[IndianTiwari]

Chen did not join the Blackberry to safe the handset business. His first priority was to stabilise the sinking ship which he did splendidly. As a Blackberry fan I am also a bit dissapointed but if I look from Chen point of view he cannot run the hardware business just for handful of loyal customers like me.

[Batibreaker]

Before I get called hater or an unbeliever let me first say that I have used a BlackBerry my whole life. It all started with the BlackBerry 7510 and let me tell you, it was a dream come true! Having my work calender and emails on my mobile smartphone was the best innovation at its time.

I eventually went to the 7520 color screen with Bluetooth, GPS, and MMS text messaging, then 8300 Curve, 9000 Bold, 9550 Storm2, 9810 Torch2, 9900 Bold, Z10, Z30, Passport, and trying the Priv as a personal phone. I have been known to be one of the biggest BlackBerry fanboys and today some of my friends make fun of me. I just love using their device for work and personal use, their productivity and keyboards is something I can't let go.

So what is my problem?

Simple, BlackBerry management making stupid business decisions! The Co-founders Mark and Jim got BlackBerry behind. Thornton just didn't have a clue what's going on and John... wow, where do I start?

John on paper is the right man, he turned Sybase around and sold the company for big bucks. Sounds good right? Maybe for Sybase, but BlackBerry is different. BlackBerry was the leader and innovator of all smartphones, then BlackBerry started losing it's name and customer base. Chen being hired to change that? At first I must say I was excited and I believed he had the chance to bring them back! He started with inventory loss, great! Expanding the hardware by something unique and business-root like the Passport, great! A smartphone that's affordable like the Leap, great! A retro smartphone like the the Classic, ok what else?

BB10 update 10.3 with updated android runtime with Amazon app store, wow great idea! BlackBerry Blend to have the BlackBerry on the desktop, fantastic!! This guy is on the ball!!

Now the problem, not 1% of the worlds population knows any of this! Not one advertising, not one commercial, nothing! BlackBerry believes to make a comeback without simple business 101, marketing? How in the world are you going to have the best engineers, innovations, and smartphones without any advertising? Someone said to me "BlackBerry has no money, they're not making money". Easy excuse, but not true. BlackBerry has over 144,000 patents and software assets such as QNX, BES12, and BBM. Not mention they have an estimate $6-9 million cash on hand. They bought out rival Good Technology for $400+ million in 2015. BlackBerry actually has a good chance for a successful turn around!

So why doesn't BlackBerry advertise? Especially the struggling hardware, most people today think BlackBerry doesn't make phones. BB10 is a great OS with a lot of potential, the BlackBerry Hub alone makes every business user happy. It never had a fair chance because most people doesn't know of its existence.

Statistically, Good Technology was never a threat to BlackBerry in the Enterprise market, why did BlackBerry buy them out instead of spending $400+ million on good advertising? Would have this helped their hardware? Even if you look at the Priv running Android, there's no advertising and the average person doesn't even know it even exists. Everyday when I go out to eat or just typing on my phone, someone will say " what phone is that? What? A BlackBerry?!". Wake up Chen!

Thanks for reading.
Hon C00407D76

Posted via CB10

The answer is pretty simple: NO ONE at BlackBerry (starting with Chen) knows the existence of the word MARKETING.

Posted via CB10

[blackberrybrad]

The answer is pretty simple: NO ONE at BlackBerry (starting with Chen) knows the existence of the word MARKETING.

Posted via CB10

No, the answer is pretty simple: NO ONE on CrackBerry knows what the word MARKETING means.

Posted via CB10

[bakron1]

As a business person myself, I understand that Mr Chen's first and highest priority is to make sure that Blackberry as a company can financially support itself now and into the future. If that means they have to go the route of being a security software integrator and developer, then so be it. You can't expect any company to keep producing a product thats loosing money, the auto industry here in Detroit found that out the hard way and the result was bankruptcy.

Chen was hired to fix what had been broken long before he got here folks, you can look back at the founding fathers of the company who put it in the current position it is today. This is all old news and we have to look at the future of Blackberry as a whole, if that means they only make and/or release a new device once a year or only makes devices for the corporate enterprise sector, then so be it.

A corporate CEO's priority is to the shareholders of the company who are mainly concerned with the bottom line on the corporate excel spreadsheet and as much as it bothers some folks on these forums, thats just the way it is in the real world. This is not spreading negativity or any of that crap, this is reality in 2016.

[uncle_numpty]

look at the future of Blackberry as a whole

Yep - a great big gaping hole

Blackberry is fast becoming the new ATARI.

[anon(5990673)]

Not easy being Chen these days

[BB10Clifton]

After Chen gets out of the CEO chair with his $85 million parachute, you can apply for the job and see if you can run things better.

I already did before Chen. They choose Chen due to his experience.

Posted via CB10

[Superdupont 2_0]

If the legacy BBOS users would migrate to BB10, then they could kill support for OS7.1 and earlier versions.
That could open a small but profitable niche business for BB10 and BlackBerry Android.

Many CB members have the viewpoint that John Chen hasn't killed BB10 yet, simply because he doesn't want to write off the inventory of BB10 devices.
But I think it would be cheaper to write off the inventory, then cancel the updates to 10.3.3 and 10.3.4 and also cancel support for legacy BBOS. So, why haven't they done this?

I believe there is still a realistic scenario in which BB10 will survive, and for that reason the OS has been put into maintenance mode.
Actually, I do believe that they are making money with every BB10 device sold in 2016, because the fixed costs for BB10 should be close to zero.
The developer community is slowly killing support for BB10, but that can change like the weather and I wouldn't blame the CEO for that.

[BB10Clifton]

Its absolutely amazing to me the broken record of Crackberry.

Thor - "He is the best CEO and is righting the ship!" A few months later: "He is the worst CEO and is killing Blackberry."

Chen - "He is the greatest CEO and is returning Blackberry to glory. Go Chen Go)!!" (That Go Chen Go garbage always made me puke). A few months later: "Chen is the worst CEO for the job and is killing Blackberry."

CEO's aren't here to satisfy your or my needs, they are here to make money for the company that is Blackberry with or without handsets, period. Blackberry doesn't care about you as a person any more than Coca Cola cares about you as a person. They care about making money, and that is all, by whatever means necessary.

You're missing my point. Why spend the R&D to make a superior OS and Hardware when you're not going to sell it fairly? Spending millions on other companies but not one penny on advertising or marketing? BlackBerry is hurting because they aren't selling hardware and services like in 2007, that's because 99% of people thinks the last BlackBerry is the 9900.

Posted via CB10

[donnation]

You're missing my point. Why spend the R&D to make a superior OS and Hardware when you're not going to sell it fairly? Spending millions on other companies but not one penny on advertising or marketing? BlackBerry is hurting because they aren't selling hardware and services like in 2007, that's because 99% of people thinks the last BlackBerry is the 9900.

Posted via CB10

They advertised the Z10 and Q10 heavily when they launched. People didn't buy them. And people hate Blackberry and no amount of marketing is going to change that.

[TGR1]

You're missing my point. Why spend the R&D to make a superior OS and Hardware when you're not going to sell it fairly? Spending millions on other companies but not one penny on advertising or marketing? BlackBerry is hurting because they aren't selling hardware and services like in 2007, that's because 99% of people thinks the last BlackBerry is the 9900.

Posted via CB10

Because there comes a time when you have to say "No more throwing good money after bad." Yes, RIM/BBRY has poured a lot of money into BB10. Sadly, commercially it has failed. I am sure the BBRY inner circle is quite a bit more familiar with their balance sheets than any of us and decided that it was time to cut their losses. Happens all the time to even very good products - success is never guaranteed, particularly in a highly competitive market with very capable competitors.

ETA: MS and Google are good examples of companies that do very well financially writing good software for direct competitors (iOS - these two don't seem to be all that supportive to each other) Recall that software has always traditionally had much higher margins than hardware.

[Superdupont 2_0]

Because there comes a time when you have to say "No more throwing good money after bad." Yes, RIM/BBRY has poured a lot of money into BB10. Sadly, commercially it has failed. I am sure the BBRY inner circle is quite a bit more familiar with their balance sheets than any of us and decided that it was time to cut their losses. Happens all the time to even very good products - success is never guaranteed, particularly in a highly competitive market with very capable competitors.

ETA: MS and Google are good examples of companies that do very well financially writing good software for direct competitors (iOS - these two don't seem to be all that supportive to each other) Recall that software has always traditionally had much higher margins than hardware.

I agree with that, just would like to add something about Microsoft Windows 10.
I would not feel comfortable with paying all my Microsoft licenses just to cross-finance an OS that is failing in the market.
But it seems they are building Windows 10 in a way that it is compatible to all hardware, and that is something I do appreciate (I will never be able to use all features of Windows anyways).

Similarily, I wouldn't feel comfortable paying BES licenses to cross-finance BB10 development or BBM development, so I continue to buy BB10 devices and the subscribtion to BBM Protected, but at the same time I understand and appreciate the actions John Chen has taken.

[sid89]

**** chen

Posted via CB10

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

They advertised the Z10 and Q10 heavily when they launched. People didn't buy them. And people hate Blackberry and no amount of marketing is going to change that.

I don't know that people "hate" BlackBerry..... they might have hated having to use an old outdated BBOS devices because their company wouldn't upgrade it.

I think if BB10 had been more "finished" at launch, and had been supported by developers.... the marketing they were doing might have been enough to start them on the way to a recovery. But the PRODUCT was a let down for the users that tried it, and the return rates were pretty high. No amount of marketing was going to change that. Later with the Z30, Passport or other BB10 devices... I think Chen knew that marketing wouldn't have helped.

The question is why haven't they marketed the PRIV?

[heepman]

Chen tweets that he himself loves BB10, and uses it every day.

So, he doesn't use the Priv, and he doesn't put out plans for a new kick *** vkp BB10 phone.

Yeah, he either doesn't know what the heck to do, doesn't know how to do it, or he is a liar.

[ljfong]

Chen tweets that he himself loves BB10, and uses it every day.

So, he doesn't use the Priv, and he doesn't put out plans for a new kick *** vkp BB10 phone.

Yeah, he either doesn't know what the heck to do, doesn't know how to do it, or he is a liar.

Most likely he uses BB10 as his official work phone daily to keep up the appearance, but thumbing at his personal iPhone whenever he can. iPhone is very user friendly for people who wants to use his or her gadget the way say, a microwave or rice cooker is used, of which, John "runs the Google" Chen is undoubtedly one of them.

[anon(5990673)]

**** chen

Posted via CB10

LOVE Chen :P, I take it you didn't want people to know hahaha

 SE Passport 10.3.2.2876

[Jerry A]

You're missing my point. Why spend the R&D to make a superior OS and Hardware when you're not going to sell it fairly? Spending millions on other companies but not one penny on advertising or marketing? BlackBerry is hurting because they aren't selling hardware and services like in 2007, that's because 99% of people thinks the last BlackBerry is the 9900.

Posted via CB10

We get your point. I think you're missing the point. Maybe BlackBerry realized there was no value in big spending campaigns when it was obvious that BB10 wasn't going to be capable of competing.

Better to save the money for a rainy day or when BB10 (hopefully) gained some post-launch traction.

To the 99% you quoted, BB10 wasn't any different than BBOS. No apps and no ecosystem pretty much put it off their radar. Marketing to these folks was wasted money.

Marketing and advertising works when you have an idea of what you want and need a nudge. It doesn't make you choose the opposite of what you desire.

If marketing worked the way some around here wished, we wouldn't be having these discussions - we'd all be iPhone users.

PS - The above is not a knock against the iPhone. It's a great product with great marketing.

[shayla91]

I completely understand where your coming from. I stay in Texas, and we always stay up to date with tha new gagets, musice, trends ect. I'm a die hard BlackBerry fan and I asked myself tha same question.......WHERE THA HELL ARE ALL THA ADVERTISING!!!! Everyday I get asked "u still use a BlackBerry"? Then I have 2 explain tha latest and newest ideas and phones BlackBerry is coming out with. Someone's not doing their job...

Posted via CB10

[Denise in Los Angeles]

BlackBerry cannot compete with iPhone and Google. What exactly would they advertise?

Buy an underspec'ed phone from a manufacture that the world hates?

Look at the message from iPhone today. Faster phone, better camera. What exactly can convince people to choose a BlackBerry instead? Security? Keyboards? A phone that BlackBerry hasn't made yet???

My god, that would never work!!!!

[Killjoyhere]

BlackBerry cannot compete with iPhone and Google. What exactly would they advertise?

Buy an underspec'ed phone from a manufacture that the world hates?

Look at the message from iPhone today. Faster phone, better camera. What exactly can convince people to choose a BlackBerry instead? Security? Keyboards? A phone that BlackBerry hasn't made yet???

My god, that would never work!!!!

Lol an even better camera with an even faster CPU, secure if you don't install apps and the keyboard a touch screen . We're even working on cross-platform bbm video and screen share . I would buy it, wouldn't you?

Posted via CB10

[Troy Tiscareno]

But I think it would be cheaper to write off the inventory, then cancel the updates to 10.3.3 and 10.3.4 and also cancel support for legacy BBOS. So, why haven't they done this?

I'm sure it's because they have contracts with big enterprises and governments guaranteeing at least 2 years of support, and with new phones being released in early 2015, they have to officially provide support until early 2017. Thus the 2 announced security updates - releasing 10.3.4 late in 2016 will be enough to reasonably fulfill their contractual obligations, and keep BES revenue coming in and lawsuits away.

Had it not been for those contracts and the BES revenue, I'm sure BB would have killed hardware by the end of 2013. But not being able to do so instantly, and having to change CEOs and down-size the company, etc. took time, and they needed a plan to phase BB out of hardware without breaking those contracts. That's why it still exists. And why they switched to Android - Google will pay for the majority of the OS updates, so BB will be able to support those for 2 years without much expense even if they do cancel hardware.

[Bluenoser63]

He's not killing it. He's rebuilding it. It's just that most people don't like his vision for BlackBerry. It's the total opposite of what 'BlackBerry users' want. BlackBerry users want hardware, new phones, new things to play with etc. Chen is turning BlackBerry into a software and services company with a very, very, very small focus on hardware and he doesn't care if Joe Blow on the street recognizes you're using a BlackBerry. Hardware is a means to and end now.

Actually Chen doesn't understand how to run a software/services company. I am an Enterprise IT Admin and Chen's vision is a mess. The mess resulted in having to buy Good as BES in it's current form was Bad. He also turned a simple BB10 MDM provision and make it not worth the while. If I have to jump through hoops to register devices, I might as go elsewhere. And as an Enterprise App developer, he pissed me off by killing BB10 development. Now if I have to write for Android/iOS, I might as well not use BlackBerry products at all. They made a mess of licensing and upgrading BES 10-12-12.x. The process of upgrading was a mess and if that is his vision, he can go without me. We had hundreds of BlackBerry phones and with his vision, we will have zero and not use any BlackBerry products. So good job Chen, you lost a very large customer.

[Bluenoser63]

Jim and Mark killed Blackberry. John is merely trying to get whats left on the Titanic into a lifeboat...

And then throwing an anchor in the lifeboat.

[Bluenoser63]

They advertised the Z10 and Q10 heavily when they launched. People didn't buy them. And people hate Blackberry and no amount of marketing is going to change that.

I wouldn't call what they did advertising. It was more fumbling in the dark. The Super Bowl ad was terrible as has been all their advertising.