[mohsinjeelani]

I've been thinking about this all day. Shouldn't BBM Meetings be free for all BlackBerry 10 users? It makes sense for various reasons:

1) There should be a differentiator between BBM for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone compared to BBM for BlackBerry 10. In my opinion BlackBerry 10 users should get the entire BBM package for free while other OS users pay for premium features - that only makes sense! You have to protect, reward and treat your BlackBerry 10 users like VIPs!

2) From my understanding, only the host of a BBM Meeting has to have a paid subscription and he/she can invite other BBM users who have no subscription at all to join a BBM Meeting. And keeping the above in mind that BBM Meetings should be free for BlackBerry 10 users - I think this could turn out good for BlackBerry in the long run: Most people in a business/organization who are hosts to a BBM meeting will be department heads/ managers/ executives/ etc, and that is clearly who BlackBerry is now targeting with its refocus on enterprise. So if they offer BBM Meetings free for BB10 users among other premium features as they develop, they will then be able to get more managers more executives to buy BlackBerrys and use their devices. They may lose some revenue on the software side by doing this, but they will gain in the device business by creating that difference between using BBM on BlackBerry 10 vs others. Furthermore, they can still monetize even off of BB10 users by for example limiting meeting participants for those that don't pay the fee for BBM Meetings to 10 and keep it 25 or more for those that pay the fee.

Those are my 2 cents; I'm interested in hearing everyone else's thoughts on this!

[grevan88]

I know exactly what you mean and I was wondering the same thing, but the focus for BlackBerry has not only shifted from the consumer market to the enterprise but also from hardware to software. BlackBerry lost its extremely lucrative BIS subscription service revenue model, and in order to be deemed viable by the markets, they need to recreate this value. It is extremely important for a company to turn nothing into something. Software doesnt expire, it doesnt go out of date or fashion, it doesnt need to be written down like inventory. Chen has promised a doubling in service revenues to $500 million a quarter in the near future so he needs as much subscription revenues as possible and as fast as possible.

Maybe one day...

[mad_mdx]

This would be a great incentive for companies to issue BlackBerry handsets to their employees

Posted via CB10

[thanasi]

This is exactly what I expressed in another thread. It frustrates me so much. BBM Meetings need to be free for all BlackBerry users. We are what has kept this company afloat through thick and thin. Where is our thank you? Where is the incentive to keep using BlackBerry?

Posted via CB10

[Coffee Addict]

They could also charge 60% less or something like that for people with BB10 phones.

Good idea to explore further

Posted via CB10

[SubCamp]

I'm mad that I have to pay for BlackBerry features

Posted via CB10

[AnimalPak200]

Should be free, for a year, half a year or something. It would seem like the device you're buying is $12.50*(number of months included) "cheaper".

Posted via CB10

[johnnyuk]

BlackBerry need BBM to start making money for them. If it's good enough Enterprises will pay for BBM Meetings. BlackBerry can't afford to offer this service for free to anyone, it's as simple as that.

Posted from my BlackBerry Z30 STA100-2 /10.2.1.3442 on O2 UK - Activated on BES10.2.4

[Prem WatsApp]

BlackBerry need BBM to start making money for them. If it's good enough Enterprises will pay for BBM Meetings. BlackBerry can't afford to offer this service for free to anyone, it's as simple as that.

Posted from my BlackBerry Z30 STA100-2 /10.2.1.3442 on O2 UK - Activated on BES10.2.4

Yep.

A one-off fee or purchase price won't be able to indefinitely support / maintain a service infrastructure and bandwidth to run those video meetings.

Let's say they factor in that the phone is likely going to be replaced after two years, but do the margins really allow for that... ?

We can't have high quality super-spec phones at blow-out prices with free high-res multiperson video calls for free... at least I don't think so. :-)



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