[z10baby]

And how is the Z3 going to sell itself, or any of the BB10 devices when there has been no visible effort by the company itself in the promotion of these devices?

The phones are great but the management sucks.

Loving my Zed 10!!

Marketing in the countries this is launching is actually quite good...

[trwallace]

thats something that definitely needs clarification. He is someone that shoots from the hip. He doesnt really look at the consequences unfortunately on this one i think he hurt the company. At least wait until the z3 comes out before saying something like that. You just admitted you might sell the handset business off. That isnt good for sales. I Like John Chen but that was not a good comment on this part. Im sure he will clarify but the damage may already be done. Not Good John. Very poor execution on your part something blackberry has been guilty of to many times. OUCH!!!

[quest877]

Marketing in the countries this is launching is actually quite good...

how good? please show. I'm from India, and i barely see anything about blackberry z3(or any other bb) on tech sites, let alone tv ads.

[Nemzy]

I understand what people are saying. Yes what He said was obvious. He cannot stay in a business losing money because eventually NONE of BlackBerry will exist. So i guess what people are saying is that he still shouldn't have said that.

I think that before BlackBerry exit the handset business, they have to really give it a shot.Right now they aren't and they wonder why handsets are not selling! Advertise on TV, Advertise on YouTube, let people know! Right now consumption is only left to consumers who already have an interest in the brand. Advertising is not the job of Blackberry customer (CrackBerry community)

Give it a proper shot before you decide to exit the handset market.

[ljfong]

Not a mistake. An obvious statement from a straightforward speaker who doesn't mince words. Why would anyone think that BlackBerry would make phones forever if they never made money? He's made it clear that he intends on turning the handset division around, if it doesn't work then it doesn't work. Makes perfect sense.

The mistake is not in the logic of the statement, but in suggestion that BlackBerry as a company itself has no full confidence on its own ability to succeed in handset business. Kinda like putting up the for sale sign publicly during Thorsten's reign. These statements generate fear and uncertainty about the company's future and ability to execute, never mind the company's actual ability to execute.

[Alain_A]

"If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the handset business," John Chen said in an interview, adding that the time frame for such a decision was short. He would not be more specific, but said it should be possible to make money off shipments of as few as 10 million a year.

full story here: BlackBerry may consider exiting handsets, eyes investments | Reuters

and here; http://forums.crackberry.com/crackbe...tments-922489/

[aha]

Agreed. It is a disappointing mistake.

Posted via CB10 with Z30 on 10.2.1.2141

[Vikneswaran Murugan]

this is great stupidity.. i think BlackBerry needs a good ceo than Mr chen who has given a stupid statement which can mislead to the end of BlackBerry forever...

Posted via CB10

[Alain_A]

why would it be stupid? If there is no money to be make with handset because of the competition. Why stay in it?

[webber27]

No need for the CEO to confirm the rumors.

First of all, he did far from that.

Second of all, it's a drop in the ocean compared to all the existing notions. Remember when BlackBerry was actually for sale a few months ago? This comment makes no difference.

And third, I prefer honest clarity to misplaced optimism. It feels less ironic.

All in all, let's stop panicking about something that should be already obvious.

Posted via CB10

[SlcCorrado]

That's implied no need to state the obvious and set up yourself for failure.

Posted via CB10

He was asked the question, so he answered... Did anyone even read the whole interview? Or just that excerpt?

[SlcCorrado]

The mistake is not in the logic of the statement, but in suggestion that BlackBerry as a company itself has no full confidence on its own ability to succeed in handset business. Kinda like putting up the for sale sign publicly during Thorsten's reign. These statements generate fear and uncertainty about the company's future and ability to execute, never mind the company's actual ability to execute.

I don't see where he implied anything of that nature

[Skyforever]

No one is perfect, John Chen included. The man is trying to be honest when answering questions. I can admire him for that, but there is also a time and place for everything. He has been traveling a lot to help promote BlackBerry in the Enterprise. He is obviously tired, and he slipped with this remark. It can happen. I would suggest we find ways to be positive, strong and clever whenever possible. Affirm BlackBerry. Keep it simple. We love our phones, inspire and educate. Be part of the solution. However small or big a part you can play. Some people want to hear positive things about BlackBerry. Give them something positive to think about. BlackBerry. Here and Now Forever.

[xBURK]

If you watch the interview, there is no confusion. He did not make these claims. It is the opposite in fact. Reuters article on the video interview is wrong. Fall out.

Powered by BlackBerry

[silversmith75]

this is what i hate about the media... instead of say what he said.. they twist it to sound like doom and gloom... Bloomberg article says they don't want to be dependant on the handset industry.... Reuters took from that interview. we are not getting out of handset industry, but shifting to not be dependant on it..all they got was we don't wanna make phones...and was not specific about time frame... yet in Bloomberg he spells out how long he has give to start being profitable....


(Bloomberg)"BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY)�s John Chen is giving himself two years to overhaul the smartphone maker and offset declining handset demand with sales of software that connects computers with all manner of machines, from cars to heart monitors.

Chen, who took over as chief executive officer in November, is stepping up BlackBerry�s reliance on business customers instead of the smartphones that made the company famous. In the worst-case scenario in which he misses his goal of generating cash flow by this fiscal year, Chen said he�ll have six to eight quarters to replace declining hardware sales with higher-margin software revenue.

�I don�t have a plan to get rid of handsets, I have a plan to not be dependent on handsets,� Chen said yesterday in an interview at Bloomberg�s headquarters in New York. �All I need to do is replace the handset revenue, and this company will be very different.�

The shift is the key to Chen�s goal of returning the money-losing company to profit by the fiscal year that ends in March 2016. Chen is in a race against time with device sales continuing to slide -- 77 percent last quarter alone from a year earlier. His plan to create fresh revenue streams from its QNX software and BBM instant-messaging services has been welcomed by investors who�ve driven the stock up 23 percent since he took the helm after a failed sale process."


(Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd would consider exiting its handset business if it remains unprofitable, its chief executive said on Wednesday, as the company looks to expand its corporate reach with investments, acquisitions and partnerships.

"If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the handset business," John Chen said in an interview, adding that the time frame for such a decision was short. He would not be more specific.

Chen, who took the helm of the struggling smartphone company in November, said BlackBerry was also looking to invest in or team up with other companies in regulated industries such as healthcare, and financial and legal services, all of which require highly secure communications.

The chief executive said small acquisitions to strengthen BlackBerry's network security offerings were also possible.

[olisg]

Reminds me of what Nokia under Elop did to Meego OS, the burning memo..

Posted via CB10

[quest877]

why would it be stupid? If there is no money to be make with handset because of the competition. Why stay in it?

Blackberry is meant for developing phones, what else will they do? They already have the 'failure' tag on themselves, given by the media. What will they do after their handset business is closed off? Provide mobile OS to other companies? lol
It'll become a joke

[Alain_A]

Blackberry is meant for developing phones, what else will they do? They already have the 'failure' tag on themselves, given by the media. What will they do after their handset business is closed off? Provide mobile OS to other companies? lol
It'll become a joke

If you read those article. He said that BB may not make handset anymore but it will be done by some partners instead ( foxcon )..BB phone are here to stay not close down.

[xBURK]

The only mistake is Crackberry confusing everyone with this article . WATCH THE VIDEO BEFORE JUDGEMENT.

Powered by BlackBerry

[homl]

Watch the interview video for yourselves, instead of reading all the cr@p everyone is misquoting.
BlackBerry CEO says his handsets will make money by next year | Video | Reuters.com

[sati01]

Watch the interview video for yourselves, instead of reading all the cr@p everyone is misquoting.
BlackBerry CEO says his handsets will make money by next year | Video | Reuters.com

Oh, I just replied to you in the other thread, I copy here.

Probably they talked with Chen before recording the video. There are other things in the article that aren't in the video, for example:

John Chen said in an interview, adding that the time frame for such a decision was short

He would not be more specific, but said it should be possible to make money off shipments of as few as 10 million a year.

"We are not going to go up against Whatsapp. We are going to be more focused on secure communications, secure messaging," he said of BlackBerry's BBM platform.

"We are not going to spend any more money to maintain the latest version of Angry Birds," Chen said, referring to a wildly popular consumer mobile videogame.

[fhfh2244]

Regardless if it was misrepresentation or his actual words, it is chens job to step up and clarify what he means. If he is serious about not making devices, not good and not good for sale of future devices, if he's in it for the long haul, he needs to shoot down this online speculation... either way, this is a cluster and not gonna be good for sales of the q20 or bes offerings.... there needs to be clarification asap

Posted via CB10

[xBURK]

Regardless if it was misrepresentation or his actual words, it is chens job to step up and clarify what he means. If he is serious about not making devices, not good and not good for sale of future devices, if he's in it for the long haul, he needs to shoot down this online speculation... either way, this is a cluster and not gonna be good for sales of the q20 or bes offerings.... there needs to be clarification asap

Posted via CB10

If you watched the video, you would have heard him say he is fixated on making devices profitable. He also said he will do what it takes to make this happen. Not sure how more clarification anyone needs?

Powered by BlackBerry

[sixpacker]

If you watch the interview, there is no confusion. He did not make these claims. It is the opposite in fact. Reuters article on the video interview is wrong. Fall out.

Powered by BlackBerry

Reuters and bloomberg did not get this wrong. Your assuming the video interview is all they had, it obviously isn't. Sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut and let some advertising do the talking for a change.

[Draven2666]

Regardless if it was misrepresentation or his actual words, it is chens job to step up and clarify what he means. If he is serious about not making devices, not good and not good for sale of future devices, if he's in it for the long haul, he needs to shoot down this online speculation... either way, this is a cluster and not gonna be good for sales of the q20 or bes offerings.... there needs to be clarification asap

Posted via CB10

If you watch the video. He was very clear on his plans with the handset side of BlackBerry.

Posted via CB10