[BBUK14]

If they dropped the 9900, what would exist to make the Classic shine when it's finally released with BES12?

I don't know what that means. Could you explain?

Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

[theRock1975]

The 9900 is outselling Q10 right now. Companies are still ordering replacements. Why stop selling them now?

If blackberry sells 1 million of these each quarter, that's $400m in revenue. I think they should keep it and bis going as long as there is demand.



Posted via CB10

[leafs123]

The 9900 is outselling Q10 right now. Companies are still ordering replacements. Why stop selling them now?

If blackberry sells 1 million of these each quarter, that's $400m in revenue. I think they should keep it and bis going as long as there is demand.

Posted via CB10

Kinda defeats the purpose of BB10 then. They're selling a 3 years old device at $400!!

I also don't think enterprises are paying the "sticker price" for the 9900 if they wanted it.

[notafanboy]

I'm in the "I don't really get it" camp. This (at least in my opinion) tells me BlackBerry has completely undersold the value of the Q10, OR, grossly overvalued the 9900. The two devices should not be priced the same, as I don't see what the value of the 9900 is over the Q10. Unless you consider this allows some enterprises to carry on with BES5 (cost savings) while still being able to get new devices (no net increase). Either way, how many will they sell?


CB10'n it via da Z...30

I'm in the same camp of not understanding. Perhaps BlackBerry has all the stats that makes making the 9900 make sense.

Posted via CB10

[plasmid_boy]

I'm in the same camp of not understanding. Perhaps BlackBerry has all the stats that makes making the 9900 make sense.

Posted via CB10

I don't either. But I think that BB mentioned sometime ago that they are making another production run of the Bold due to requests from their enterprise customers. Hypothetically, say, a government agency not having a budget to upgrade to BES10 and needs to replenish their BB7 devices until they have the finance for upgrading to BES10/12 and BB10. I imagine that could make sense.

[bungaboy]

I'm in the "I don't really get it" camp. This (at least in my opinion) tells me BlackBerry has completely undersold the value of the Q10, OR, grossly overvalued the 9900. The two devices should not be priced the same, as I don't see what the value of the 9900 is over the Q10. Unless you consider this allows some enterprises to carry on with BES5 (cost savings) while still being able to get new devices (no net increase). Either way, how many will they sell?


CB10'n it via da Z...30

At present I don't understand it either. However, given that, I am willing to give John Chen and Co. enough slack to do what they think is best. Do you honestly think this decision was made without all due considerations?

I don't have enough hours in a day to armchair quarterback/CEO this Company.

[Superfly_FR]

I think you are part of a large camp of folks who are able to look at a duck and call it a duck. This $399 9900 is a nonsense. But hey, would following BlackBerry's progress be any fun if they didn't give us little gems like this to puzzle over?

Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

9900 has be re-edited (read: built, not flushed from inventory) and matches the high-end segment.
Yes, for those wanting it it is still a very competitive price (was over $600 at launch if I remind well)
Companies which have been asking a re-edit of high end OS7 device where it's not avail. anymore will probably order them for fleets and gain discount, maybe a big one if mixed with BES EZ program enrollment.
I believe the consumers will not jump on it and the fact that it's been advertised on shopBlackBerry is just a way to offer an alternative but no sales are really expected from here.

As a reminder, please remember 9900 has been re-edited only for areas where the 9720 hasn't been sold; other locations won't have it.
Let's just take it at it is; a transitional measure to show BlackBerry commitment to actual customers: finally, a smart but tiny move, with no chance to be either a game changer or a drama.

[ibpluto]

At present I don't understand it either. However, given that, I am willing to give John Chen and Co. enough slack to do what they think is best. Do you honestly think this decision was made without all due considerations?

I don't have enough hours in a day to armchair quarterback/CEO this Company.

And there is the crux of it.....you have to think there was significant thought put into this.....at least I hope

CB10'n it via da Z...30

[Superfly_FR]

Not the BlackBerry Classic, but classic BlackBerry lol. Anyone want an out of date phone for $400?? Haha. They should release an old Curve for pre orders for $1000 . That would be a great idea.

Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

It's the best (w/9720) you can have to run OS7. More power will - probably - make zero change on the performance front unless they tweak the OS (not going to happen). So, if you compare with low/mid priced plastic OS7 devices ... the price is right sized IMHO. They don't want to lose money and I guess whe're very close to the zero margin point: re-edit, small quantity, same manufacturer (not FC); barely an occasion to optimize production costs.

edit : after a rapid check, $399 is the price for 9720 too.

[BBUK14]

At present I don't understand it either. However, given that, I am willing to give John Chen and Co. enough slack to do what they think is best. Do you honestly think this decision was made without all due considerations?

I don't have enough hours in a day to armchair quarterback/CEO this Company.

Well, do we honestly think any of BlackBerry's decisions aren't made with due consideration?

Join the Cause @ BlackBerry Bootleg Marketing Channel - C003483F4

[morganplus8]

[QUOTE=morganplus8;10445764]Hi guys,

I just got home and spotted your messages, I need some time to do some research on this stock, I'll get back to you later this weekend.
QUOTE]

OT ALERT!! Sophiris Bio Inc - SPHS

Hi guys,

So I did some research on this one and promised I would get back to you with my thoughts on the stock. The message for SPHS can be applied to just about any stock that you may which to research. The easiest way to look at the stock is to view its chart pattern and find out when the stock began to behave poorly, in a way that you took notice of it. In this case, the stock dropped off, or reversed its trading pattern (May 19th) when they announced a new, exploratory drug program, and, the rising of funds to develop that drug. To remind you of the history of this company, we know they raised $ 65 MM bucks to develop their Phase III Prostrate Cancer drug. All of those funds are going into that Phase III study, there is nothing left to develop a new drug for a $ 38 MM buck cap stock like SPHS.

Their financials are strong, they have $ 44 MM to work on the Phase III program and their burn rate is roughly $ 8.0 MM per Fiscal Quarter so they have plenty of funds on hand to see their PRX302 formulation through to their FDA/NDA filing in mid 2015.

The new drug indication is the one that has everyone uneasy and that's because it represents a major dilution to the 16 MM shares outstanding and it is very risky. The problem here is that SPHS is well funded for one drug in late stage development but they are so micro, they can't afford to do anything else at this time so it must be financed in this way. There are 3.1 MM shares coming to market and 660,000 of them have already been sold at a reasonable price in the $ 3.30/shr area. The entire financing package is a good one because SPHS can decide when any and all of those shares are to be sold and the financing firm must buy the shares when they are released at any time going forward. So this doesn't mean that all of the shares will be coming to market, nor does it indicate at what price they will be sold, but, It is the uncertainty of the program that causes investors to back away from the stock in the short-term.

It is true, they are trading close to a fully diluted stock price that equals their cash balance but you must remember that their burn rate is also $ 8.0 MM a quarter so that cash will be disappearing over the next 5 quarters. For me, the good news is in their late stage drug, it works, the data is very compelling and they have a potential market of about $ 300 - $ 400 million when it meets with FDA approval in late 2015. So you have a tiny little company with a drug that won't come to market for 2 years, they are not able to wait to start their next element and which to leverage the company to get the next drug onboard, and, they must feel very good about both the prospects of PRX302 and this new drug at this point. So on very light volume, the stock dropped on Friday and has been performing poorly for 2 weeks now.

In conclusion, I have to think that this company is still an extremely interesting investment even though they only have one drug and all of their funds are tied to it. The reason can be found in the data, it is very compelling and you need to listen to their Jefferies presentation over at their Website, listen very carefully to the risks, the benefits and the potential of this drug as you can see that a simple two times revenue at even 25% of the potential market places the stock at $ 10.00/shr and it is likely to be much higher when they capture more market share at a favourable scale. It's a tough investment going forward because all of their cash will drop to zero while their value as a new drug company will be increasing dramatically. I think the stock will be back in favour with the same funds that own it now as they aren't looking at the past two weeks and judging the company, they are focusing on 2 years from now when it will be a takeover candidate at many times its current price.

Quick comment on BBRY: I would NEVER sell my BB 9900, I love that phone and completely understand why BlackBerry sold 4.3 million BB 07 phones a few of quarters back and why they sell 3.0 MM of them now. That's a communication tool that no one can match. The non contract retail price of the phone matches the contract Enterprise price, BlackBerry is entitled to make a profit on everyone of those phones that they sell with and without contract. Let's face it, they sell a handful of BB 9900's to end-users for cash, 98% of them go out as part of a contract.

[Shanerredflag]

And...whooops...double post.

Posted via a Device with Z and a 30

[bergeron37]

9900 was the greatest Blackberry I've ever had, bar-none. I'm on my second Q10 now (cracked the first one)

[rarsen]

From Related Technologies file, sent by a longtime hometown friend who is a proud BB-9900 user and former Fire Chief :

Hard to believe !
Looks like a good lesson to learn. I would bet this also applies to Cell phones, tablets, digital cameras, and other devices that use lithium
batteries. You think this may be a reason why the US Postal Service will not ship electronic devices that contain lithium batteries any longer?

GPS was placed in its bracket in the windshield and left in the sun.
The battery overheated and exploded!

[Bacon Munchers]

If Apple abandons the 3.5 mm jack, I wonder how many people will choose not to upgrade. Some people have their favorite headphones and they are not Beats. Should be interesting to see.

Posted via CB10

Yep. Steve Jobs also told Apple to NEVER change the old power/data connector, but 'they' didn't listen. It turned out that a lot of people and industries where put off, according to what I have heard from a guy who was in charge of customer complaints for Telus. He said that he was changing from his iPhone when his term was up. I told him to not over-look the Z30 (heh).

Lately, all Apple seems to be doing is imitating. A far cry from the days of Jobs, where it was all about innovating.
As you said, it will be interesting to see....

[Corbu]

Fresh from the Jakarta Post:

Executive Column: BlackBerry wants to get back on track | The Jakarta Post

Canadian cell phone maker BlackBerry, which has lost its market share in the country’s phone market, has recently released a low-cost touchscreen device, the Z3 “Jakarta edition”, to win back Indonesian consumers from iPhone and Android-based rivals. During a recent visit to Indonesia, BlackBerry CEO John Chen a telecommunication industry veteran and former Sybase CEO spoke to The Jakarta Post’s Khoirul Amin about his strategy to turn the luck of his company around. Below are excerpts of the interview:

Question: BlackBerry has lost half of its staff with its market share falling all over the world. How will you bring the company back to life?

Answer: I came in here for a turnaround and I hope that everybody knows what we are doing is focusing on bringing new products into new markets or existing markets, bringing innovation, focusing on doing the work for increasing market share, getting the company back on track.

What I am not focusing on is failure. I think the company is in a much better position today. Has everything been fixed? No. I am still working on that, but I think we have made tremendous progress in the last six months.

I am focusing on new products, in devices, like you saw in the Z3, that are more focused on the consumer space. We [also] have a lot of products in the enterprise spaces coming out […].We are looking at releasing our new enterprise offer […]. We have now set up BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for enterprises called e-BBM, starting in June this year. So, there are a lot of good things and we are doing a lot more on QNX, our better microkernel operating system. We are doing a lot of things, but the whole idea for BlackBerry in the future is we will build infrastructure that connects everything: mobile, Internet protocol [IP] addresses, everything.

BlackBerry suffered US$423 million in losses in the first three months of this year. How will you turn that situation around?

I said we are going to turn cash flow neutral or positive by the end of our fiscal year. When I came in my first quarter, we used $1.1 billion in cash. That is huge. Last quarter we used $775 million in cash. So, I said by the end of the fiscal year we will be breaking even on cash flow or making, generating cash. To me, that is the first sign of stability.

It will be from phone, server, QNX, e-BBM, there will be a lot of things. We will control costs and expenses, we will be having an arrangement with Foxconn. Then a year later, sometime in the next fiscal year, we will be profitable. That’s what we said.

How do you transfer that positive energy to your subordinates so that they have a similar vision and energy?

First of all, I have made a lot of changes to the management team and we will continue to make changes to bring in more energy. But there are a lot of BlackBerry employees that have gone through a lot in the last two years and are looking for that energy. We have a lot of good people in the company. I have brought some changes in leadership, probably not because they are not good leaders but we cannot think alike and I cannot afford the time.

We do not have much time. I know that there is no time to debate it and this is the only way to turn the company around […] we have to focus on execution. But I think that a lot of people in the company that have that energy.

If you look at what we have done as a company in the last four months, we were able to put [the Z3] together and launch it in a foreign country [Indonesia].

I am very pleased that we can execute it. We had a couple of issues that we had to resolve in the last four months, some are products, some of them are processes, but both our sales team and Foxconn’s team overcame them. We worked through Christmas and New Year, which are important for people in the US and Canada, and we worked through the Chinese New Year, which is important for the Taiwanese and Chinese. When the world talks about negative things, let us talk about positive things.

You have just launched the Z3 in Jakarta. Why Jakarta and how important is Indonesia for your company?

It is my recognition and my statement that customers are important to us and that Jakarta has a lot of customers, Indonesia has a lot of customers. We want to make sure that they know after the last two years we have been busy fixing our problems and when we come out, we are coming out here first.

I hope that Jakartans have something that feels like pride. This is the first step of everything, it will be interesting.

In terms of Indonesia, I know this is a very big consumer market so far. It is also one of the biggest BBM markets for us. But from our revenue perspective probably not one of the top because 80 percent of our customer base is in the so-called regulated industry, such as the governments, the banks, the healthcare system and the judicial system.

How will you compete with other phones from competitors such as iPhone and Android-based phones which have become increasingly dominant in Indonesia’s market?

They are very focused on consumers. We have a very strong hold in enterprise. We do compete in the consumer space, and the product we launched [the Z3] is a very competitive product, especially since our brand is really big here in Indonesia.

I hope to sell the Z3 a lot, like a million units or something. But I am actually more focused on market share. I want to increase our market share. Whatever that account is, very honestly, I have never focused on accounts and you know I always tell people the way I determine whether it will be successful is how well obviously the market receives an under $200 [phone] with our software, with our brand on it, the quality that we have and security that we have.

And secondly, does that get us to win market share from this point? We have been losing market share in the last two years, and I would like to turn that corner. If I can turn that corner, then I can say that is successful.

Do you have any plan to launch other products besides cell phones in Indonesia?

If we will do another thing, we will probably go to phablet. I think if you look at our strategy and if you look at where the market goes, there is definitely a good market for something between a phone and tablet.

I think the phablet could be early, the tablet is already late. That is not a bad thing, because you can bring new technology. But, if I have the opportunity I will go to phablet. […] we will build what the market wants.

[Bilaal]

Why BlackBerry Limited Shares Are About to Look Cheap (BBRY) This may have already been posted but I liked this article. Is there any substance to this article? When are the two MDM companies going public?

[Corbu]

Forrester: Enterprises Should Rethink Their Mobility Strategy | Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog

As you know, we recently announced that we are opening the BlackBerry 10 operating system to enable mobile device management (MDM) companies such as AirWatch, Citrix, and IBM to manage BlackBerry 10 devices.

Following this announcement, senior analyst Tyler Shields of Forrester Research, Inc. wrote “Quick Take: S&R Pros Desperate To Ditch BlackBerry Should Rethink Their Strategy” that shares his reaction to and insight on the announcement. He writes, “Opening the hardware management API is a strong indicator that BlackBerry is serious about improved interoperability and increased flexibility with new product features.”[i]

Of course, staying with BlackBerry has its advantages. The Forrester report highlights three examples:

BlackBerry will remain a leader in the hardware security and device management arena. Security was baked into the BlackBerry devices and BES system at design time and will continue to add business value above and beyond the commoditized MDM components.

BlackBerry offers a robust MDM platform. The management platform available via BES10 is extremely robust with fine-grained controls that create a highly customizable solution. BlackBerry was MDM before anyone knew what MDM meant. It will continue to excel with feature set availability.

BlackBerry applies security controls at the application, operating system, and network layers. Security is a new area for MDM vendors as they look to advance beyond management-only offerings and progress into a more unified mobile security and management platform. BlackBerry already delivers this value proposition and will continue to add strength to the integrations under the leadership of John Chen.”[ii]

The MDM market is rapidly evolving, and BlackBerry is striving to meet changing needs and demands. Opening the BlackBerry 10 software was a natural next step in our enterprise strategy, but as Shields wrote in the report, it also demonstrates BlackBerry’s “renewed commitment to the enterprise.”[iii]

When considering the option to enable third-parties to manage BlackBerry 10 devices, we listened to the evolving needs of our customers and fans. IT leaders and technical professionals alike have been asking for the ability to manage BlackBerry devices with third-party tools. We’re happy to be at a place in our company’s evolution to respond to this request. As the BYOD trend continues to take hold in the enterprise, we wanted to ensure that our users have the flexibility to bring their BlackBerry devices into offices that may not necessarily use BES.

We are standing by our customers and highlighting our strength in the enterprise space, and are excited to take this next step in our transformation in enterprise mobility, delivering the most secure end-to-end technology that enables enterprises and individuals to maximize their productivity, communication, and collaboration.

[bungaboy]

Fresh from the Jakarta Post:

Executive Column: BlackBerry wants to get back on track | The Jakarta Post

Great article and thanks for posting it!

JC . . . "we will build what the market wants."

[Corbu]

And oh, by the way, not the result we have almost become accustomed to but lots of TV time for these guys, over the weekend:



And P2 for Rosberg:



Happy to see that BlackBerry name and logo out there.

Well done!

[Corbu]

Another long interview, this one with CIOL, in India.

BlackBerry restructuring: New roll outs help company spring back - CIOL

New smartphone Classic Q20 and BES12 enterprise mobility solution launch expected in 2014

BANGALORE, INDIA: Canadian mobile phone manufacturer, BlackBerry, which is on cross-roads following declining market share, is playing a new ball game with a revamped strategy. The company has rolled out its popular messenger service on multiple platforms. It has embarked on a new road map to woo enterprise customers and prospective mobile customers.

In an interaction with CIOL, Manoj Khilnani, country marketing head-Enterprise, BlackBerry India dwells on the BlackBerry's new plan for the India market and forthcoming launches. Excerpts:

CIOL: What is BlackBerry's enterprise road-map for India?

Manoj Khilnani: Couple of months back, we have reorganized ourselves. Primarily, we were known as a devices and a software company. Now, we have re-organized our strategy into four pillars, namely i.e. Devices, Software, BBM and QNX.

Our focus is equally split among the four pillars as we look forward to operate in all segments. We announced that we will be coming out with two devices this year, Z3 and Q20. We have recently launched the Z3 in Indonesia. These are two announcements that were made around MWC. The other device is Classic Q20, which we plan to launch sometime later this year.

On the software front, we have BES5 and BES10, which were launched last year along with BlackBerry 10. We will be soon launching BES12 this year. BES10 is not just an MDM solution, but an Enterprise Mobility Management solution.

We have a 60-day trial period, which is available for customers. BES10 has witnessed a remarkable response from the market both globally and in India. Our worldwide implementations have increased from 12,000 in May 2013 to 25,000 in September 2013 to over 30,000 implementations till date. India has also received a phenomenal response as there have been over 1,000 implementations of BES10 in India since January 2013.

Today, BES10 supports close to 15,000 devices through a single server. We have recently unveiled our plans to launch BlackBerry Enterprise Service 12 (BES12). BES12 is a new enterprise mobility solution that is application-enabled and unifies BES10 and BES5 to one platform. This program will also provide free migration to BES10, while a new pricing structure enables customers to simplify their enterprise mobility management (EMM) environment to a single trusted provider. We are scheduled to launch it by this year end.

CIOL: BlackBerry launched BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for Android and iOS in 2013. How do you seen the market response?

MK: BBM continues to evolve as a social mobile platform for consumers as well as for business customers through innovative features offering simplified ways to connect and share with others. With the launch of BBM for Android and iOS users in October (2013), we are constantly working towards providing improved user experience by consistently trying to bring new feature updates to make the experience more engaging. BBM for Android and iPhone is an amazing success. Within few months of launching BBM cross platform, BlackBerry had 50 million new Android and iOS users.

Today, the total BBM base compromises of 113 million globally. BBM comes with BBM Voice and Video features, which works on Wi-Fi, and is more economical and more sought after choice for someone who is always on the move. Our effort is to make BBM into a single service through which a user can access multiple information. We launched BBM Channels in February 2014, which is a 100 percent mobile only social platform.

QNX - This is relatively new in India, but we are already seeing a lot of interest and a lot of traction for QNX in the India market, particularly from sectors like healthcare and automobiles. QNX, which specializes in embedded systems, is a very stable platform that successfully operates in complex environments, and mission critical processes and applications. It offers stability and security, which is very essential whether you are running a car or even holding a mobile and this is what is differentiating QNX in the market today.

Today, QNX is already deployed in a lot of automobile companies worldwide. It is deployed in CISCO routers; it is deployed in medical equipments, in some of the heavy engineering and industrial automation companies. With QNX, we feel we have a clear edge in the market and this fourth pillar will drive our services and software revenue.

CIOL: Given the large enterprise customer following, what are priorities of the company on the applications front?

MK: Indian enterprises are now focused on having applications that are exclusively based on their requirements and custom coded resulting in increased work efficiency of employees. With this increased focus of enterprises on the application eco-system, we have been deploying customized enterprise applications for our clients based on their individual requirements, developed by our eco-system of over 43,000 developers in India. At the same time, we will see enterprises adopting and securing the most popular productivity apps for internal use. We have recently deployed some enterprise apps, which are useful in terms of CRM, field force automation etc., through our ISP partners.

The BlackBerry 10 platform has empowered global businesses to embrace enterprise applications that enhance productivity, increase collaboration and connect their mobile employees with the important resources they need on the move while providing highest levels of security and reliability.

On the consumer side, we have currently more than 500,000 apps which can readily be used from BlackBerry World.

CIOL: What is BlackBerry doing to keep the platform lucrative enough for developers?

MK: Every app that comes to BlackBerry World is checked before launch. Another important factor for developers is that they make maximum revenue as a lot of customers buy applications from BlackBerry World as they see value in the applications. It has been consistent and will continue to be so. With the launch of BB10.2.1, things have become better. If we have an application on some other platform, it is easy to convert them onto BB10 platform. This enhances user experience and users don't mind paying a premium amount for that.

CIOL: What are the key features that that have been incorporated for enterprise users with the BES10 and BES12 offerings?

MK: BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) has been the cornerstone of secure enterprise communications in the past and continues to be so even now. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 enables enterprises to manage complex fleets of mobile devices. The most significant feature about BlackBerry Enterprise Service10 is that it is the only device management solution that fully manages BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry10 devices along with Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, which makes it different from BES5. BES10 offers the only true end-to-end security solution at the device, server, and network level.

BlackBerry 10 offers very strong and compelling features, especially when it comes to data security and flexibility to meet different working needs. With features like BlackBerry Balance technology, one can keep corporate information separate and secure from personal content.

With Secure Work Space, managed applications are secured and separated from personal apps and data, providing an integrated email, calendar, contacts, app, an enterprise-level secure browser and secure attachment viewing and editing with Documents To Go. User authentication is required to access these secure apps and work data cannot be shared outside the secure Work Space.

The BES12 is a new enterprise mobility solution that is application-enabled and unifies BES10 and BES5 to one platform. This program will enable organizations to develop enterprise-grade applications that are quickly deployed to BlackBerry smartphones and other mobile devices.

The flexibility and scalability of the new BES12 architecture will also provide customers with the ability to move securely from on-premise to the cloud effortlessly and securely.

[bungaboy]

And oh, by the way, not the result we have almost become accustomed to but lots of TV time for these guys, over the weekend:



And P2 for Rosberg:



Happy to see that BlackBerry name and logo out there.

Well done!

Don't like where that champagne bottle is pointing. LoL

[cgk]

I'm off the Belgium Grand Prix - I'll try and get some pictures.

[plasmid_boy]

Quiet in here this morning. We are GREEN

[kfh227]

Kinda defeats the purpose of BB10 then. They're selling a 3 years old device at $400!!

I also don't think enterprises are paying the "sticker price" for the 9900 if they wanted it.

Could be that they want to stay on BES 5 to save on migration costs.

Good companies take requirements and choose the cheapest solution that satisfy the requirements. I would not be surprised if the cheapest solution were the 9900s with BES 5. Plus there is no learning curve for anyone. And you can't waste company time on a 9900 playing Angry Birds.