[srzjumper]

BlackBerry is not 'dead' to him.

Posted via CB10

[Bbnivende]

Kevin O'Leary? .. I would give more credence to Kim Kardashian.

[aha]

BNN - Watch TV Online | Kevin O?Leary loves the new BlackBerry Classic

New video just came out today less than an hour ago. Mods feel free to add this link to OP.

Kevin's true feeling about BlackBerry

[wincyUt]

BNN - Watch TV Online | Kevin O?Leary loves the new BlackBerry Classic

New video just came out today less than an hour ago. Mods feel free to add this link to OP.

Kevin's true feeling about BlackBerry

Thanks for sharing. Again, great interview but I will beg to differ with his take on the Passport form factor; I think the Passport is sexy and I'm loving it.

[TheQuietRioter]

At 449.00 US, I an also very tempted to get one myself, I have a passport and a z30 which I am using at the moment because I killed my passport yesterday on a clients concrete driveway after it fell out of my shirt pocket bending over to pick something up I had dropped. Ouch!!!

Sent from my lovely z30 on T Mobile USA

I bet that hurt.

Posted via CB10

[Skyforever]

I sent it to the insurance company, so we will see what happens in in week or so, may not hear anything until after Christmas anyways.

Sent from my lovely z30 on T Mobile USA

I feel for you buddy. Love my Passport as well. The Z30 is also a great phone, had one before using the Passport, but sold it, cause I knew the Passport is all I need, and figured it would be best to put the Z30 into good productivity somewhere else. I'm always appreciative of all your feedback on this site. You are great BlackBerry believer and supporter. Cheers, and Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. Here's to hoping the Passport will be back in your hands sooner rather than later. Do you always use your phones naked? I imagine that would be part of the reason why it broke. I'm waiting for the new Seidio case at the moment. Have used the Passport naked since the launch. Dropped it a few times but been lucky so far. Looking forward to the case though.

[George_B]

It is good to see a ringing endorsement for the BlackBerry Classic before it’s officially released. Sounds like Chen and BlackBerry hit it out of the park with this device. Time will tell, but I really hope that they are able to bring in the majority of the Bold users.

Hope you're right, dbiv5445.

The trackpad and belt takes care of the hardware that I've been waiting for...

But the other essential -- for myself, anyway -- is Categories for (my thousands of) contacts.

I can't afford to give up categories, since it makes it so easy to narrow down a search within contacts. And 'groups' just doesn't do the job (and would take me days to move over, even if it did)!!!

So far, 10.3.1.1154 still is missing that essential. But what happened today (Classic launch day)...Classic OS is still 10.3.1.1154...arrggghhh

[BigAl_BB9900]

Pretty sure this hasn't been posted yet......

Kevin O'Leary on BNN for his take on the BB Classic:

BNN - Watch TV Online | Big week for BlackBerry

Even more positive than his review for the Passport!

I completely agree re: his point(s) about the Classic being the device which will finally get corporate people to upgrade from their old Bolds.

Overall, IMHO, a very balanced review.

[TheBlkGuyFrmWrk]

BNN - Watch TV Online | Kevin O?Leary loves the new BlackBerry Classic

New video just came out today less than an hour ago. Mods feel free to add this link to OP.

Kevin's true feeling about BlackBerry

I know he's old and all but his take on the Q10 being complete crap is off base. What he is referring to is 10.2 OS he should really clear that up. Everything he mentioned that you can do on the Classic you can do on the Q10. Minus the trackpad

[thymaster]

What the Q10 doesn't have an official 10.3 update yet? Blackberry need to get going and support it's current past models. This is unacceptable. One of the reason I left Android was for this reason. None of the Android hardware manufacturer support any software update after 6 months of their hardware launch and I felt my phones would become obsolete immediately. Android manufacturers don't care because they are out to make a quick buck.

I know he's old and all but his take on the Q10 being complete crap is off base. What he is referring to is 10.2 OS he should really clear that up. Everything he mentioned that you can do on the Classic you can do on the Q10. Minus the trackpad

[mornhavon]

None of the Android hardware manufacturer support any software update after 6 months of their hardware launch and I felt my phones would become obsolete immediately. Android manufacturers don't care because they are out to make a quick buck.

Things have changed a lot in the Android realm. There are a number of Android manufacturers that support their devices for a lot longer than 6 months after launch. Even Samsung often updates 18-24 month old flagships with their bloated versions of Android... eventually.

Some Examples:
Sony Xperia Z - Released 2 years ago, officially getting the brand new "Lollipop" version.
LG Nexus 4 - Released over 2 years ago, got the new "Lollipop" version.
Moto E/G/X (1st gen) - Each over a year old, haven't missed an update yet.

And for those willing to root and go with unofficial ROMs (from trusted sources), many popular devices can update to the latest version of Android over 3 years later (the Nexus S, released 4 years ago, will likely unofficially get Lollipop).

[TheBlkGuyFrmWrk]

What the Q10 doesn't have an official 10.3 update yet? Blackberry need to get going and support it's current past models. This is unacceptable. One of the reason I left Android was for this reason. None of the Android hardware manufacturer support any software update after 6 months of their hardware launch and I felt my phones would become obsolete immediately. Android manufacturers don't care because they are out to make a quick buck.

They might have 10.3 now but when he got the Q10 more than likely he had it with 10.2 and probably gave up on it.

[Judyam]

Nice! Especially that it is Kevin doing the review,.... His positive vote, being a serious business user, (who is also typically very stingy about giving compliments or"rah-rahs" of any kind) is valuable to serious business users

[RyanGermann]

I'm just happy he recognizes that this is exactly what BB should have released as the original Q10. Bring on the Passport+toolbelt!

That could be a compelling device... maybe not the "perfect" device like my slider would be, but I find the Passport keyboard to be kind of gimmicky, to the degree that I've gone back to my Z30... at least for a while...

...and when he asks "why didn't they bring this out originally?". It's not as simple as "Because Thorsten Heins decided that even though people wanted the belt / trackpad he just wasn't going to do it". The fact that 10.3.1 has come a long way is part of it but WHY didn't BlackBerry do the BB10 "Bold" at launch?

I still blame Thor for not having a good enough grasp of what makes BlackBerry devices unique and viable, which left him to try and chase Apple and Samsung "full touch" devices and basically betray those most loyal to BlackBerry. You can say "and look where it got him".. but it also cost a lot of BlackBerry employees their jobs, a lot of shareholders lost a lot of money, and now it's almost incomprehensible why he was so anti-keyboard...

I will also say that O'Leary's assessment of why Apple will never "own" business users is accurate if superficial... but ask O'Leary what specific apps he'd need on BlackBerry to make him realize his iPhone is "redundant" then his next interview may be "I don't carry an iPhone anymore..."

[kevets]

Just think of when Mr. O'Leary gets his hands on BBM Meetings cross platform and can do BBM chats with his kid.

He might have to push on Chen a little bit to throw that switch on BBM Video chat to really make it a fair fight

[m3mb3rsh1p]

I'm glad he likes the Classic. I do feel a little uncomfortable with his dismissive tone when offering negative comments but I guess that's his style; as he displayed on Dragon's Den.

I loved that he got a call right at the end of the interview set to that Classic BlackBerry Ringtone. Nice.

I'll still go with the Passport. If looking like a dork while taking a call on a Passport is wrong.... Then I don't wanna be right!

[ajwan]

I'm glad he likes the Classic. I do feel a little uncomfortable with his dismissive tone when offering negative comments but I guess that's his style; as he displayed on Dragon's Den.

I loved that he got a call right at the end of the interview set to that Classic BlackBerry Ringtone. Nice.

I'll still go with the Passport. If looking like a dork while taking a call on a Passport is wrong.... Then I don't wanna be right!

When Kevin's phone rang, I jumped up from my chair. Why? Because I thought it was my Passport!

Posted via CB10

[gogogadgets]

I don't like the way he trashed the Q and the Z. They are not "crap" devices, and the Z series was not a wannabe iPhone. It was always better than the iPhone, right from the beginning.

[iamagod]

That could be a compelling device... maybe not the "perfect" device like my slider would be, but I find the Passport keyboard to be kind of gimmicky, to the degree that I've gone back to my Z30... at least for a while...

...and when he asks "why didn't they bring this out originally?". It's not as simple as "Because Thorsten Heins decided that even though people wanted the belt / trackpad he just wasn't going to do it". The fact that 10.3.1 has come a long way is part of it but WHY didn't BlackBerry do the BB10 "Bold" at launch?

I still blame Thor for not having a good enough grasp of what makes BlackBerry devices unique and viable, which left him to try and chase Apple and Samsung "full touch" devices and basically betray those most loyal to BlackBerry. You can say "and look where it got him".. but it also cost a lot of BlackBerry employees their jobs, a lot of shareholders lost a lot of money, and now it's almost incomprehensible why he was so anti-keyboard...

I will also say that O'Leary's assessment of why Apple will never "own" business users is accurate if superficial... but ask O'Leary what specific apps he'd need on BlackBerry to make him realize his iPhone is "redundant" then his next interview may be "I don't carry an iPhone anymore..."

Oh yea by no means did I mean to keep the 3row keyboard. I'm not a fan at all. I just meant a larger screen.

My ideal BB10 device would definitely be a 4.2" slider+toolbelt. I miss flicking words from my Z10, it makes one handed typing ridiculously easy and fun. But in times of impatience, physical keyboard is a necessity. And I'm almost always running thin on patience.

Posted via CB10

[ponpiri]

Kevin O'Leary? .. I would give more credence to Kim Kardashian.

I wouldn't. Kim claimed that her iPhone was hacked during that celebrity nudes thing a few months ago even though she's been on record gushing over her Bold AND the said Bold 9900 was in one of the photos that was "hacked"

I hope BB sticks to their guns by ignoring the hell out of her.

[Bbnivende]

Pox on both Kevin and Kim. They are both in the self promotion business.

[Supa_Fly1]

Kevin O'Leary? .. I would give more credence to Kim Kardashian.

Oh you would would you?
He he states old ancient BB devices are all those BB10's he mentions Q10, Z10, Z30 and Passport in the same sentence?!

He's a Kool-Aid drinking fan with no REAL knowledge of the history of BB devices. He just dissed BB twice by associating the brand with Smithsonian ... history relics. Not the free kind of advertising you'd want for BB.

[Pcmx]

He sure seems to not like Q and Z and Classic appears to be similarly spec'd. I get the toolbelt, trackpad, and battery but I'm guessing the OS is pretty streamlined.

Woodscribed on my BlackBerry Passport via Smithsonian Relic to Text App

[m3mb3rsh1p]

I have to say, uncomfortable as it may be to hear him calling previous BB10 devices crap, it does sort of help paint an aura of rejuvenation over BlackBerry's new devices. There are some who might be tempted to say "But it's still BB10 like on the Q, Z etc and people said it's not as good..." Hearing someone say "Forget what you heard. This is so much better it's not even close!" might encourage them to take another look.

[Jaalouro]

Here is a business man who has blackberry product, it works for him. He has a lot of say. He's legit.

Passport/CB10 on WIND