a BlackBerry the first thing I get is this stare of "what kind of caveman are you " when I show them what I can do with it, all I get is "wow damn that's cool", but remember it's cool to have a Samsung or apple so even if you show them your device can meet or exceed their needs in most cases, its not enough.
    Some people are still afraid of the old BlackBerry, hanging ,with very ugly looking apps, that memory is etched in their brain.
    It's up to BlackBerry to remove that image and show the world what bb10 QNX really is, but their doing a very sucky job at that


    Posted via CB10
    10-11-13 07:13 AM
  11. Benjamin_NYC's Avatar
    I couldn't care less about a large selection of apps, yet I am constantly frustrated with BB10 incessant errors/bugs/glitches. That certainly doesn't help...

    Posted via CB10
    10-11-13 07:43 AM
  12. FR33MAN's Avatar
    People still think of BlackBerry as the the smartphone with track pad they had years ago

    Posted via CB10
    10-11-13 07:57 AM
  13. felixlives's Avatar
    I have to admit, every now and then, there are small glitches, whenever I have a bunch of apps open sometimes get a slight slowdown, but this is nothing compared to the old BlackBerry.
    I mean it's a world of difference, its completely different, yet people don't know this, a "stained" brand is very hard to re-polish.
    Take an example, my parents bought some time ago a ford explorer, ....turned out to be the biggest piece of crap ever, I mean seriously that thing literally fell apart within months, sure you have warranty, but what about after warranty is gone, the thing is supposed to do what it's supposed to do...that's why you bought it for, not to go fill out warranty return forms.. we said never again an explorer!!.
    So today I was looking into a friends new explorer, it looks sharp clean lots of tech, seems like they made a leap forward, for the better, but even though it's a totally new design, that looks solid I am still hesitant of buying one of these, because of the previous bad experience.
    Sound familiar? ,exactly what's going on with BlackBerry, and most people feel that they've moved on ( whatever that means), which is why marketing (make that GOOD marketing) is key for this, they should have treated this like it's a new phone, or better yet like it's a new brand start from square one, ...assume no one knows what this is.
    Really sad because it is an awesome OS, and i know a lot of people put a sone serious bloos sweat and tears into the thing.
    Would be a shame if it all went to **** because of some guys in suits can't do their job properly

    Posted via CB10
    10-11-13 08:16 AM
  14. stratax's Avatar
    Just because most of us don't care for the apps, doesn't mean other people don't. I have heard a LOT of people say one of the main reasons they won't pick one up, is because no instagram. Most consumers won't deal with sideloading either.

    Marketing is the other reason, you are right on spot with that.

    Now, I don't think they need to get a lot more apps, they just need the important ones to people, like netflix, instagram, Tumblr, etc (idk what is important really). I'm perfectly fine with sideloading, however I dislike it because the android apps DRAIN the battery like no other.

    Posted via my q10
    Last edited by stratax; 10-11-13 at 10:34 AM.
    10-11-13 09:16 AM

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