[slagman5]

Alright, hear me out. I'm not an iPhone or Android fanboy here to talk negativity. I have been on a Bold 9900 for a long time, and despite it being "outdated" I still really enjoy it. Anyway, here's what I have to say. I know Blackberry has never been in the numbers game as others like Samsung have been. Always about making their devices with crazy specs so their fanboys can go boasting on the internet to everyone. Blackberry cares more about the end-user experience than what is TECHNICALLY inside the phone. I get it. But you know what, the market has changed dramatically, and the numbers game is where you win.

Look at gaming consoles as an example. Games is ultimately how we each enjoy the experience. It's about having fun. You don't NEED the awesome gaming PC I have to have fun. You can pick upa N64 controller and play Mario 64 and have a blast. This is true, but look at it now. The Wii U is basically an overwhelming failure. Is it because Mario got less fun? Is it because Metroid is no longer awesome? Or Zelda no longer addictive? No, it's because consumers are now psuedo-techies in my opinion. They like to think they are riding the bandwagon to the future. They fall for the "This new phone will have 8 cores, you can do video encoding on this phone, wow!" I mean, I actually am a techie, I actually think having those capabilities in your phone is cool. But seriously, WHO THE HECK WILL ENCODE VIDEO ON THEIR PHONE??? That's what my top-end PC is for!!

That's why I never really care about the numbers game when it comes to phones. My phone is for me to make calls, send and receive emails and texts, look up info while on the go, etc. etc. I am not doing anything that requires a 32-core CPU that's a super-conductor at room temperture... Ok, actually, if they actually invent something that's a superconductor at room temperature that would be freakin' awesome... Anyway, back on topic, I think despite those loyalists among us willing to give up that ability to go on internet forums and boast about the hardware in your phone, Blackberry needs to make a "top phone" at least once to get people's attention. Release a phone that's TECHNICALLY better than all of its competition. Make Samsung pause and scramble to see if they can top us next time. Otherwise, whenever you say Blackberry to the common person, they will respond with "aren't those like slow and outdated phones only good for businesses?

Does anyone agree?? Anyway, rant over... :-P

[Iamanonymous62]

iPhone does alright and they don't play the numbers game.

[rnhld]

Well... had this phone been released when it was originally intended to, this wouldn't have been an issue, given that its internals would've been on par with the competition (at that time).

Here's to hoping that BlackBerry's next high end offering doesn't suffer any delays.

Posted via CB10

[Thunderbuck]

I only agree to a point. Sheer numbers aren't really that hard to put up. The question becomes "how usable is this device?", and that's when intangibles come into play.

I watched the S4 intro, and was underwhelmed. The "features" tended toward the gimmicky, and I couldn't help but notice that none of them were demo'd live, which left me wondering just how well they actually work in the real world. The phone has fantastic specs (and I definitely envy the choice of 16, 32, and 64GB models), but the UI doesn't look like much to write home about and the device itself is fugly.

The HTC One, though, is gorgeous. And Sony's skin on the Xperia line is clean and elegant. If I had to go Android I'd pick either one over the S4, even if I was giving up a little in the "numbers" battle.

EDIT: I was just thinking back to the whole gaming console thing, and the Wii proves my point. Everyone laughed at the Wii before it was introduced, and the pundits expected Nintendo to be slaughtered by Sony and Microsoft, each of whom was bringing out a console that "technically" left the Wii in the dust. Except that Nintendo sweated out the concept of motion-control gaming which really did turn out to be revolutionary. They really invented a whole new way of interacting with a device, and people immediately "got" it.

The Wii U sucks, unfortunately. Why? Not a lot of real innovation. Sooo, one player can use a tablet, while the others are on the big screen? The use case sounds like fun, but not terribly compelling. Without a "killer" game people will get bored quickly. I have a better idea: how about a game where EVERYONE has their own screen, but they still interact on the big screen? Maybe even using their own phones or tablets instead of needing to buy a specialized device? The point is, Nintendo didn't break ground with the Wii U the way they did with the original Wii, and some might argue they even reduced the overall value of the device.

[Blackberry_Bonez]

The iPhone doesn't rely too much on numbers, but instead great design, a simple and easy user interface, loads of applications and the like... I've never really cared for specs, like you OP- we all have the necessary equipment for things such as video encoding/rendering.

I find it funny how phones are using quad-core processors, I though two cores was enough!

[dcbo89]

I dont feel that they do at this point. Currently the types and quality of apps that they are letting into the store is sometimes outrageous, there has to be some amount of quality checking. I'd much prefer a few good to great apps than the thousands of junk apps that seem to be flooding the marketplace. Apps that are just web links should not be aloud.

[ZEDTROSPEKTIV]

The numbers games has no relevance to BBRY in my eys tbh, reason being for example how many OEM's use android OS so the Numbers game is a battle between the android OEM'S imho, however in Apple's case only they use iOS on the iPhone and iPad range and the it's designed not to need quad core bull crap which is deemed unnecessary to them,I think BBRY has adopted the same approach in regards to BB10.

They also have their own unique selling points, but everyone else is fighting for dominance for the same thing "App ecosystem" which I think is only subjective to the individual consumer needs, although I am aware that there are Industry standard cross platform apps hitch should be on the BB10 OS but aren't - (BBRY INSNT RESPONSABLE FOR THAT)

[T_Touch]

Unfortunately, to some degree, they have to play the numbers game lest they be beaten by the competition. Despite need, people want stuff.

[slagman5]

iPhone does alright and they don't play the numbers game.

Apple cannot be considered with the same standards. They can release **** wrapped in aluminum foil and the masses will line up 2 days in advance to buy it...

[slagman5]

I only agree to a point. Sheer numbers aren't really that hard to put up. The question becomes "how usable is this device?", and that's when intangibles come into play.

EDIT: I was just thinking back to the whole gaming console thing, and the Wii proves my point. Everyone laughed at the Wii before it was introduced, and the pundits expected Nintendo to be slaughtered by Sony and Microsoft, each of whom was bringing out a console that "technically" left the Wii in the dust. Except that Nintendo sweated out the concept of motion-control gaming which really did turn out to be revolutionary. They really invented a whole new way of interacting with a device, and people immediately "got" it.

The Wii U sucks, unfortunately. Why? Not a lot of real innovation. Sooo, one player can use a tablet, while the others are on the big screen? The use case sounds like fun, but not terribly compelling. Without a "killer" game people will get bored quickly. I have a better idea: how about a game where EVERYONE has their own screen, but they still interact on the big screen? Maybe even using their own phones or tablets instead of needing to buy a specialized device? The point is, Nintendo didn't break ground with the Wii U the way they did with the original Wii, and some might argue they even reduced the overall value of the device.

I never said to ignore the end-user experience, I'm saying they need to keep doing what they're doing now, making sure they have a really nice phone to use with a very different user interface, but also have one that has very powerful hardware.

And actually I was definitely considering the Wii to Wii U difference. That's why I'm saying the market has changed. It seems like it was something they were willing to accept before, but not now. It's kind of like how Blackberry used to be number 1, but then people started to feel like they were lacking innovation and got stagnant and their share in the market went down the drain... I know that happened a lot longer ago than the Wii and the Wii U, but I feel it's kind of a similar situation. I know Blackberry 10 is a huge departure from the old Blackberry, but it's all about public perception. A lot of people don't really get that it's different. They still think "oh, it's just crappy old technology by Blackberry." That's why they need to kind of shock everyone into realizing they are competing head-on with the competition... I'm not saying make it their new philosophy. I hate it when a company focuses on the numbers game and ignores everything else. They really just need to do it once with one phone, get everyone's attention...

[slagman5]

Unfortunately, to some degree, they have to play the numbers game lest they be beaten by the competition. Despite need, people want stuff.

Exactly...

[Makaveli@Beta]

I disagree.

Sure most people can recite marketing bullet points and specs and cores. But if you ask them anything technical about the phones that was not covered in a slide show they will be clueless. And if you think the general public is technically inclined you need to get out more and off these forums.

It's like great your phone has 16 cores what does it allow you to do that i can't on a dual on quad cores phone. BlackBerry needs to lead the market not just release clones for sheepish end users. the user experience is what will define the phone not technical specs.

Posted via CB10

[Dave Bourque]

Quad, octa core on my phone ... for what??? extra battery drain??

Posted via CB10

[conite]

BlackBerry cannot win that war. Period. They don't have the market clout, and they can't afford to go toe to toe with the likes of Samsung on specs alone.

They can only challenge through offering a different (better) mobile experience overall.

Posted via CB10

[Blue Shift]

EDIT: I was just thinking back to the whole gaming console thing, and the Wii proves my point. Everyone laughed at the Wii before it was introduced, and the pundits expected Nintendo to be slaughtered by Sony and Microsoft, each of whom was bringing out a console that "technically" left the Wii in the dust. Except that Nintendo sweated out the concept of motion-control gaming which really did turn out to be revolutionary. They really invented a whole new way of interacting with a device, and people immediately "got" it.

This is true of hardware sales in the Wii's, however when you look at software titles sold per console, particularly 3rd party software, Wii didn't do quite as well. I can't find any recent attach rate figures per console sadly, I will look after work to back that up. I know the Wii U's figures are pretty disheartening, something to the effect of only 1 in 5 consumers bought an additional game.

[thurask]

We should all do our part to put more apps on BlackBerry World. Every single Computer Science 101 dropout should make like the average Android or iOS developer and spam World to death. Because what good is quality when morons only consider numbers?

</sarcasm>

Posted via CB10

[Francis Pavolko]

It's the overall experience and not the numbers game that will win the day. Phone manufactures using Android have felt the need to play the numbers as a point of difference since other parts of their offering were underwhelming compared to Apple and it has worked quite well for them to a point. Now they are seemingly stuck in their numbers trap that no longer produces improved user experience, just more, more, more, bigger, bigger, bigger until we have laptops hanging from our belts that will propel rockets into orbit. For power users that may be the ultimate. For those wanting to communicate, they will just have to look elsewhere.

[slagman5]

It's the overall experience and not the numbers game that will win the day.

HOPEFULLY that is true, but it's mostly wishful thinking. When the Galaxy S4 comes out, tell me then who sold more phones on launch day... My money will be on the Samsung without a doubt in my mind... And for what? It's running the same Android, there's nothing different, but they can boast all of these crazy spec numbers that I bet 90% of the consumers will not take advantage of...