[bungaboy]

The company stated them. Not sure how that makes them mine. I'm sorry they didn't come prepackaged in a news story written on a 3rd grade level. Also, please see my full post - these #'s are widely available from market data sources:

Really?

Was it 3rd grade that held you back from 4th grade?

You are gathering/selecting numbers from the Interverse (and because they are on the Internet, they have to be true) and claiming that John Chen said them. You are just talking FUD now.

[plasmid_boy]

Really?

Was it 3rd grade that held you back from 4th grade?

You are gathering/selecting numbers from the Interverse (and because they are on the Internet, they have to be true) and claiming that John Chen said them. You are just talking FUD now.

I feel that we have been following the BlackBerry story very closely, but I have not heard Chen mentioned or stated those numbers.

[Paintman321]

I feel that we have been following the BlackBerry story very closely, but I have not heard Chen mentioned or stated those numbers.

I don't recall him stating any numbers either. Those numbers look like "analyst's" numbers.

Posted via CB10

[Heinz Katchup]

First Apple now yahoo should buy this Dead company. lol

While Working on Tax Deal, Mayer Eyes Display Acquisitions ? But Will Yahoo Aim Higher? | Re/code

Don't forget Lenovo. Hey Media! BlackBerry is not for sale. At least not at the price you want it for. Now Frig Off!!

[bungaboy]

I don't recall him stating any numbers either. Those numbers look like "analyst's" numbers.

Posted via CB10

Right from the WSJ blogs!

[Corbu]

This is so good, I hope you won't mind if I quote in extenso, ophjacks45! Thanks!

http://www.gsx.com/blog/bid/92202/Bl...inkId=10630644

Will future generations think of BlackBerry as a fallen giant mired in its own bureaucracy and unable to survive the tidal wave of advanced, computer-like smartphones, or will they think of it as a quintessential turnaround story of an enterprise that lost its path, but recaptured its glory by refocusing on its core strength?

On the basis of the relations that my company, GSX Solutions, and I have had with the BlackBerry team in the last six months, I am betting on the latter scenario.

BlackBerry’s story is one of an innovative company that created the market for the ubiquitous smartphone, delivering a product tailored for professionals who, like me (and do not fool yourself, you, too), could not live without it once we became used to getting our emails one second after they had been sent, whether we were in our office, on a train or on the beach, or pretending to relax during a vacation.

Android created an open platform that enabled low-cost manufacturers to flood the market with a high-quality offering, but it was Apple which created a device that combined the Walkman, compass, camcorder, PlayStation and insert-any-gadget-you-want, and coupled it with a phone. Go to Tokyo’s Akihabara. The once-mighty electronics area of Japan that used to sell tons of gadgets of all sizes and shapes has been replaced with superstores selling only Apple and Samsung products. Gone (or at least minimized) are the Sony devices we used to marvel at; they have all been replaced by innovative software available on smartphones.

But all of these devices are pitched at a consumer market.

One of the reasons BlackBerry missed the boat on tactile user interfaces (a.k.a. touchscreens) is because it already had a fabulous keyboard that met the needs of those who require correct spelling in their emails—not “CU 2mrw” but “I confirm our meeting for tomorrow. Best regards, Antoine Leboyer.”

Today’s BlackBerry recognizes that the professional market is where it has to focus. The recently announced Passport is aimed at precisely this market, and not at our kids. My teenage kids may think of Blackberry as an “old farts’ phone,” however, these “old farts” are still the productive professionals actually generating their kids’ allowance (who then spend more time on their “play phones”).

More importantly, BlackBerry has a trump card in its communication server. This offering, known to many IT professionals as “BES,” is the software that allows your emails and attachments to go from one server to another anywhere in the world securely and quickly. This is a huge business for BlackBerry and a key strategic platform for any corporate enterprise. My understanding is that BES represents around two-fifths of BlackBerry’s revenue. It is regularly growing, holds the largest market share, and currently trumps any competitor.

Now, with the advent of BYOD, there is a screaming need for a mobile communication server platform that encompasses all devices. In the last six months, we have worked with the BES development team in Waterloo, Canada, to extend our GSX offerings to BES 12.

describe the imageBES 12 extends the capabilities of BES 5 to Android and iOS devices. It offers MDM capabilities, regardless of the device. It offers the strength, security and resiliency that IT professionals are used to, and which they profoundly value, with BES 5 on all of their company devices.

We have tested and worked on BES 12’s betas and, let me tell you, they are good. We have worked with the new teams at Waterloo and I’m happy to report that this is no longer your grandfather’s BlackBerry.

The new spirit at BlackBerry is like one you’d find at a Silicon Valley company. The staff react quickly and actually listens to feedback from the betas’ customers, like the best companies in Silicon Valley. Let me give you an example. BlackBerry asked beta testers like GSX to install a new build without any help from Blackberry in order to get objective feedback on the difficulty of this task. This is smart; this is real enterprise customer focus. Let me blow our own horn here: we have done the same thing at GSX and, based on customer feedback, we have created a module that checks and validates all prerequisites for fluid installation.

Furthermore, BlackBerry understand the needs of corporations. It is bringing complementary offerings to large companies that it has carefully selected so as to offer a full, comprehensive package. BES 12 comes with solutions from independent software providers that will make it an enterprise-ready platform in all capabilities. And, GSX is part of it.

Please understand me. We at GSX have the choice of putting our development resources on many platforms, but in this case, we decided to work on BES 12 because we like the “new” BlackBerry. GSX did not ask to get on the BES 12 bandwagon. We were asked by BlackBerry to help, we looked to see if it made sense, and then we made the decision to move ahead.

So, after six months of hard work, let me tell you that we at GSX believe in BlackBerry’s approach. We believe in its ability to execute. We believe in its strategy. And, we cannot wait when all of the products will ship, bringing to you the best combination of mobile enterprise email solutions on the best mobile server platform.

About Antoine Leboyer, president and CEO, GSX
Antoine has seen information technology from all sides by working for vendors of all sizes. After 12 years in sales and marketing positions at IBM, he started the European Indirect operations of Candle Corporation, worked for startups in software distribution and mobile phone billing software, and was senior vice president of Baracoda, the leading producer of Bluetooth industrial devices. Antoine holds an engineering degree from the Ecole Superieure d'Electricit� in France and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is co-author of the book, "Building Routes to Customers: Proven Strategies for Profitable Growth." In his spare time, Antoine is a frequent contributor to ConcertoNet.com - The Classical Music Network.

[bspence87]

If I understand correctly, today was the first day of BlackBerry's quiet period?

Posted via CB10

[Corbu]

With Blend, Blackberry focuses on core strengths ? and it shows | Digital Trends

[helopilot06]

So I know that the market has been crazy lately but I just wanted to post how excited I am about my new BlackBerry Z30!!!!!


Posted via crackberry10 on my new Z30!

[Mr BBRY]

So I know that the market has been crazy lately but I just wanted to post how excited I am about my new BlackBerry Z30!!!!!


Posted via crackberry10 on my new Z30!

You think you're excited now? Upgrade to the newest 10.3.1 and you'll see how bright the future of this company really looks! The Passport I'm typing this on gives me the affirmation when the market makes no sense...not to rub it in

Note: Do some research in the forums to figure out the safest / most stable way to upgrade to something that can be used as a daily driver. You don't want to try to geek out and ruin your brand new beautiful Z30. I'm sure there are people here that can better advise a direction for you to start.

Posted via BlackBerry Passport

[helopilot06]

You think you're excited now? Upgrade to the newest 10.3.1 and you'll see how bright the future of this company really looks! The Passport I'm typing this on gives me the affirmation when the market makes no sense...not to rub it in

Note: Do some research in the forums to figure out the safest / most stable way to upgrade to something that can be used as a daily driver. You don't want to try to geek out and ruin your brand new beautiful Z30. I'm sure there are people here that can better advise a direction for you to start.

Posted via BlackBerry Passport

I know right? I've read some of the posts about it on the forums but I'm leary about downloading a leak or hybrid since the official version isn't that far away. Anyone have any thoughts?

Posted via crackberry10 on my new Z30!

[helopilot06]

PS this also makes me happy...


Posted via crackberry10 on my new Z30!

[georg4BB]

Good morning, I just want to provide this from the comment section of an SA article: BlackBerry Developing New Business Strategies

I'm not sure, if I did got everything right, because of limited english skills, but I got the impression, this guy knows, what he is talking about and he also provides some numbers.

manfredthree:

James , thanks for that bit of fresh air from the Carlini corner. Nothing has happened since the run-up that you would not have expected. Shorts who were binary are now waking up to the sobering fact that time is limited to cover their shorts on this small cap. They need to be constantly looking over their shoulders because the overall market is not providing that multitude of mini-corrections they can normally count on for those 'buyers strike' days. They are also in denial that they had no idea what was going on with Chen and Samsung. Also, a worrisome reality appeared last week that the top 15 shareholders added an average of 1.3 million shares each in Q3, what we call "Concensus institutional buy" .There were only 2 material reductions in the top 30. Longs have no pressing need other than to hold. The huge premiums being paid on short duration calls tell the story of how major shorts keep price down while buying the needed calls, but it is all irrelevant to where the stock can be in a few months. That game just got much tougher for shorts. The reality is there are many non-consumer mega-caps (such as a GE) and agencies that do not like being pushed around by big cap tech, and for whom BBRY is a perfect strategic ally. Meanwhile, the games will go on. CNBC, and JC look like AAPL subsidized buffoons , like soon of the posters here, hardly a credit to AAPL or threat to BBRY. We as well as Teachers are long AAPL. Our shelf incudes several MS tombstones so we get a chuckle knowing attitudes that have prevailed there toward 'dumb money'.

[bungaboy]

I know right? I've read some of the posts about it on the forums but I'm leary about downloading a leak or hybrid since the official version isn't that far away. Anyone have any thoughts?

Posted via crackberry10 on my new Z30!

OT:

I use this method. Works great.

http://forums.crackberry.com/bb10-le...update-976565/

[Corbu]

Interview: BlackBerry CEO John Chen on the progress of his turnaround

“People don’t necessarily love what I say, but they know it’s the truth”

John Chen has a reputation as a turnaround artist. As CEO of California-based Sybase Inc., he inherited a company that was once a leader in the electronic database market but was rapidly losing money and customers. (Sound familiar?) Chen came aboard, in 1997, and cut costs and jobs to return Sybase to profitability. He then focused the company on providing database solutions for the mobile market. The strategy worked: In 2010, SAP bought Sybase for US$5.8 billion. With Chen now one year into his tenure at BlackBerry, it’s unclear he’ll be able to repeat that performance. But he has nearly stopped the financial bleeding, having outsourced manufacturing to Foxconn and aggressively focused on enterprise clients while still offering low-cost handsets to emerging markets. With BlackBerry’s global market share at just 0.5%, Chen has a lot more to do.

You took over BlackBerry at the most difficult time in its history. What was your assessment of the company before you came aboard?

I was intrigued and impressed by BlackBerry’s history, and what it’s done for the whole computing market—not only phones. BlackBerry is an iconic company, and one that’s definitely worth saving. So I just took the job. There was not a lot of forethought involved. It’s not like I analyzed a model and all that. There’s so much you don’t know, but you know that fundamentally things are either broken or not connected correctly. I knew it would be a lot of hard work. I also knew there would be a lot of doubters inside the company, probably more so than outside the company, honestly speaking. I can’t tell you that when I came in that I knew 100% I could fix it. That would have been naive. But I came in with the idea that I would add value to the company and do my best to create a better environment.

Did you have an idea of how you would do that?

A little bit. I had an idea that we needed to go back to the core strength of the company, which is the enterprise space. I think we lost our way over the last two or three years. We tried to create a one-size-fits-all range of devices, and a lot of things were lost. But the first thing is to repair the foundation: the balance sheet and the finances of the company. Then we need to continue in an area where the market will be receptive. We lost a big part of the market—a huge part of the market. That’s not to say that you cannot gain it back, but you have to add some value. The customers you want need to know you’re targeting them. That’s half of the battle. The other half is to make them come back.

You’re known for having performed turnarounds at both Sybase and Pyramid Technology. What’s something you learned in the past that you’re applying to BlackBerry?

Every time I’ve done a turnaround, the first thing has been to spend time with the customers. They know what’s going on. I’ve learned a lot from the customers I’ve spoken with. Unfortunately some of those customers are quote-unquote “gone” now, but they were meaningful conversations. And then I spent time talking to employees about the core strengths of the company. They have a lot of the answers. The most difficult thing is to collect all the information, build on it and make some decisions.

Were there any surprises?

There were some positive surprises and negative surprises. The negative was how we had disconnected with our corporate customers. We’ve sold, I don’t know, 350 million handsets in the past. There were something like 50,000 enterprise customers around the world using our servers and software. When I came in, we were trying to introduce yet another set of software, different from the old, that meant corporate customers had to run both the old and new software for all their devices to work. That was very surprising to me. This problem should be solved on November 13, when we release our new server, BES 12. It’s going to be an extremely robust and highly secure server that manages everything—iPhones, iPads, Androids, Windows, old BlackBerrys and new. I’m collapsing the old infrastructure and the new infrastructure into one.

Once you had learned more about the company, what did you do next?

I realized that if we don’t have innovative products, it doesn’t really matter if our distribution channel is broken. You could have the best salespeople in the world, it still won’t matter. So I’ve spent a lot of time with people in engineering and technology to create an organization that focuses on four pieces of product. First, I needed to make a handset that’s not only innovative, but made in such a way that’s cost effective so I can make money. I also know that my traditional service fees are coming down very fast, and I need to find a way to recover and replace those. That will be the BES 12 server. But I’m going to add a lot of valued-added services. For instance, we just bought a company that has technology to manage two phone numbers on one SIM card. I just had lunch with a carrier executive, and they love it. Enterprises love it because it separates the work environment from the personal environment. If I’m an employee, I pay for my side of the phone bill, and if I leave the company, I keep my number. This isn’t a magic bullet, but it will start replacing revenue. We’ll introduce more things like this. It’s a big part of our strategy.

You mentioned two products you’re focused on. What are the others?

We have BlackBerry Messenger. People always say, well, WhatsApp has 600 million users and they only make $15 million in revenue. I have 91 million active users on BBM and I expect to make almost $100 million in revenue next year from zero. People have the right to ask, “What in the world are you smoking?” But my messaging technology is a little different from everybody else’s, not only because it’s secure, but more importantly, because we’re focused on enterprise clients. We’re building products such as BBM Protected, which offers secure communication. It is agnostic; it runs on any device. And finally, we created BlackBerry Technology Solutions. Within that technology group is QNX, which is the leading software platform for connected cars right now. This group manages 44,000 patents, and we’re generating more. So this is very much about licensing and more aimed toward the future.

How would you describe your leadership style?

I’m very straightforward. That’s what I try to project inside and outside BlackBerry. We’re realistic. We’re not going to tell you, “Oh yeah, I have this new phone, and when I release it everybody will run from iPhone to me.” If I said these things, you would be very doubtful that I’m being realistic.

So no more overpromising and under-delivering for BlackBerry.

Yep. I’ve built a reputation for being honest and realistic. People don’t necessarily love what I say, but they know it’s the truth.

I’m guessing employee morale was low when you arrived. What have you done to improve that?

It was pretty poor, yes. I would say it’s improved, but not to where it needs to be. Employee morale only picks up when the company does well. I could get up and say, “We’re doing great, everybody loves us, charge!” But those words are quite hollow. In my employee town hall meetings, I try to relay facts, instead of telling people how they should feel. There’s no reason why they should feel good, to be honest with you. But there are a lot of reasons they should feel hopeful. We went from burning a lot of cash to burning very little. We went from losing very big money to losing two cents a share in the last quarter. Maybe some great motivational speaker can do a better job than I can, but that feeling will only last as long as people have patience. You have to deliver the results. Then people start believing and things will turn quickly.

One well-known problem at BlackBerry concerned decision-making. It wasn’t clear who was responsible for what. What are you doing to fix that?

That’s a very complicated science. We’re working it out right now. It’s about who has what authority to make what decision, and how does the system have accountability when that person makes the wrong decision. This is typical of turnaround situations. I’ve tackled this problem before, in my past companies. When a company grows very fast, like BlackBerry did, a few heroes of the company make most of the decisions, but they may not be documented or logical decisions. And when a company starts doing poorly, a lot of people who actually help the company day-to-day start leaving, furthering the damage. What I’m doing is going in and defining how things ought to be done. The first pendulum swing is pretty extreme, from no process to too much process. That’s happening now. Now I need to make the pendulum swing back a bit. It’ll take a while. I wouldn’t expect more than a year or two.

Do you envision BlackBerry remaining a niche enterprise player, or becoming something else?

It has to be more than that. The first step is becoming profitable. It will still be niche at that point, but there’s no reason why we wouldn’t become bigger. I’ll refer you to Apple. In 1997, Apple almost went out of business. Nobody was buying a Mac. At that time, they were niche in the educational market. Look at them today. The point is, in the technology world, successful turnarounds are rare, but the number isn’t zero. IBM got turned around. HP is going through that process. Oracle got turned around. I can’t guarantee success, but it is doable. When I came in, I said I need six to eight quarters to get the company stabilized. We’re a little ahead, so we’ll make that objective. A year from today, we’ll be generating profit.

Were you pleased to hear Kim Kardashian still loves her BlackBerry?

[Laughs] I’m very glad that she came out and said that. My understanding is that she keeps a number of our devices stashed away. It had nothing to do with myself. It was something that was spontaneous on her part.

Did you know who she was?

I knew she was a celebrity, but nothing beyond that. Now I’m very intrigued. One of these days I’ll look her up.

[Corbu]

BlackBerry 'Rio' the Next High-end All-touch | N4BB

[bungaboy]

Fair enough, but you my friend started with the insulting comments.

The company stated them. Not sure how that makes them mine. I'm sorry they didn't come prepackaged in a news story written on a 3rd grade level. Also, please see my full post - these #'s are widely available from market data sources:

In the spirit of not fighting or attacking other users, I'll leave the tangent you've taken us on with this. It's responses like the one I've quoted that discourage high quality discussion, discourage new people to join these forums, and quiets those with real, factual information to share. That such derogatory, mean-spirited, rude, degrading, bullying posts would get "Thanked" and "Liked" multiple times only further encourages the impression that this sort of crude behavior is welcomed here.

. . . Disagree with them if you like, but find a way to do it in a civil manner.

My view is 3rd grader comments are not "in a civil manner".

Now I am done.

[morganplus8]

[QUOTE=matt;11096406]In the spirit of not fighting or attacking other users, I'll leave the tangent you've taken us on with this. It's responses like the one I've quoted that discourage high quality discussion, discourage new people to join these forums, and quiets those with real, factual information to share. That such derogatory, mean-spirited, rude, degrading, bullying posts would get "Thanked" and "Liked" multiple times only further encourages the impression that this sort of crude behavior is welcomed here.

QUOTE]

Matt,

I looked up the quote that you reference and it has the support of only 3 members in the "thank/like" column, that should imply that not everyone here likes to slip down that slope. In addition, you sent the first volley by stating that a 3 year old must has done the research or such, so at some point, Bungaboy is going to respond in like.

Several members asked you for a link or formal proof of the claims you have made about Chen. Generating data that has no foundation is something that doesn't fly well in this thread, too often we read about claims that simply aren't true. Unless you can support your claim that BB or Chen in particular, provided a forecast of any sort during his tenor, you should consider apologising for attaching Bungaboy first. I for one, want you to feel comfortable posting to this thread, but in all fairness, please keep it to substantiated data. This group expects all comments or claims to be backed up with a reference when there is something said that smacks of a purposeful attempt to degrade the company itself. This is different than stating a "fact" that BlackBerry has come up short in some area of their business, we all know they have made mistakes.

Please don't take this the wrong way, when a stock goes up 20% and drops by 20% in 5-days, we are going to look for trouble! Take care.

[bungaboy]

You're right. I apologize. I should have stated that differently. It was a short way of saying that not all facts about a company come from watered down media sources. The good insights are often the result of a lot of hard work, hours of research, reading every news report, tweet, ceo comment, linkedin post, cnbc/bloomberg interview and press release from a company. I'm sorry.

A virtual beer to you. And I am sorry as well.

[Shanerredflag]

Reminds me of a song:


Passport'n stuff all day long.

[Supa_Fly1]

Any news of BlackBerry considering a dividend offer?! Would this raise the stock value considerably?

BlackBerry - Accept no substitute. Period!

[bungaboy]

I counted across the multiple posts made in the course of the argument. Just counted 31 Thanks and Likes combined across the multiple posts.



Totally agree the average person would be shaken by the vol this stock has displayed, and we've all had our ego's beaten down over the past few years during the company's decline. That's made some people demand facts, lash out, and demand proof with every post. Unfortunately proving a direct quote followed by a properly formatted (source) link, followed by confirming it's a valid source that won't get flamed in a follow up "quote" response, followed by confirming it's also the most recent source to quote so you don't get made fun of, followed by making sure the grammer is correct, followed up by still being made fun of......well, you get the point. It get old. It gets tiring. It makes every attempt to just post some helpful info feel like we're all fighting with each other. When one person posts the result of hours of work to help the community, and the follow ups are "FUD" and "proof" and "link?" and "source?" and "that sounds made up" and "lolz"...it's just going to drive users away.

The traffic statistics I quoted earlier were for all of Crackberry. If you break that down into the forums only, the stats are even more dismal: 1,541,282 unique users globally generating 4,583,936 page views in October 2014, down from 2,836,153 unique users in October last year generating 8,794,618 views. We've lost -45.6% of forum users in the last 12months, and where the forums used to have 3.07 page views per user, it's now 2.97 pg views per user.
As a point of comparison: using Quantcast to find another "top-ranked" (top 10,000) site, which focuses on tech, which consists of forums, and also only looking at unique visits to page views, that number is in the range of 5.5 - 8.2 pg views per user over same time period.

Would be nice to see crackberry be a place that welcomes new users, new ideas, new content and - while not tolerating junk (hallels.com is one of the top sites crackberry users rely on, according to Quantcast) - also allowing for a free flowing discussion without following every post with a post-count-stuff "proof!" following it?

Matt;

CB Kevin and Team started the New Year with "taking out trash". There have been a lot of past users cleaned out. Kevin plainly said he didn't want them here at CB.

That doesn't count for all of them but it helped set the tone.

I will note that there has been a substantial increase of new members since the launch of the Passport. Some are genuine, many are haters and trashers.

We have ridden many waves in this thread and will continue.

[sidhuk]

Edit: now I am hesitant to give my cheap thanks or a like. Geeze. Gotta go find expensive ones.
Posted using BlackBerry passport.

[morganplus8]

I counted across the multiple posts made in the course of the argument. Just counted 31 Thanks and Likes combined across the multiple posts.



Totally agree the average person would be shaken by the vol this stock has displayed, and we've all had our ego's beaten down over the past few years during the company's decline. That's made some people demand facts, lash out, and demand proof with every post. Unfortunately proving a direct quote followed by a properly formatted (source) link, followed by confirming it's a valid source that won't get flamed in a follow up "quote" response, followed by confirming it's also the most recent source to quote so you don't get made fun of, followed by making sure the grammer is correct, followed up by still being made fun of......well, you get the point. It get old. It gets tiring.

Well we are all wondering out loud how you generated the "forecast data" as it appears that you are the only one to have such data. I supported any request for a link, I didn't support the personal attack on either side and I still would like to see some proof of those numbers being stated by either BB or Chen. If we aren't privy to the same data we need to severely step up our game. One of the best features of this thread is the timely data we receive so it is important when a huge statement about the company is made, to provide some proof of that statement. Without judging you at all, I wanted you to post something!

As for the CB data, it is so true, many have left the board, I don't know if that is good news of bad at this stage as we did have some crazies here at one time. Peace.

[Soumaila Somtore]

Morgan Stanley have more than 1 Million share of MobileIron! Coincidence?