[jhimmel]

See attached...

I'm on Verizon though, so not doing me any good..lol

[Bonsaibo]

Yeah. A shame. Verizon really doesn't care about their clients on this issue.

[Gatmyer]

You think they would want any sales they can get to pay back that 105 million.

Posted via CB10

[nhanken]

The thing I don't get about all these telcos is why they don't even allow people to have a choice on the devices they want even if it's only available as an online option. Isn't the last thing you do in business is to p*ss a customer off by not giving them a choice? Losing customers by not providing them with an option is always a bad business decision. Sure BlackBerry user base may not be huge but any amount of money coming in is better than nothing.



Posted via CB10

[Bonsaibo]

The thing I don't get about all these telcos is why they don't even allow people to have a choice on the devices they want even if it's only available as an online option. Isn't the last thing you do in business is to p*ss a customer off by not giving them a choice? Losing customers by not providing them with an option is always a bad business decision. Sure BlackBerry user base may not be huge but any amount of money coming in is better than nothing.



Posted via CB10

I agree. It's a very strange business model. The wireless telco income drivers are primarily from service revenue, whether contracts or pay-as-you go. You would think that they wouldn't care where you got the phone, especially if they don't offer the specific model you want, as long as you ended up on their network. I realize that buying on contract locks you into that carrier, but if they don't carry the phone, I'd still want the customer on my network, no matter how they got there.

[jhimmel]

Yeah, it's a shame. I'm sure BlackBerry tried, and I can't really say I blame Verizon either. They probably didn't do well with the Z products, and the Passport probably looked like a product destined for even lower sales.

Here's the really sad part. Yesterday, I was at a customer residence. One of the subcontractors that I have known for many years saw me using my phone. He asked what phone is that? I said it's a BlackBerry Z30. He asked if that is one of the new BB10 phones. I said yes. He said that's pretty nice. I said yeah, I really like it, but you will not be able to get one (I happen to know his Company is also on the Verizon network). He asked why not, and I just told him that no more are available. I could see by the look on his face that he wanted to ask more questions, but he let it go, and so did I - because I didn't even know what to say after that. He seemed interested in BB10, but Verizon has no more Z30's and will not be getting any - and the Passport is not coming (as far as we know). All that is left is the Z10, and I didn't think it was the kind of device he would be interested in after his reaction to my Z30. There really isn't much of a BB option available to him at all, and no one can even say for sure when or what will ever be coming to VZW in the future.

Maybe BB has hit bottom, and maybe they are turning a corner. I think the Passport is a smart device for a lot of reasons. It offers something different, and because it is so different, it is more visible. I wonder how many people just realized that BB is still making phones solely because of the commotion the odd looking handset has caused. But they also need mainstream products, and they have to be more readily available. Right now, there is almost no BB option available to people in my situation and that of my colleague.