View Poll Results: Did you buy shares ?

Voters
1129. You may not vote on this poll
  • Yes, I'm acting now !

    702 62.18%
  • No

    427 37.82%
  1. Tinomane's Avatar
    Mlse is all over BlackBerry. Just watch a raptors game blackberry branding everywhere in the ACC.

    Posted via CB10
    11-09-14 10:15 AM
  2. bungaboy's Avatar
    The truth starts to trickle out . . .

    Can we trust web journalism?

    By Stewart Baker November 9 at 12:16 PM 


    I’ve spent the last couple of days meditating on the mistakes that web journalists make, and how those mistakes differ from mainstream media’s errors. The reason for the meditation is a weirdly escalating cycle of misquotation that I experienced last week.

    In general, I don’t obsess about the mistakes that journalists make when I talk to them. If you get quoted a lot, you can expect to be misquoted a lot too, and it’s best to let it go. Reporters are in a hurry; or their editors lack context; mistakes happen. Complaining feels a little whiny, and in any event, readers are likely to forget the story before a correction hits the wires.

    But I was struck by the way this particular misquotation bounced around the web, acquiring authority by repetition without ever being verified, and I suspect it tells us something troubling about where the press is going, even for those of us who celebrate the breaking of mainstream media’s narrative monopoly.

    First, the background. I’m a skeptic about the Silicon Valley movement to increase the use of communications encryption that even the supplier can’t undo. I think it’s bad policy, and not particularly good business, for reasons I offered recently in a NYT op-ed:

    That decision should not be left to Apple alone. And it won’t be.

    Companies do not want to give their employees the power to roam corporate networks in secrecy. And even if they did, their regulators wouldn’t let them. If Apple wants to sell iPhones for business use, it will have to give companies a way to read their employees’ business communications. Corporate IT departments won’t welcome a technology that could help workers hide misdeeds from their employer.

    And as a global company, Apple is subject to regulation and market pressure everywhere. If China doesn’t like Apple’s new policy, it can ban the iPhone or simply encourage China’s mobile carriers to slow Apple’s already weak sales there. Even democracies like India, and U.S. allies like the United Arab Emirates, have shown the determination and the clout to force changes in phone makers’ security choices.

    I repeated much the same view last week in Ireland, on stage with a Guardian editor, noting that Blackberry had run into real resistance in selling its end-to-end encrypted products in other markets. The Guardian wrote up the event in a somewhat sloppy story:


    “Blackberry pioneered the same business model that Google and Apple are doing now – that has not ended well for Blackberry,” said Baker.

    He claimed that by encrypting user data Blackberry had limited its business in countries that demand oversight of communication data, such as India and the UAE and got a bad reception in China and Russia. “They restricted their own ability to sell. We have a tendency to think that once the cyberwar is won in the US that that is the end of it – but that is the easiest war to swim.”

    The sloppiness of the story shows in its still-uncorrected “easiest war to swim” error, but also in its framing. The Guardian’s summary of my remarks begins with something I didn’t say: “Baker said encrypting user data had been a bad business model for Blackberry, which has had to dramatically downsize its business and refocus on business customers.” It’s a plausible misunderstanding of my remarks, but it’s wrong, as the Guardian could have easily found out during the many hours I spent that day with its reporter, James Ball.

    What’s striking is what happened next. The error went from plausible misunderstanding to outright mischaracterization. By the next day, several web outlets were using headlines like this one from ZDNet: “Former NSA’s chief lawyer: BlackBerry’s encryption efforts led to its demise.” This is unequivocally wrong, both as a summary of my remarks and as a matter of fact, not least because Blackberry is far from demise. But it’s also wrong more fundamentally; Blackberry’s strongest market is selling to enterprises, many of whom are attracted to the product precisely because it offers very strong encryption that is controlled by the company and not by the individual user. It is, if anything, an illustration of why encryption is a lot more complicated than Silicon Valley’s technolibertarian engineers seem to think.
    11-09-14 12:02 PM
  3. sidhuk's Avatar
    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e38c7a6a-6...#axzz3Ib9UFj00

    John Chen: can he create a new generation of BlackBerry addicts?
    11-09-14 12:44 PM
  4. wojciechp's Avatar
    The BlackBerry Passport Follow-Up Review from Karl Denninger. I find his reviews very structured, to the point and right on topic.

    http://market-ticker.org/post=229582


    Posted via CB10 on BlackBerry Passport
    11-09-14 12:56 PM
  5. bungaboy's Avatar
    The BlackBerry Passport Follow-Up Review from Karl Denninger. I find his reviews very structured, to the point and right on topic.

    The BlackBerry Passport Follow-Up Review in [Market-Ticker]


    Posted via CB10 on BlackBerry Passport
    Thanks!


    "The BlackBerry Passport Follow-Up Review


    First, read my original review -- you need it for context.

    What follows are my observations after a couple of weeks with the Passport as my only mobile device.

    If you're one of the 30-second attention span Americans, let me distill it down: Buy this device. It's that good.

    Now let's go into the details for those who are willing to pay attention. . . ."
    11-09-14 01:18 PM
  6. ablefunzo's Avatar
    Five Things Apple Could Learn From BlackBerry About Phone Design

    Five Things Apple Could Learn from BlackBerry About Phone Design

    Over the course of the past five months, I've had the opportunity to review several smartphones aimed to appeal to business users, at least to some extent. A couple of those, including a Nokia Lumia that was sent to me to show off Microsoft's personal assistant, Cortana, were sufficiently pathetic that I sent them back to their makers. I didn't see any point in wasting your time with an article about a phone that had no clear reason to exist. But two of the devices I've looked at clearly were intended to be more than just consumer electronics. One of those was the BlackBerry Z30 that I reviewed in June, and the other is the Apple iPhone 6, which I reviewed in October. Both these phones are well-suited for business users, but obviously the iPhone ends up in far more hands than does the BlackBerry�if only because its overall sales are far greater. While working with these devices, I ended up using the BlackBerry Z30 for a few months. I grew to appreciate some of the innovative features that BlackBerry designed into the phone, a few of which made my life far easier than mobile phones usually do.

    Then came time to review the iPhone 6, so I put away the Z30 and started using the Apple device for daily use. There are a number of reasons the iPhone 6 is an improvement over the earlier models, not the least of which was a screen that's large enough to use without the constant stream of errors that earlier iPhones brought about.

    But the change from the BlackBerry handset to the iPhone was not without its adjustments. In fact, in a few areas, the BlackBerry beats the iPhone in a big way. Of course, for most things, both phones are just phones, but it's those differences in usability that can go a long way in determining overall satisfaction. But as I look at the BlackBerry Z30 resting on my desk next to the Apple iPhone 6, there are some features I wish I could magically transfer from the Z30 to the iPhone.

    Multitasking: When I tap on the link to a Website in an email message on the iPhone 6 (which is running iOS 8.1 as of now), the email application closes and is replaced by the Web page. When I want to go back to my email, I have to close Safari and start the email app. Each time I want to move between them, it's open and close all over again. When I wanted to do the same thing with the Z30, I could simply minimize the email message and open the browser, but then I could leave the browser open and move back and forth by simply tapping on the minimized image of each. The Z30 could run eight such sessions at the same time with all of them remaining fully operational. It's worth noting that both the iPhone and the BlackBerry use similar OS kernels based on Unix, so it seems likely that iOS could multitask if Apple wanted to do it.

    A Unified Inbox: While Apple consolidates all of my email into a single inbox so I can look at all of those messages at the same time, when the time comes to read text messages or social networking, then I have to switch to a different app in a different window. BlackBerry Hub solved all of this by consolidating everything into a single inbox, or you can select them by type easily and quickly. This means that I can see all of my incoming messaging in a single glance, which is vastly more efficient than having to move between them as I do with iOS.

    A Keyboard that Learns: Actually, the iOS keyboard used to learn how I typed fairly quickly, but apparently that capability has been lost with iOS 8.1. A good example of this is how I usually sign my email messages, which is with my initials, "WR" at the bottom. Now the predictive text in the iOS 8.1 keyboard has never learned that when I type "Wr" or "wr" the letters should be capitalized. The keyboard on the BlackBerry Z30 not only had predictive text that was easy and fast to use, but it learned quickly. Autocorrect in earlier versions of iOS also learned that, but it no longer works and that slows down my email writing.

    BlackBerry Balance: Perhaps one of the most significant features that BlackBerry has developed is BlackBerry Balance, which essentially lets you divide your device into two personalities, one for personal use and the other for work. The two sides are separate from each other, and data from one cannot make its way to the other. This means that users can't make insecure copies of sensitive information and it means that the IT manager can wipe company data without affecting personal data. While there are third-party secure containers available for iOS, they also require third-party mobile management systems, something that may be out of reach for some companies, especially small ones.

    Adaptive Antenna Systems: The antennas in the Z30 are things of wonder. They could draw in cell signals and WiFi in areas where other phones could never find a signal at all. Dropped calls became a thing of the past. While the MIMO (multiple in multiple out) antenna system on the iPhone 6 improves its WiFi performance, especially when working with 802.11ac access points, those haven't helped cellular performance. And I just hate dropped calls when I know they're not necessary.

    I could go on, but in some areas, such as battery life, one has to realize the limitations of the laws of physics. The iPhone would have better battery life with a bigger battery, for example, but then it would be larger and heavier. You can't have it both ways. But still, there are things that Apple could do to make the iPhone more useful and more efficient. Perhaps they are constrained by patents or by design philosophy, but from my viewpoint as a wireless phone user, I wish it could be the best of both worlds. Maybe this is the best reason of all why Apple should use some of its billions and buy BlackBerry.
    I disagree with your conclusion. You want to kill innovation. BlackBerry perform better under pressure. Apple is just relying on old glory. Innovation had died with Steve Jobs.

    Posted via CB10
    11-09-14 01:28 PM
  7. Corbu's Avatar
    sidhuk, I hope you don't mind if I post the article itself, I believe it is worth keeping in extenso in our thread. Thanks for posting that link!

    http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e38c7...#axzz3Ib9UFj00

    One of the first things John Chen did after becoming chief executive of BlackBerry last year was confiscate his wife’s Samsung Galaxy.

    “There were a couple of parties we went to and, when my wife brought out the Samsung, everyone kind of looked at me funny,” he says. “So eventually I said she needed to use a BlackBerry. ‘No, I like my Samsung’, she said, and I told her she was embarrassing me.”

    Does she still use it in secret? “That, I wouldn’t know,” he quips. “There might be a lot of secrets I don’t know.”

    Initially, she found the new phone difficult to master, an experience that Mr Chen says is shared by many using a BlackBerry for the first time. “It is harder in the beginning, but once you get it, it’s actually quite powerful. It makes other devices look a little toyish.”

    He likens the experience to driving his friend’s Lamborghini. “There’s a special sequence but, once you know where all the things are, it blows your mind. Still, because of that, I would never buy a Lamborghini. We too need to make sure the learning curve is not so steep.”

    It is just one of many challenges facing Mr Chen, 59, who came out of semi-retirement a year ago to try to turn BlackBerry round. When we meet for tea in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York, he seems surprisingly relaxed about the scale of the task.

    It is a beautiful late autumn afternoon, the sun streaming in through the windows of the lobby lounge on the hotel’s 35th floor. Mr Chen looks like many of the other executives enjoying the Central Park views, dressed in a sober suit with a striped tie and the addition of a BlackBerry lapel pin. Not for him the jeans and T-shirts loved by Apple bosses.

    His quiet confidence is not entirely without foundation. The company, which was facing an existential crisis when he joined in November 2013, is now on a surer footing after he took an axe to costs and dramatically slowed the rate at which the group burns through cash. The group’s shares have risen by about half over the past 12 months.

    Yet BlackBerry is a shadow of its former self. At its peak in 2008, it accounted for one in every five smartphone sales and had a market value of $55bn, 10 times larger than today. Now its share of the global smartphone market is less than 1 per cent.

    He is clear about what went wrong. BlackBerry abandoned its enterprise customers and “wandered off to try and get the consumer”, a disastrous strategy given its failure to focus on apps.

    By his own admission, saving the company was the easy part, even if it involved unpopular choices such as cutting 4,500 jobs. “It was do or die. I guess that while the decisions were a little profound at times, they needed to be made, and quickly,” he says. Returning the company to growth will be much more difficult. “The hardest part is yet to come.”

    The job cuts have damaged the company’s self-esteem. “I can’t say morale is in top shape. I don’t believe it is. But it’s certainly not as bad as most people think,” he says, adding that many in Waterloo, the Canadian town where BlackBerry is based, support his efforts.

    Mr Chen has form when it comes to turnrounds. He took control of Sybase, the enterprise software group in 1997, when its shares were trading at record lows and most in the industry thought it would not survive. He rebuilt the group with a strong focus on mobiles and tablets, and sold it to SAP in 2010 for $5.8bn, more than six times its value at the start of his tenure.

    Yet reviving BlackBerry will be tougher, and Mr Chen admits to “oscillating” when deciding whether or not to take the job. “It was not an easy decision. It was well publicised that the company was broken, and I knew it would take up a lot of my time. It’s not that I mind the work per se: I just wanted to make sure that I knew enough. It was very close.”

    The award of about $85m of restricted stock when he joined – a huge sum for a company of BlackBerry’s size – must have helped seal the deal, but he bats aside the question of whether it was too generous. “What is big or small? That’s a question for the board. Remember when I came in we were teetering, we weren’t sure if we were going to make it or not.”

    He says it takes a certain temperament to assume the top job at a failing company. “When you do turnrounds, you have to have this very compartmentalised view of life. You do all you can to make a difference, but you cannot let everything drag you down.”

    In an attempt to win back the companies who have abandoned BlackBerry, Mr Chen hopes to build on the device’s strengths – a good keyboard and strong security – with some new innovations. In September, he bought Movirtu, a UK group which makes software that allows several different numbers to be used on the same Sim card, and acquired a company that encrypts voice calls.

    “People still love the keyboard and security is very important. I have lunches with big fund managers and they all back BlackBerry because they don’t want a breach or a data leak. Now we need to make our devices a bit more pleasing to those people.”

    The square design of the recently-released BlackBerry Passport is part of this drive to reawaken the dormant “CrackBerry” addiction that once gripped the business community: the unusually large screen is aimed at spreadsheet users.

    Asked whether he can return BlackBerry to its former glory, I expect Mr Chen to say that the best the group can hope for is to become a small but profitable enterprise player, and that any attempt to take on Apple and Samsung would be hubristic folly.

    Yet he turns out to be more bullish than that. “I don’t have a perfect crystal ball but there’s no point coming in saying that we’re not going to dominate again. One has to be realistic, but it’s not impossible.”

    He points to Apple’s remarkable comeback after Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1997. “Apple dominates today, but when they started out BlackBerry was definitely the dominant force. There was a changing of the guard in the industry.”

    While BlackBerry might not necessarily become a leader in handsets again, Mr Chen reels off a list of areas where it could become a leader, such as the “connected car” and the “internet of things”, the latter being a reference to the drive to connect everything from our toothbrushes to our toasters to the web.

    “I hope today there is very little question of whether we’re going to survive. You ask whether we could be great again. And I say I’m looking for something to be really great in.”

    Second opinion: the former colleague

    “John has always had an open door office, he’s a walk-around manager who would regularly show up at your desk,” says **** Alberding, a former director at Sybase, where Mr Chen used to be chief executive.

    “He has a knack of walking into a difficult situation and finding a way of sprinkling a bit of sunshine, but he is also tough and demanding. He expects his managers to know what’s going on, and to understand their responsibilities. If they don’t, he will give them a lecture.”
    11-09-14 01:47 PM
  8. cjcampbell's Avatar
    I disagree with your conclusion. You want to kill innovation. BlackBerry perform better under pressure. Apple is just relying on old glory. Innovation had died with Steve Jobs.

    Posted via CB10
    Methinks you missed the fact that what you responded to was not the posters words, but those of an article for which he posted the link to. I'd suggest you click the link and post your comment there.
    morganplus8, rarsen, Corbu and 4 others like this.
    11-09-14 01:51 PM
  9. Corbu's Avatar

    Last edited by Corbu; 11-09-14 at 05:33 PM.
    11-09-14 02:46 PM
  10. bungaboy's Avatar
    I disagree with your conclusion. You want to kill innovation. BlackBerry perform better under pressure. Apple is just relying on old glory. Innovation had died with Steve Jobs.

    Posted via CB10
    Well, if you put it that way, I disagree with me too.

    However, I am flattered.
    11-09-14 03:10 PM
  11. Corbu's Avatar
    This was just published on the Yahoo Finance Singapore site. I believe we have already seen a variant but I'll post, in case I am wrong.

    https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/bl...192817270.html

    TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry, which has completed the first phase of its two-year turnaround plan, is now focused on profitability and will not spread itself thin by attempting to launch too many new devices, its chief executive said.

    John Chen, who took the reins at the struggling mobile technology company in November 2013, has moved rapidly to try to get the one-time investor darling back on track. The company has sold assets, struck partnerships to lower manufacturing costs and broaden app offerings, and raised cash via the sale of real estate holdings in its hometown of Waterloo, Ontario.

    "Once we turn this company to profitability again, I will do everything I can to never lose money ever again," Chen told Reuters in an interview this week. "That is definitely something I am very focused on doing."

    The Hong Kong-born executive, 59, made his name at Sybase, a struggling database software firm that he rescued and sold a decade later to SAP for $5.8 billion in 2010.

    "If you look at my track record at Sybase, I think we made money for some 60 quarters in a row, even when the dotcom bubble blew up we were profitable. I like that philosophy," said Chen, who added he believes the worst is now behind BlackBerry.

    "We will survive as a company and now I am rather confident," he said. "We're managing the supply chain, we are managing inventories, we are managing cash, and we have expenses now at a number that is very manageable. BlackBerry has survived; now we have to start looking at growth."

    A year ago, the smartphone industry pioneer was in the midst of a painful restructuring, scrambling to find a suitor and trying to play down media reports of its "death spiral."

    A year after Chen stepped in as CEO, BlackBerry may have regained some of its lost swagger. The company is hiring again and though it has yet to turn steady profits, Chen has begun acquiring small companies and investing in growth.

    "He stepped in to catch a falling knife, which is what BlackBerry was at the time losing $1 billion plus," said Prem Watsa, whose Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd is a major shareholder and which helped bankroll a debt recapitalisation that led to Chen's arrival.

    "He came in and very quickly stabilized it and very quickly laid out a roadmap to break even."

    CONCERNS LINGER

    The company is not out of the woods yet - even Chen stops short of saying the turnaround has succeeded - but talk of the company sliding into oblivion has faded.

    "John Chen has succeeded in changing the conversation about BlackBerry, and that is probably true both internally as well as externally," said IDC technology analyst John Jackson.

    Despite the progress, many analysts are yet to be convinced. Thomson Reuters data shows that 25 of 37 analysts covering BlackBerry have a 'hold' rating on the stock. Only one has a 'buy' rating and the rest rate the stock a 'sell.' And although its shares have strengthened since Chen's arrival, its Toronto-listed stock has been bound in the C$6 to C$12.50 range in the last 12 months.

    "Overall we think John is doing a solid job, but our concern continues to be: how will BlackBerry drive demand for its product," said Morningstar analyst Brian Colello. "The demand side of the equation is still a concern, both around selling millions of devices each year and converting enterprise software users into paying buyers in a very competitive market."

    To spur growth, BlackBerry is launching its latest mobile device management platform, BES 12, this week. The system will allow companies and government agencies to manage and secure not just BlackBerry devices on their internal networks, but devices that run on rival operating systems such as Android, Windows and Apple's iOS.

    In December, the company will launch BlackBerry Classic, a device similar to its once popular Bold smartphone.

    NEW DEVICE PLANS

    In September, BlackBerry reported a profit, on an adjusted basis, from its struggling handset business for the first time in five quarters. Tough competition from Apple, Samsung and other rivals has eaten into BlackBerry's once dominant market share, hurting revenue and profitability in both the unit and company.

    BlackBerry is "reasonably comfortable" it can keep making money from its handset business, given operating margins, Chen said, noting orders for its new unconventionally-shaped Passport device have increased.

    "I'm happy in the receptivity of the design. I'm happy that this product is a successful product, but we did not make that many of them, so it is in limited supply almost everywhere."

    There is no final decision yet on what new devices will be launched in 2015, said Chen adding that the focus will be on a core set of smartphones that are most likely to succeed. That includes at least one radically new device and product refreshes on its Passport, Classic and its mid-level Z3 touchscreen phone.

    "I'm not going to build a general purpose device, simply because it is a 5-inch touchscreen," he said, referring to the wide array of fairly standardized touchscreen smartphones in the market right now. "The Chinese can build one for 75 bucks, I can't get enough parts together for 75 bucks."
    bungaboy, rim4ever, rarsen and 9 others like this.
    11-09-14 05:42 PM
  12. theRock1975's Avatar
    BlackBerry seeks China partnerships as Chen meets Lenovo, Xiaomi

    http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-...service=mobile

    Posted via CB10
    cjcampbell, Corbu, rarsen and 17 others like this.
    11-10-14 06:15 AM
  13. Variante Alta's Avatar
    BlackBerry seeks China partnerships as Chen meets Lenovo, Xiaomi

    http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-...service=mobile

    Posted via CB10
    Thanks Rock...that will stimulate some action on BBRY I suspect! Making more of the right moves...well done JC!

    Posted via CB10
    11-10-14 06:42 AM
  14. neteng1000's Avatar
    BlackBerry seeks China partnerships as Chen meets Lenovo, Xiaomi

    http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-...service=mobile

    Posted via CB10
    I'll take this deal in a heartbeat if it was limited to the Chinese market only.

    Posted via CB10
    11-10-14 06:45 AM
  15. ibpluto's Avatar
    I'll take this deal in a heartbeat if it was limited to the Chinese market only.

    Posted via CB10
    I would work wider (see what I did there? LOL) and say ALL of Asia. An agreement by which one of these handset makers license BB10 for their enterprise markets would be a-ok, by me

    Not sure how much revenue a license agreement would garner, but the shear market share increase alone would be a boon for BlackBerry. (apps, positive spin...etc etc).

    CB10'n it....via da Z30
    11-10-14 07:05 AM
  16. Corbu's Avatar
    Thank you, Rock!

    Fore reference and those who can't get past the G&M's wall.

    BlackBerry seeks China partnerships as Chen meets Lenovo, Xiaomi - The Globe and Mail

    BlackBerry Ltd. Chief Executive Officer John Chen said he’s interested in partnerships to expand in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, after meeting the heads of Xiaomi Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd.

    BlackBerry’s strengths in security, encryption and privacy are in demand in China and there may be opportunities for agreements on technology licensing, distribution or manufacturing, Chen said in an interview today in Beijing, where he was attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit.

    During the summit, Chen said he met with Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun, and Lenovo’s head Yang Yuanqing. These meetings with China’s two largest smartphone vendors come at a time when BlackBerry is trying to return to growth after declining phone shipments dragged it to net losses in each of the past three years.

    “It does seem that a more efficient way is to have a good partner to be here,” Chen said in the interview. “I’m here this time to look at what opportunities there may be. We have not really focused on this market. It’s a huge market but it’s a very highly competitive market too.”

    Chen said he also met Cher Wang, chairwoman of Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC Corp.

    Chen took the helm a year ago to lead a turnaround after shipments of its smartphones plunged in the past four years as it struggles to compete with touch-screen devices produced by Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. The Hong Kong native outsourced some production, sold property and focused on business customers by bringing back phones with signature physical keyboards and offering more software-based services.

    The changes have helped put the Waterloo, Ontario-based company on track for break-even cash flow by the end of this fiscal year and for a return to profit the next year, Chen reiterated today.

    In 2013, there were 19.2 million smartphones shipped with the BlackBerry operating system compared with 51.1 million units in 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

    The company in September released its new square-screened Passport smartphone which sold 200,000 units in its debut. The device is designed for business users who write e-mails, study spreadsheets and read documents on their phones.

    Chen has said that he’s already at work on a new concept for devices set to debut next year, including one at Mobile World Congress in March. Another version of the Passport is also in the works, he has said.

    The company got 16 percent of its sales from the Asia- Pacific region during the fiscal year that ended in March, compared with 19 percent from the U.S., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

    This is Chen’s first trip to China as CEO.

    Chen said his talks in China don’t imply the company is for sale.

    “I’m not looking to sell the company,” Chen said. “I’m very much looking to operate the company as an independent company.”

    Now that the company is returning to firmer financial footing, Chen said the China market is one area where he is looking for growth. Out of more than 40 million BlackBerry users worldwide, Chen estimates only a few hundred thousand units have been sold in China.

    Chen declined to provide details on the content of his conversations with Lenovo and Xiaomi, and representatives of the two Beijing-based companies didn’t immediately reply to e-mailed requests for comment. He cautioned it is “way early” to be looking for results from the talks in China.

    “What I’m doing is to explore what is the right approach to the market given what we do well and I’m not shutting any doors,” Chen said. “This market is not an easy one to get deals done quickly. It’s going to take a while, but I’m interested.”
    11-10-14 07:09 AM
  17. Corbu's Avatar
    This is what the G&M took from the FT's article...

    Leads in to the China story...

    Another problem for BlackBerry's John Chen: His wife loves her Samsung - The Globe and Mail

    Chen on BlackBerry

    John Chen tells an interesting story to the Financial Times: The man who’s turning around BlackBerry Ltd. was embarrassed by his wife’s Samsung.

    “There were a couple of parties we went to and, when my wife brought out the Samsung, everyone kind of looked at me funny,” John Chen told the news organization in a lengthy interview.

    “So eventually I said she needed to use a BlackBerry. ‘No, I like my Samsung,’ she said, and I told her she was embarrassing me.”

    The newspaper’s David Crow, having tea with Mr. Chen in New York, writes today of how Mr. Chen has stopped the bleeding at BlackBerry and boosted the ailing smartphone maker’s stock price.

    Mr. Chen told the news outlet that BlackBerry erred when it “wandered off” to chase the consumer market, and while he halted its decline, “the hardest part is yet to come” in terms of growth.

    Mr. Chen also said morale isn’t in “top shape,” but isn’t as low as many believe, that “people still love the keyboard and security is very important and that BlackBerry’s new Passport is part of a push to “make our devices a bit more pleasing to those people.”

    Mr. Chen added that he believes BlackBerry could lead in areas other than handsets, such as the Internet of Things, and that I hope today there is very little question of whether we’re going to survive.”

    And my personal favourite: Is his wife still sneaking off with her Samsung?

    “That I wouldn’t know. There might be a lot of secrets I don’t know.”

    Mr. Chen is now in China, meeting with companies such as Lenovo Group Ltd. in a chase for partnerships.
    rarsen, 3_M4N, sidhuk and 6 others like this.
    11-10-14 07:13 AM
  18. Corbu's Avatar
    And the Financial Post...
    BlackBerry Ltd on ?cusp? of profitability, but John Chen still sees work to be done | Financial Post

    Since John Chen took the helm of BlackBerry Ltd., the smartphone maker has gone from what the chief executive called a “50/50″ chance of survival to the “cusp of profitability.” But the recovery isn’t complete amid lingering concerns about how the Waterloo, Ont-based company will move from cost cutting to generating much-needed revenue growth. The Financial Post‘s Armina Ligaya spoke with Mr. Chen about his first year on the job, takeover speculation, product launches, and Kim Kardashian.

    Q: How would you characterize your performance as CEO over the past year?

    A: On par to what I expected, and a little better. We [have] done everything that we had said we were going to do, regarding the financial side… [and] on the strategic part of the house, which was re-pivoting back to the enterprise. In one year, we turned out three phones [Passport, Z3 and Classic due next month]. Even for a company that wasn’t going through turmoil, you would be proud of the accomplishments. By no means is everybody feeling great and high-fiving. There’s still work to be done.

    Q: What’s your main focus going forward?

    A: Next year, we really have to focus on growth… the distribution channel. My biggest problem is the old traditional [System Access Fee revenue] coming down very rapidly. This is self-inflicted, also, in a way that I cannot stop it. As our BB10 [devices] gets more successful, like the Passport launch and the Classic launch, that SAF may even go further faster. My number one focus now for the next four quarters is to rebuild the distribution channel and sales force so that we can start selling more software in the BES 12 and the value added services… to cover the SAF decline.

    Q: Is that why you’re keeping the initial sales of the Passport limited?

    A: That’s probably one aspect of it. But at a certain point in time, if I keep doing that, it will miss the market. There’s a lot of balancing to do, a lot of tough decisions that have been made, that still need to be made.

    Q: There were 200,000 Passport devices sold in pre-orders after launch in September, selling out supply. How much have you sold since then and have you ramped up production?

    A: I am seeing interest. I don’t think I should share the numbers. We are ramping up, we won’t completely catch up until probably a quarter out.

    Q: BlackBerry expects to sell more Classic smartphones, which brings back features popular with longtime users. Are you launching with more supply than with the Passport?

    A: I do expect to have much more, but I’m not going to tell you how much more. Maybe I will be able to tell you when December comes around.

    Q: You have said you expect BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to generate $100-million annually. How?

    A: We just released a couple of features that have to do with privacy and so forth. We added Snapchat [vanishing message] features to our messaging, we also added the ability to recall a message before the people see it. This is going to be free for a period of time. I am not interested in just researching and adding more and more great features and applications and usage of BBM without being able to charge for it. We believe that we have a list of things that we are working on … that the customer will want to buy. Today, our BBM revenue is… virtually non-existent. It mostly comes from virtual goods, stickers and stuff. Probably the biggest customer is my family — they’re buying all kinds of stickers. And so this has got to get into a broader carrier play, and also get into an enterprise play.

    Q: You expect to generate $500-million in software revenue. But, along with predicted revenue from other segments, this still doesn’t make up the shortfall from the loss of high-margin service revenue.


    A: It’s close. You’re right. It doesn’t directly make it up. If I could get $350-million from software / [technical] support / BBM, I think you’ll find that it will cover it. Therefore, right now, we’re at the cusp, I guess, of profitability.

    Q: You said in an open letter you’re in it for the “long haul.” You’ve set out a two-year turnaround plan, and signed a five-year contract. What’s the “long haul” for you?

    A: When I joined the company, I only agreed to be executive chairman of the company and then I kind of Shanghai’d myself into being the CEO because I need things to move a lot faster. I am definitely in there for the long haul, meaning that until this turnaround yields the growth part of the equation. I need to work on the distribution side of the equation and start pushing the product. That would take probably another four quarters to do. After that point, then there’s a number of factors. I’m definitely going to be with the company. Whether I will become the executive chairman that I always desired to be, or if I want to continue to run this, it all depends on where the company is at and whether I can add the value. If anybody else is better suited for the job, then there will be somebody else. But I will be here regardless. I signed a five-year agreement with the company… I intend to serve it all.

    Q: BlackBerry launches its BlackBerry Enterprise Services software, or BES 12, this week. Some say it is coming too late in the year, after many organizations have bought other software making it harder to capture new customers.

    A: It does take us that much time to come up with this great a product. I appreciate the point on whether it’s late or not. But we can’t turn out a BES product, just to be quote unquote early. We just have to compete. I will never turn out a knowingly bad product. I don’t have any concerns. I think the product will speak for itself.

    Q: Speculation has arisen, again, that Chinese company Lenovo wants to buy BlackBerry, at $15 per share. You’ve said that this price undervalues the company. Would you consider selling if the price is right? Or is the timing at this point of the company’s recovery not right?

    A: I can’t comment on any of the rumours and all that speculation of this, that or the other — with Lenovo or anybody for that matter. As a public company officer, I have to consider anything that is bonafide that is good for the shareholders.

    Q: You have said that BlackBerry will be unveiling a new concept device early next year. Last month, there was talk of the company working on a tablet to succeed the PlayBook after your comments at an MIT event in Hong Kong. Is BlackBerry working on a tablet?

    A: The conversation was about Passport, and what I’ve been telling people is that when I use the Passport today, I now literally do not bring laptop or any other tablet devices. People might think I’m working on a tablet, but I don’t know how they could confuse that. But we are working on something, obviously a follow on to this. That might be where the questions or confusion comes from. I did not say we were working on a tablet. I certainly didn’t say that we don’t [have a tablet]. As far as the tablet is concerned, I’ve been on record… that if there is a breakthrough technology, something that is very iconic, and I could differentiate ourselves against others, I would love to have a tablet. But not just a normal tablet.

    Q: Kim Kardashian recently said she loved her BlackBerry and would buy the company if she could. Would you consider bringing in her, or another celebrity, as a spokesperson?

    A: I, of course, don’t know the lady, I don’t know her personally. I obviously do know who she is. And every time anybody for that matter, it doesn’t have to be celebrities, is willing to publicly articulate the support of Blackberry, it’s music to my ears. At this point in time I don’t have any plans to have a celebrity spokesperson. I want to make sure we get profitable first. Where we’re focusing is on enterprise, I am not so sure whether a celebrity spokesperson is the right thing to spend money on. My audience are not going to be very responsive. Securing a celebrity spokesperson probably isn’t in my cards in the near future. I might change that, but that’s not something I’m considering right now.
    11-10-14 07:15 AM
  19. KenFletch's Avatar
    11-10-14 07:22 AM
  20. Corbu's Avatar
    JC to act as moderator for the SUMMIT DIALOGUE ON CONNECTIVITY:
    “ACCELERATING REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY: WHAT ARE THE INVESTMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND POLICY PRIORITIES?”

    Monday 10 November: APEC CEO Summit 2014

    Programme-APEC CEO Summit 2014
    11-10-14 08:09 AM
  21. FijiBB's Avatar
    Wow, who is buying? 9:39:39 AM - Volume 1,483,176
    11-10-14 08:40 AM
  22. Superfly_FR's Avatar
    BlackBerry seeks China partnerships as Chen meets Lenovo, Xiaomi

    http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-...service=mobile

    Posted via CB10
    Thanks Rock...that will stimulate some action on BBRY I suspect! Making more of the right moves...well done JC!

    Posted via CB10
    Wow, who is buying? 9:39:39 AM - Volume 1,483,176

    Well, heading to the $11-ish on the LENO partnership rumor ... but have you noticed the impressive 1yr Target estimate jump ? (was sleeping in the 9 - 9.25 for quarters)
    Wondering what $11 is on a TA approach; is that a majot target (think we had to break and hold the 10.80 mark but not sure anymore) ?
    The BBRY Café.  [Formerly: I support BBRY and I buy shares!]-capture.png
    sidhuk, bungaboy, JLagoon and 1 others like this.
    11-10-14 09:03 AM
  23. morganplus8's Avatar
    Thought I would throw up a chart on BBRY today:

    The BBRY Café.  [Formerly: I support BBRY and I buy shares!]-bbry-nov-10-2014.png

    The stock is performing extremely well since it fell back to its 50-dma and successfully found support there. We bounced off the 50-dma and really had no technical choice but to attempt a rally back up to the resistance level of $ 10.80 - $ 10.90. So what do we have going for us today? Well, we are closer to my end of the year rally, we have an official uptrend line in place now, we have some great news lately with Fund buying and the volume is very high on this run. The news gets better, the volume and higher price action is taking out one of the worst technical conditions that a stock can experience, namely the "lower highs" on rally attempts. Today BBRY has punched through its previous "lower high" for the first time in 6 months and did it first thing in the morning and high volume.

    So what would I like to see? I want the stock to close above $ 11.00/shr and hold it all week. It doesn't have to rally to the 52 week just yet ($ 11.59/shr), just prove to us that it can hold above a new level successfully, that's what draws money into a trade. So far, we are off to a much better start than we have on previous rallies, let's hold onto these gains and hit a nominal new high later on today. GL
    11-10-14 09:05 AM
  24. Superfly_FR's Avatar
    Spot on Right on time , Morgan Thanks !!!
    11-10-14 09:12 AM
  25. bigbadben10's Avatar
    Well I decided to sell my whole position in BlackBerry. Waiting for the rumour to subside before getting back in. I have missed too many of these opportunties in the past.
    sidhuk, cjcampbell, FijiBB and 4 others like this.
    11-10-14 09:18 AM
113,250 ... 29582959296029612962 ...

Similar Threads

  1. The importance of a removable battery.
    By krzyabn in forum BlackBerry KEY2
    Replies: 45
    Last Post: 04-15-19, 10:12 PM
  2. Motion support - Vibration no longer working and I need advice!
    By bunnyraider in forum BlackBerry Motion
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-12-19, 09:42 PM
  3. Will BlackBerry Launcher ever give us the option to swipe up?
    By ikeike859 in forum BlackBerry Android OS
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 04-12-19, 06:27 PM
  4. In MIXplorer, what is the "archive?"
    By RLeeSimon in forum Android Apps
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 04-12-19, 05:00 PM
  5. Skype Preview brings screen sharing to Android and iOS
    By CrackBerry News in forum CrackBerry.com News Discussion & Contests
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 04-12-19, 01:51 PM

Tags for this Thread

LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD