[bungaboy]

Off to another soccer practice...................

Soccer . . . in Boston . . . in February? . . . . Indoors, gotta be. LoL

[bungaboy]

Some of us have been active here for a very long time including OMG. No need to be starting something with him. I don't own any BB any more nor do I have plans to in the current environment. Should I keep my thoughts to myself too?

Posted via CB10

No!!!!!

[sidhuk]

Some of us have been active here for a very long time including OMG. No need to be starting something with him. I don't own any BB any more nor do I have plans to in the current environment. Should I keep my thoughts to myself too?

Posted via CB10

i have never seen you overstating or rubbing salt on the wounds. stating the facts is one thing. teasing like kids is a whole new classroom.

[OMGitworks]

Soccer . . . in Boston . . . in February? . . . . Indoors, gotta be. LoL

Indoor 2 nights a week, plowed turf field tonight. Talk about stupid......

[jake simmons3]

So we should see the Z3 by this time next week

[bigbadben10]

I find this latest FB news rather amusing because of all the colourful adjectives being used.

It's just another day in the world of all things BlackBerry. It sure sounds like it's the end of BBM, I think it is far from that. Lines are simply being drawn in the sand. The evolution of the mobile marketplace.

Makes for some interesting times as I observe as a long term share holder.

Off to Regina tonight for a week to visit the girlfriends inlaws. I know. Saskatchewan in the winter.



Posted with my gorgeous Z30

[bungaboy]

I find this latest FB news rather amusing because of all the colourful adjectives being used.

It's just another day in the world of all things BlackBerry. It's sure sounds like it's the end of BBM, I think it is far from that. Lines are simply being drawn in the sand. The evolution of the mobile marketplace.

Makes for some interesting times as I observe as a long term share holder.

Off to Regina tonight for a week. Off to the the girlfriends inlaws. I know. Saskatchewan in the winter.



Posted with my gorgeous Z30

What was First Prize? LoL

[rim4ever]

US Air Force begins transition, swapping 5000 BlackBerry devices for iPhones | CrackBerry.com

Well well, here's the "bad" news.

Isn't it last week's news?

[bungaboy]

War of Words Signals a Changed BlackBerry

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/0...ype=blogs&_r=0

[bigbadben10]

What was First Prize? LoL

Tick.... off the bucket list.....

[BBUK14]

I couldn't help myself lol

Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

[sidhuk]

I find this latest FB news rather amusing because of all the colourful adjectives being used.

It's just another day in the world of all things BlackBerry. It sure sounds like it's the end of BBM, I think it is far from that. Lines are simply being drawn in the sand. The evolution of the mobile marketplace.

Makes for some interesting times as I observe as a long term share holder.

Off to Regina tonight for a week to visit the girlfriends inlaws. I know. Saskatchewan in the winter.



Posted with my gorgeous Z30

Even the 4x4 can get stuck. Be careful

Posted using Z30. Best of the best Smart phone in the world.

[bungaboy]

German privacy regulator: WhatsApp users should switch to a more secure service

http://www.pcworld.com/article/20997...mpaign=twitter

From my Z30 via CB10

[BThunderW]

I know I'm probably gonna get hell for this but here it goes. I still do not believe in Blackberry turnaround, I'm playing this stock because it's good for short term trades, I've bought and sold the stock quite a few times in the last few months. The stock still favors the bears and with a little patience one can see the stock move rather predictably.

Just to clarify. I've lost tons of money betting on the turnaround but rather than being bitter about it I used the experience to become a better trader and investor. I've been trying to regain some of that lost money via these trades.

A lot of people on here know I used to be extremely bullish on Blackberry. Like many others on here I absolutely KNEW that Blackberry will deliver a killer product and reverse their fortunes. This of course did not happen and myself and many others got crushed on the stock.

So, Why don't I believe in the turnaround?

Simple. After all this time, nothing has changed. Sure, Blackberry has a new CEO, but that's about it. They still have no must-have product, they still have a horrible image problem and absolutely no sign that this will change any time soon. Blackberry is making new promises but nothing to show for so far. Right now the best they can do is play catch-up, but unfortunately in order to survive in this competitive market they need to lead instead. Yes, they do have lots of things in the pipeline but so does the competition. They're still losing ground in the enterprise space to the competition and haven't won any significant contracts in a long time.

I still see the hardcore fans defending the company for every issue and that is bad. I used to be a Blackberry apologist, but I got tired of it. Blackberry needs to step up and defend themselves more effectively, or rather fix the problems that people complain about more swiftly. It's actually kind of sad watching people defend this company to the naysayers because the defenders are completely out of ammo. There's absolutely nothing that they can say right now to convince people otherwise.

I really do hope that they will turn things around soon. I hate the blatant privacy invasion of Android and the apps that come with (Really? Facebook needs access to my SMS message history?). I updated to KitKat recently and it' still buggy as ever. I'm still considering the Z30, and I'd be all over a good quality slider phone. I still like BBM over any competing IM software, but Blackberry needs to step up with the updates, they need to release Blackberry desktop. They need to convince people that without a doubt, they're here to stay and are better than competition.

The reason I'm posting this is because I'm seeing a lot of parallels between today's posts and posts from a year ago, same kind of hope with no real results. People still posting postive SA articles that are nothing but opinion pieces, they're in now way indicative of change in the company. I see people mention that media no longer posts so many negative articles on Blackberry, personally I believe that this is simply because they've already written off the company as dead.

Please be careful if you have money in the stock. The stock price movement still shows the same amount of control/manipulation as it did last year. This stock can take a dive tomorrow and never recover.

TL;DR version: Nothing has changed.


Ok, I'm done now. Sorry, had to vent.

[Corbu]

I don't know... It's been a long day and I just stumbled upon this... Since we're no longer in prime time, I thought I'd share.

Warning : Completely and absolutely OT but very well done!

I hope you'll appreciate!

[Corbu]

Some very valid points in there, BThunderW. Well done.

JC has been at the helm for what, three months as of today? I think we should give him another three to six months. No blind faith here since we've been burned before. But, realistically, he can't turn this thing around in three months. I am sure we can all agree on that.

[zyben]

I don't venture into other threads very often, but I found one outside the gates that I really "liked". Some informative posts and a strange lack of negativity. The author of the video, a BB newbie, joins the discussion and at one point has this to say:

"Just Me, Or Anyone Else See A Weird Parallel To The Apple World Of The 90's

I'm new here, so maybe this gets discussed all the time, but I find the parallel to the old Apple vs Microsoft days ironic. I'm a Dad, so I'm old enough to remember the 90's, when everyone was on the PC, expect for a few designers and art types on the Mac. The PC was the standard. Endless software for the PC. People in the Mac world loved their machines and most people even agreed that the Mac experience was superior, but there was not enough software for the Mac. People had friends who all used PCs and they worried about being able to run their software and share files if they went over to the Mac. There was even talk of Apple going bankrupt back in the day, because why would people ever leave the Microsoft/PC world to go the Apple world?

Like I said, I am sure others have talked about this at length, but just find it funny how the tables have turned. Here I am, an iPhone user saying that the Z30 is a superior phone in many ways, the BB OS is superior in many ways, but I am worried about leaving the iOS world where all the apps are and all my friends live. Hmm, funny how things change. "

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...ressed-907158/

[sidhuk]

Finally. Saw first z30 commercial during rocket vs golden state warriors game.

Posted using Z30. Best of the best Smart phone in the world.

[koolrosh]

I know I'm probably gonna get hell for this but here it goes. I still do not believe in Blackberry turnaround...

Great points there. I completely agree with you. I would add that BlackBerry still has serious holes in its strategy.

In Devices: BB is not investing in getting top name apps for BB10, which basically insures that people will not pick up a new BlackBerry device.

BBM: is not being marketed enough and the recent layoffs are worrisome.

Enterprise: Companies are moving away from Blackberry. Today's Air Force news is proof.

QNX: Too small to even be counted, but arguably has the most potential. The problem is we have heard much talk about the M2M opportunity but we haven't seen any products from QNX that can reassure us that the company will even be a player in this market.

Play Starcraft? Join our Channel: C001242DE

[georg4BB]

...
So, Why don't I believe in the turnaround?
Simple. After all this time, nothing has changed. Sure, Blackberry has a new CEO, but that's about it. They still have no must-have product, they still have a horrible image problem and absolutely no sign that this will change any time soon. Blackberry is making new promises but nothing to show for so far. Right now the best they can do is play catch-up, but unfortunately in order to survive in this competitive market they need to lead instead. Yes, they do have lots of things in the pipeline but so does the competition. They're still losing ground in the enterprise space to the competition and haven't won any significant contracts in a long time.
...

Good points.

something puzzels me. In one of Chens first interview he stated, that he might need help regarding marketing. That's obvious, but until now, we havn't seen much marketing, especially PR. Is something in preparation? Doe's he wait until new products/service will create momentum?

Yesterday I watched a short video about whatsapp alternatives (because of the FB deal). Source of the video was dpa, Germanys biggest news agency. This video and the related text is now source of countless news articles today.
What shell I say, they mentioned every IMS platform even small student-projects but - again - not BBM.
The headlines today "could" be "BBM - a great alternative to Whatsapp". But instead the headlines show all the others and not BBM.

I want to say: A fast reacting PR team should be proactive and provide information to news agencys ASAP when such an event like the FB/WA deal happens. It's all about headlines. My colleagues knowledge about BB comes from headlines like "BB is for sale", "BB10 flops", "BB marketshare in USA is zero" (like my knowledge about apple come from headlines )

[cgk]

I think bbry is in turn around but where I differ from the hardcore is that I don't see hardware as part of that - Chen has no interest, the market has no interest, consumers have no interest and while enterprise might have a limited defensive position, there are simply too any big players throwing too much money at that sector for that to last. The foxconn deal to me is just a prelude to getting rid of the business unit.


Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk

[BBUK14]

I think bbry is in turn around but where I differ from the hardcore is that I don't see hardware as part of that - Chen has no interest, the market has no interest, consumers have no interest and while enterprise might have a limited defensive position, there are simply too any big players throwing too much money at that sector for that to last. The foxconn deal to me is just a prelude to getting rid of the business unit.


Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk

I respectfully disagree completely. To pay attention to what the market and consumers are saying is often misleading. Again, Steve Jobs was famous for claiming that consumers can't tell you what they want.

Consumers and the market are followers. What BlackBerry need is great handsets for their price bracket, cheap enough to get people who aren't saturated in anti-BlackBerry stuff to take a chance. There are, believe it or not, millions and millions of such people. I think there is a tendency to think that because we read all the articles, the majority of the public know about most of them. This is absolutely not true. Here in the UK, I am seeing a considerable increase in BlackBerry 10 phones in the wild. I've always thought that market expectations are absurdly unrealistic. WhatsApp is five years old as a cross platform app. BBMx is less than five months old. Both can exist on a phone at the same time. This is not a zero sum game. It is a race to build the best IM app, and then get as many users as possible. Even if BlackBerry can build a third of the user base of WhatsApp, and innovate IM, it can eat WhatsApps lunch over time.

What matters to BlackBerry now is steadying the ship, stopping the leaks, and getting to cash flow neutral. BlackBerry doesn't need to be number one; it just needs to be stable. Once this is the case, the nightmares are over, and they can build from there.

BlackBerry 10 is flat out better than iOS and Android. With hardware to match, BlackBerry will be right back in the smartphone game.

The fatal mistake would be for Chen to retreat inside the castle walls and pretend that enterprise can save BlackBerry. They will be surrounded and kept under siege by Samsung Knox, etc. until Samsung or someone else finally gets key approval of key governments, and then BlackBerry is finished.

The solution is to sell phones. In 2014, BlackBerry should focus on selling great phones a bit below their fair price point, and getting their OS out there and improving all the time. A BlackBerry that is selling great phones will be a BlackBerry that attracts enterprise customers as well, because they won't be suffering from brand toxicity.

Lastly, BBM is also obviously the best IM, and will a marketing push BlackBerry can win big here. People aren't loyal to WhatsApp; they just use it and know it because all their friends have it.

I would recommend that BlackBerry market BBM on college campuses in the US and in Europe, with booths staffed with people who can get a few friends to add it on the spot. Magic number is three. I'd also love to see some BBM marketing on the London Underground. This is a city with millions of immigrants who might use Skype or Viber, but would love the Audio/video (eventually) options to family abroad.

I know money is tight though, so perhaps that's why we aren't seeing this or something like it.

Anyway, I've finished coming and simply ranting without doing anything. I've started this little bootleg marketing on my own, and it's a lot more fun than just complaining. I've been able to gain BBM And BlackBerry a lot of attention on Facebook in the last week by posting on friends' pages and engaging in a little banterous dialogue about BBMx v WhatsCrap and BlackBerry v Apple, etc. This stuff is free to do, and highly effective in regards to spreading awareness.

Go ahead and try it: grab a few bootleg ads from the Channel below, or make your own (please share if you do!). Each of us has hundreds of contacts, and there are hundreds of us at least. If each of us makes one post, we are putting BBM in the minds of thousands and thousands of people. They might not download it right away, but it's good, proven marketing strategy.

Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

[cgk]

This is absolutely not true. Here in the UK, I am seeing a considerable increase in BlackBerry 10 phones in the wild.

On this thread at least - aren't we beyond this type of fantasy especially based on "I saw a guy at the bar"?

BlackBerry 10 is flat out better than iOS and Android. With hardware to match, BlackBerry will be right back in the smartphone game.

It could well be but I don't consider that a significant factor in 2014, if it was, we wouldn't see the domination of android.

I know money is tight though, so perhaps that's why we aren't seeing this or something like it.

It's not simply money, it's also time - to be competitive in the consumer space, BBRY would have to spend tens of billions over multiple years to build the ecosystem that is competitive - even the lame duck that is WP8 has services like onedrive etc that costs billions to develop and many years to get right. That is before you get into the billions needed for carrier relations and marketing and advertising.

I don't believe there is a place for a distant fourth and it's suicide to throw the limited money that BBRY has down a big hole trying to reach that spot competing against companies with pockets way too deep for it to be successful against.

People here are effectively looking for the "one more time" solution - that if people just keep explaining the value proposition of BB10 once more it will suddenly take off - it just doesn't work like that.

[JLagoon]

Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

I really like your effort and channel BBUK. I just posted one of the BBM vs whatsapp on my Facebook. It is so easy to do with BB10 share feature too.

I hope, more people will join your channel, and repost / share the bootleg marketing effort virally.

[bungaboy]

IIRC BB was DOA long ago! (according to all the armchair CEOs)

They didn't lay off the "keepers".

Check back in 8-12 months and see what Chen is really made of.

I have a big pound of flesh riding on this pony too.

And my Z30 confirms my feelings.

Go for GOLD!