1. dpaulc1's Avatar
    Here's a question from a businessman trying to build a brand. Situation: Your company is swimming upstream against a fast current of losing marketshare and you are launching a device (Priv) that is groundbreaking (a highly secure Android?). Clearly, you want a lot of people to buy this device in order to stop swimming up that stream.

    Given that, why would you make it one of the highest price devices? Sounds like conflicting priorities to me....
    02-26-16 08:28 PM
  2. conite's Avatar
    Because the added development costs associated with securing it, the physical keyboard and slider mechanism, and BlackBerry's lower buying power probably make it the most expensive phone to make. Since they can't afford to sell it at a loss or even a low margin, the price is what the price is.

    If it doesn't generate a profit (or at least get within shouting distance of breakeven), they'll get out of hardware.
    Troy Tiscareno and JeepBB like this.
    02-26-16 08:37 PM
  3. dpaulc1's Avatar
    I'm going to guess you are an engineer just like I am, because that is an engineering point of view.

    As my responsibilities grew during my career, one of the most startling things I learned is that in the process used by the Marketing department for deciding the selling price, manufacturing costs are almost irrelevant. That is a very tough fact for an engineer to accept.

    Companies decide the selling price, to a much larger extent, based on market research that tells them what people will pay for the device.

    I think Blackberry has sufficient market research to decide that sufficient people will pay their selling price to turn a profit. What I am questioning is the business strategy. Those two parts of the equation are handled by two different groups!
    02-27-16 01:34 AM
  4. dpaulc1's Avatar
    In other words... Short term view versus long term view.
    02-27-16 01:36 AM
  5. PantherBlitz's Avatar
    BlackBerry has no intention to try to compete in "entry-level" handsets. They even went as far as to name their first Android phone "Priv" to drive the point home. Rest assured that they are taking a long term view with respect to keeping their hardware division viable.
    02-27-16 02:41 AM
  6. conite's Avatar
    In other words... Short term view versus long term view.
    Devices are almost irrelevant to the future direction of BlackBerry.

    They would have no reason to want to take a billion dollar bath on phones to try and gain market share. It would jeopardise the rest of the business.

    They would never be more than a small niche player anyway, so selling at a loss wouldn't have the expected results you are looking for.
    JeepBB likes this.
    02-27-16 06:28 AM
  7. dpaulc1's Avatar
    They would never be more than a small niche player anyway, so selling at a loss wouldn't have the expected results you are looking for.
    I've noticed that you tend to make statements like the above as if they are Gospel with no supporting facts. Why is that?
    02-29-16 03:59 PM
  8. Prem WatsApp's Avatar
    Australia / Optus: Priv is sold out, waiting for more units to ship in.

    Looks like they are tightly managing inventory, and are not shooting too high with expected sales. So the figures we'll be getting for the next earnings call are tightly calculated, even though they might be rather disappointing.

    I guess it's a matter of capacity and cash outlay / risk minimization that's holding them back a bit... :-)

    �   There's a Crack in the Berry right now...   �
    03-01-16 04:22 PM
  9. dpaulc1's Avatar
    Excellent point!
    03-07-16 12:36 AM
  10. nt300's Avatar
    They would have been better off coming out with a all touch. And price them to sell. Mechanism Cost? Physical Keyboard Cost? Securing and Un-Securable OS? Ya the Priv is sold for a RipOff price. Regardless how high it cost to make. Will it sell well? Only through Carriers with yearly contracts. No way will people be lining up to pay $900 for a device with a downgraded OS.

    Rocking a Z30
    03-07-16 03:00 AM

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