[Bacon Munchers]

Ha! I don't believe it:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...tml?cmpid=yhoo

We have discussed that BlackBerry should use Obama as an advertising figure, and here we go! Would like to read a blurb from the President at this point.
Let's see....

Hey, it looks like the BlackBerry world really does follow this thread.

Opa!

[koolrosh]

Posted in another forum

Telkom grows FY profits 10.5% - Telecompaper

Telkom ended the year with 131.51 million mobile subscribers, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier, while the fixed-line base slipped 39.9 percent to 16.12 million. The broadband base grew by 45.5 percent to 27.84 million and includes 17.27 million mobile broadband subscribers (up 56.5%), 7.56 million BlackBerry mobile internet users (up 31.1%), and 3.01 million fixed broadband users (up 28.7%).

Play Starcraft? Join our Channel: C001242DE

[zachgeo]

Would like to read a blurb from the President at this point.

Better if we don't. The last time he mentioned it, in December, the media spin was that the President "hast to" have a BB for security, but that he would "prefer" an iPhone.

[Corbu]

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

LOS ANGELES � John S. Chen has signed a five-year contract to be chief executive of BlackBerry, and has a plan that runs just about that length of time.

It could always change, but it goes like this: Focus on core industrial businesses. Make money from selling server software more than devices. Re-emerge as a new kind of consumer brand, hopefully when the term �phone� doesn�t mean much anymore.

�My view of BlackBerry is broad,� Mr. Chen said in an interview following a speech at the Oasis conference here. �I�ll let the software determine what kind of device we make.� This could mean embedding Blackberry communications in other products, or making new ones, and forming partnerships, he said.

It�s a seemingly big change for BlackBerry, which became famous with its raised keyboard phone, but is getting hurt in that business. Mr. Chen, who earlier saved Sybase, a database company, by moving new businesses over several years, thinks creating assets apart from phones are key to BlackBerry.

Mr. Chen said that his company must still be in phones, if only to sustain a consumer presence over the long term. But it�s not clear, he said, that smartphones will continue to be a major way people access the Internet or applications.

�Apple has to sell 58 million phones to get, I�d guess, a 10 to 12 percent margin,� said Mr. Chen. �If you�re not first or second in phone sales, where do you get any margin? You could sell 30 million phones and lose money. I have to be realistic here.�

He added, �the carriers worry whether the smartphone model will last. Why shouldn�t I? In a few years the market will tell me if consumers are still buying lots of phones off the shelf to use apps.�

It�s a reasonable argument; and it is refreshing to remember that the smartphone business is still new, and by no means guaranteed to be permanent. Apple counts on selling other things besides phones, taking commissions on music and apps for example, to make money.

That said, the business reality is tough for BlackBerry, so Mr. Chen�s comments are self-serving. In December BlackBerry reported a quarterly net loss, including charges, of $4.4 billion. The company recognized revenue on 1.9 million phones in the quarter, versus 3.7 million devices in the previous quarter.

What BlackBerry does have, which Mr. Chen hopes to exploit, is messaging software that is renowned for its security, and a reasonable number of applications tailor-made for highly regulated industries, which tend to pay a premium compared with consumers.

�I�ve got 80,000 BlackBerry enterprise servers, in a �Who�s Who� of government, legal, Wall Street, hospitals,� Mr. Chen said. �I need to work better with those channels.� To that end, he said, BlackBerry is building out its sales force to financial institutions, and a security design center in the Washington area.

If the short-term financial troubles can stabilize, Mr. Chen hopes to extend Blackberry�s two-way communications presence in things like car dashboards to other kinds of machine communications, involving communication with other computers, and big data analytics to adjust devices depending on how they are used.

This approach, similar to what Nest, now part of Google, did for thermostats, may involve a lot more partnerships in the so-called Internet of Things, he said.

�We want to be a big player in machine-to-machine communications,� said Mr. Chen. �There is a huge business in analytics. We could collaborate with Google � there are communications layers and software we do that they don�t.� There is no sign that this a reality yet, though.

BlackBerry has to spend some money on marketing to ensure it has a customer profile, in preparation for the possibility that it returns to broad health. Mr. Chen said, however, that being in the consumer eye is not the priority at the moment.

For reassurance, he has turned to a most consumer-oriented showman who once found himself in a position similar to Mr. Chen.

�I watched Steve Jobs on YouTube, when he came back to Apple,� said Mr. Chen. �He got up and said, �I don�t have a new product, I�m insanely focused on my customer base.� That�s me now.�

In Mr. Chen�s case, that is not consumers, but large, regulated enterprises and the government. The good news is, they pay more money. The hard news is, they want innovation, too.

[notafanboy]

Better if we don't. The last time he mentioned it, in December, the media spin was that the President "hast to" have a BB for security, but that he would "prefer" an iPhone.

The elite understand that if you want security and privacy you "have to " have a BlackBerry.


Posted via CB10

[Ribes Nigrum]

This seems another slow day for the SP. Low volume, I hope we will stay above yesterday's closing. But good news!

Here comes the innovation!

http://crackberry.com/blackberry-pat...touch-keyboard

Posted via CB10

[BBUK14]

Interesting article. I've actually stopped buying BB, and won't be buying anymore until I feel more certain about things. At $6.90, I felt quite comfortable buying as much as I could, but at this point, I don't feel quite so sure.

If I were being sceptical, I would say that Chen and Co are at the moment retreating into a sandcastle with their focus on enterprise over the consumer, and that BlackBerry is going to be rinsed away in the next 12 months as wave after wave of bad news regarding the consumer side of things pulverises the brand and makes BlackBerry too much of a liability for enterprise customers to invest in.

At the moment, I don't think Chen or his team understand the general public, and I have no clue whether they will hire an A team of marketing people, or stick to the same worst-in-class advertising approach that I personally think is marginally worse than not bothering to advertise at all.

Pricing is also an issue that, in my view, poses a huge threat to the brand and the company. They have consistently stuck with arrogant, doomed pricing strategies that have not only led to terrible sales, but furthermore damaged the company's image due to media extravaganzas regarding those sales, etc., and all of this has made the precious enterprise folks jittery and less interested in being at the prom with the ugly duckling that used to be a swan.

Sorry for the ramble, but in essence, I have turned from being extremely bullish when everyone else was extremely bearish to being increasingly uncertain. I know that a lot of people in hear don't agree with this, but I still think that the solution to BB's problems is to SELL THE DAMN PHONES, and I wonder whether we are heading into another year of BlackBerry pushing devices out into a void while failing to do a thing about BlackBerry's public image in North America and Europe.

Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

[Im Mo Green]

What a breath of fresh air Chen is. "I have to be realistic here" (with regards to handheld devices), is my favorite part in the article. He knows where he stands and the direction he wants to go with regards to getting this company on track in the immediate term. I am looking forward to his presentation and hopefully Sims will join him as well at the ER in the coming weeks. I like what I am hearing here.

[dusdal]

From another thread. Finally found the link.

http://wap.business-standard.com/art...0600829_1.html

Posted via CB10

[lcjr]

I told you guys a long time ago the DoD won't go away from using Blackberry devices. We just use other brands for other "things" now, but for contract telephones it's Blackberry. I wish Blackberry would come up with a better tablet so we could get that onto our server and reduce most of our paper costs.

Hope everyone is having a great Friday so far. Remember, it's beer thirty after work today!!

[greggebhardt]

I told you guys a long time ago the DoD won't go away from using Blackberry devices. We just use other brands for other "things" now, but for contract telephones it's Blackberry. I wish Blackberry would come up with a better tablet so we could get that onto our server and reduce most of our paper costs.

Hope everyone is having a great Friday so far. Remember, it's beer thirty after work today!!

I liked the Blackberry idea where you had a phone powered tablet but I just can't see Blackberry working on another tablet right now or the near future.

[La Emperor]

I have the beer on ice until Thursday, we are $ .21/shr away as of yesterday's close, today we are going to gain $ 2.50/shr / 50 = $ .05/shr so that's $ .16/shr away at the close today. So we need 3 more full days of trade and the following day it will pop above the 200-dma. Now none of this math includes what's happening to the 200-dma because I am too lazy to figure that one out!!! So let's say Wednesday for a party?

Morgan,

Pardon my ignorance, but do you mind letting us know how you arrived at your parameters? You may have already explained it before my time here or maybe I was asleep during the lessons , but for the benefit of the newcomers as well I think this would be helpful.
Thanks a bunch.


.21/shr - is that from close to next resistance?
$2.50 - ?
50 - 50 day moving avg ?

[Corbu]

I know that a lot of people in hear don't agree with this, but I still think that the solution to BB's problems is to SELL THE DAMN PHONES, and I wonder whether we are heading into another year of BlackBerry pushing devices out into a void while failing to do a thing about BlackBerry's public image in North America and Europe.

Indeed but may I suggest that the problem might have to do with this:

“Apple has to sell 58 million phones to get, I’d guess, a 10 to 12 percent margin,” said Mr. Chen. “If you’re not first or second in phone sales, where do you get any margin? You could sell 30 million phones and lose money. I have to be realistic here.”

[morganplus8]

Morgan,

Pardon my ignorance, but do you mind letting us know how you arrived at your parameters? You may have already explained it before my time here or maybe I was asleep during the lessons , but for the benefit of the newcomers as well I think this would be helpful.
Thanks a bunch.


.21/shr - is that from close to next resistance?
$2.50 - ?
50 - 50 day moving avg ?

It's pretty straight forward here, both averages are simple averages whereby you drop the starting number of the 50 day period and add the closing value of today. In our case, if you look at the chart for a 50-day period and count back 50 entires, you arrive at the price of the stock that will be dropped from the aveage at the close of today.

In the case of BlackBerry the 50-dma is currently $ 9.25/shr and the 200-dma is $ 9.39/shr and the difference is $ .14/shr. You than calculate the degree that the 50-dma is raising by looking at the price of the stock 50 days ago and subtract it by today's price. The difference is roughly $ 2.50/shr as 50 days ago the stock was much lower than today. You divide that number by 50 units or days and you get the incremental move that the 50-dma is making. And so we are seeing BBRY which is currently at $ 10.00/shr have its 50-dma approach the 200-dma at a rate of a nickle each day. Therefore, we can expect the Golden Cross to occur on Wednesday. To make this a science, you would also have to calculate the 200-dma but I'm too lazy to count back 200-days to figure out what that index is doing. Besides, the 200-dma would require us to divide the net change in the price of the stock back then by 200 thus negating the relevance of that number in the first place.

I hope this makes sense?

[Superfly_FR]

Latest figures (? : take it as usual with salt&pepper) From Comscore.
Hey, I'd thought it'll be very bad, as I see the SP under $10 and thought it was related ... but ...

For the three months ended Jan. 31, 159.8 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones, an increase of 7% from October.

Apple continued leading its rival smartphone makers, with a 41.6% share., an increase of one percentage point since October. Samsung Electronics Co. was next with 26.17, up 1.3 points. LG Electronics Inc., with 6.9%, took over the third spot from Motorola.

Android led mobile-platform share rankings at 51.7%, a decline of 0.5 point. Apple's platform improvement mirrored its increase in device share, rising one point to 41.6%. BlackBerry Ltd. held the third spot with 3.1%, a decline of 0.5 point.

Read more: Apple, Android Stay on Top of Smartphone Market - NASDAQ.com

Black not dead: near z�ro ? #thisWasABluff

[La Emperor]

It's pretty straight forward here, both averages are simple averages whereby you drop the starting number of the 50 day period and add the closing value of today. In our case, if you look at the chart for a 50-day period and count back 50 entires, you arrive at the price of the stock that will be dropped from the aveage at the close of today.

In the case of BlackBerry the 50-dma is currently $ 9.25/shr and the 200-dma is $ 9.39/shr and the difference is $ .14/shr. You than calculate the degree that the 50-dma is raising by looking at the price of the stock 50 days ago and subtract it by today's price. The difference is roughly $ 2.50/shr as 50 days ago the stock was much lower than today. You divide that number by 50 units or days and you get the incremental move that the 50-dma is making. And so we are seeing BBRY which is currently at $ 10.00/shr have its 50-dma approach the 200-dma at a rate of a nickle each day. Therefore, we can expect the Golden Cross to occur on Wednesday. To make this a science, you would also have to calculate the 200-dma but I'm too lazy to count back 200-days to figure out what that index is doing. Besides, the 200-dma would require us to divide the net change in the price of the stock back then by 200 thus negating the relevance of that number in the first place.

I hope this makes sense?

So it's basically rise over run or the slope of the two points.
Thanks it's so much clearer now.

[Im Mo Green]

Exactly BBUK wants to play the popularity game, Chen, I, and many investors here would rather play the profitability game. BBRY does not have the deep pockets, among other things to play the broad, cut throat, consumer hand held device market. Its a loser for them. He gets it, and that's huge positive in itself.

Now the best thing for blackberry to repair is image is to stabilize the business, win battles in the enterprise space over the next 6-12 months , get a nice percentage of the enterprise base to transition to OS 10 devices (Q20, etc), and see the stock go up. Those blackberry dead stories might not all go away from the dopes who still think BBRY is a device company only, but Chen is not playing that game. Hallelujah!!!

[bigbadben10]

OT: I just picked up some HALO.... I am listening Morgan

[BBUK14]

Indeed but may I suggest that the problem might have to do with this:

Yeah, I'm familiar with that argument, but the problem is that those figures are dangerously misleading. It actually makes me more worried about Chen's talent in this particular area.

The problem with that reasoning is that it ignores all sorts of hidden costs. Not selling phones has a huge cost beyond that of the actually device inventory. It makes enterprise deals more difficult to sign and creates crushing media and social pressure on the brand. It fuels devastating attitudes in the public and leads to salespeople aggressively deterring people from buying anything you try to sell. All of that is VERY expensive.

BlackBerry just don't get the public, and are utterly hopeless when it comes to PR/propaganda. This isn't that surprising seeing as they are used to selling to people who have no choice but to buy what they are selling. The problem is that the ground has shifted and BlackBerry are not moving to adapt - in this area at least. The arrogant, deluded advertising shows how out of touch they are in this area, and I have serious concerns regarding this. They should have launched the Z10 and Q10 25% cheaper than they did, knowing they were selling at a loss (i did say this at the time as well), and avoided a year of devastating reviews and comparisons with the other phones in the price bracket they launched at, followed by a $1 billion write down.

Have they learnt anything from 2013? I fear they have learnt to run away from the fight as opposed to fighting better, and I think that if they don't focus on selling phones just as much as they focus on enterprise, they will kill themselves off chasing a dwindling body if ex-loyalists.

As I am a huge BlackBerry fan, obviously I don't want that to happen. I just think many of us have been guilty of cult-like devotion to Chen. I like Chen, but I can't bring myself to worship him, and I still don't think he has a good plan for repairing the brand. My hope is that the Z3 sells despite BlackBerry's terrible marketing, and that we are saved my a bit of luck, as well as a rise in the stock price taking some negativity out of the media.



Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

[wojciechp]

OT: I just picked up some HALO.... I am listening Morgan

@bigbadben10, I'm right along with you. I sold all of my AMD positions @ 3.98 after this nice pop today and picked up HALO @ 13.89. Smiling, as the weeked approaches!

Posted via swift BlackBerry Z30!

[bigbadben10]

@bigbadben10, I'm right along with you. I sold all of my AMD positions @ 3.98 after this nice pop today and picked up HALO @ 13.89. Smiling, as the weeked approaches!

Posted via swift BlackBerry Z30!

Yup 13.90 lol Have an awesome weekend bro! Would be lovely if M+8 could make a few more suggestions on ones to keep an eye on as I have a little more $$$ to invest in my TFSA.

Hope you all have a spectacular weekend!!

[wojciechp]

I can't believe that PLUG just pretty much doubled in 5 days. I was looking at it but... couldn't push the button.... dammit!

Posted via swift BlackBerry Z30!

[wojciechp]

Yup 13.90 lol Have an awesome weekend bro! Would be lovely if M+8 could make a few more suggestions on ones to keep an eye on as I have a little more $$$ to invest in my TFSA.

Hope you all have a spectacular weekend!!

All the best to you too!

Posted via swift BlackBerry Z30!

[BBUK14]

Exactly BBUK wants to play the popularity game, Chen, I, and many investors here would rather play the profitability game. BBRY does not have the deep pockets, among other things to play the broad, cut throat, consumer hand held device market. Its a loser for them. He gets it, and that's huge positive in itself.

Now the best thing for blackberry to repair is image is to stabilize the business, win battles in the enterprise space over the next 6-12 months , get a nice percentage of the enterprise base to transition to OS 10 devices (Q20, etc), and see the stock go up. Those blackberry dead stories might not all go away from the dopes who still think BBRY is a device company only, but Chen is not playing that game. Hallelujah!!!

As a shareholder, I too want the profitability game, but I think we are drinking our own whisky with much of this 'Chen is God' thinking. I also think that the profitability game and the popularity game are tightly linked. Chen has said that enterprise still 'loves' BlackBerry, but is there any strong, compelling evidence for this 'love'? I personally think much of enterprise is fairly ambivalent. They 'like' BlackBerry, yes, and for now many feel they 'need' BlackBerry, but are they going to be willing to do BlackBerry any favours? No.

I like Chen a lot - i really do. I also think the Z3 looks like it's going to be the right device at the right price, finally. BBM also looks like it's going in the right direction. All of these things are great. Still, I think that if little to nothing is done to win the 'popularity game', the profitability game is going to be at an increasing risk of running out of steam.

To be clear, I was bullish on BlackBerry during its lowest moments of 2013, and am still bullish...i just happen to see a gaping hole in a good overall strategy that could cause serious pain if we don't get enough wins on the enterprise side to balance potential crushing losses in market share in the remaining areas of the world that BlackBerry still sells phones during 2014. You mentioned 'winning battles' and getting a good percentage of enterprise to invest in BlackBerry 10 devices. All of that becomes much easier if BlackBerry 10 devices are popular, and much, much harder is the sales team is trying to do their job while explaining away wave after wave of negative articles regarding the 'popularity game'.

Sorry for the ramble.

Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

[Corbu]

Yeah, I'm familiar with that argument, but the problem is that those figures are dangerously misleading. It actually makes me more worried about Chen's talent in this particular area.

As I am a huge BlackBerry fan, obviously I don't want that to happen. I just think many of us have been guilty of cult-like devotion to Chen. I like Chen, but I can't bring myself to worship him, and I still don't think he has a good plan for repairing the brand. My hope is that the Z3 sells despite BlackBerry's terrible marketing, and that we are saved my a bit of luck, as well as a rise in the stock price taking some negativity out of the media.

Thanks, BBUK. You make some very valid points and I can't say I disagree with many of them, especially in terms of the hidden costs.

Still, they seem to have a strategy in this respect (This is BlackBerry's four-pillar device strategy | CrackBerry.com) and I am anxious to see what their partnership with Foxconn will translate into, not only insofar as the Z3 is concerned, but in terms of a greater efficiency and better turnaround times down the line. BBRY is getting more nimble here, which is a positive.

As for marketing, you won't get any arguments from me. They don't seem to have that side of things down pat yet and it is a shame. Could it be that they are not yet sure as to what they want to market and how they want to do it? Could it be that we'll see a more agressive approach once the Q20 and the next devices come out?

As for John Chen, we have all been burnt in the past. No one is worshipping the guy. I, for one, simply try and post what he says directly or what seems to be newsworthy.

Cheers,