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A Reddit user has claimed to have seen the BlackBerry "Venice". See below:

Note: I cannot provide picture proof. All employee prototypes have a serial number embedded into the screen to deter photo evidence being leaked. I�m not an employee of BlackBerry, but a church band group I do audio and lighting for is. Also note that I have used the phone for a full 5 minutes, thus my opinions and knowledge will be limited to what he has told me.
*
First, is physical feel. The phone is feels light and looks professional. Very thin, maybe too thin for my liking especially when the screen is up to reveal the keyboard. But this is interesting because due to the thinness of the phone, you�d never actually know theres a keyboard. Think of this as the torch, but its bigger, and doesn�t feel cheap and plastic-like. On a design note, the glass (which has curved edges, like the Samsung Edge) has a raised bezel to push the screen up. Subtle and smart.
Next, the keyboard. I used for the two seconds and I truly miss my Bold 9900. The keyboard works like the Passport, with swipe gestures. Feels good. I (with big thumbs) had no problems typing. When the keyboard is hidden, an on-screen keyboard appears and seems to have a lot better typing experience than my Z10.
The camera... its got an 8MP on the front, and an 18MP on the back. Dual-colour flash.
The OS... its multilayered. It�s android but its first layer is BlackBerry. Basically your phone is running Lollipop with BlackBerry�s security features added. Theres an app for these features to control permissions and such. That being said, there is Google Play services. Finally.
Initial Prototype feel... according to him (my friend, the employee) the phone is buggy and the battery life is awful. This isn�t something thats surprising. So I hope and assume that for the consumer release, it�ll have better battery life and a very fluid response. That being said, I did not have time to ask him about hardware specifications.
At the end of the day, I think I�ll op for this phone instead of an S6 or OnePlus. Price will ultimately be the deciding factor, but this phone looks, feels, and is for real. I perfect balance of a professional sharp looking phone with BlackBerry�s high level of security and the Google Play services we�ve all been asking for. 10/10 would buy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/blackberry/...kberry_venice/

[morganplus8]

OT: HALO
Hey M8!
When do you think it'll be a good entry point back into the stock? I see that due to the news it seems it will stay above $20 for sure now and it is just working off the high RSI. With the earnings coming up next month should we try to get back into the stock around the $21 mark? Also as news trump TA how would you know when regular TA is to be used again is there any clear indicator when the stock is no longer moving based on news again?

PS. Sorry wasnt too sure how to word it so i hope it makes sense

Hi slipstream89 !!

I was away for the day and missed trading. HALO is in a hyper uptrend, it is backing up, correcting its over-bought situation and moving higher. The stock is being bought up by institutions and there is little float out there now. Here is a chart of it:



You have to time your purchase near the bottom of that channel and ride the rally. The entry price will be around $ 21.30 but you have to be quick about it. I personally would wait for earnings if the stock fails to drop back. At $ 23 to $ 24, it is pricing in some great earnings!

As for BBRY, it held up well today, still has strong volume here, I don't see signs of the buy back yet either but I do like the support down around this level, we should be making a turn soon so watch the 3-ema.

[helopilot06]

Hi slipstream89 !!

I was away for the day and missed trading. HALO is in a hyper uptrend, it is backing up, correcting its over-bought situation and moving higher. The stock is being bought up by institutions and there is little float out there now. Here is a chart of it:



You have to time your purchase near the bottom of that channel and ride the rally. The entry price will be around $ 21.30 but you have to be quick about it. I personally would wait for earnings if the stock fails to drop back. At $ 23 to $ 24, it is pricing in some great earnings!

As for BBRY, it held up well today, still has strong volume here, I don't see signs of the buy back yet either but I do like the support down around this level, we should be making a turn soon so watch the 3-ema.

Best think I ever did was buy in to halo around 8.50. Got 4 of my best friends in at the same price point. Needless to say we are all grateful for you sharing and pushing this lead early on!

Posted via crackberry10 on my new Z30!

[huwit]

A Reddit user has claimed to have seen the BlackBerry "Venice". See below:

Note: I cannot provide picture proof. All employee prototypes have a serial number embedded into the screen to deter photo evidence being leaked. I�m not an employee of BlackBerry, but a church band group I do audio and lighting for is. Also note that I have used the phone for a full 5 minutes, thus my opinions and knowledge will be limited to what he has told me.
*
First, is physical feel. The phone is feels light and looks professional. Very thin, maybe too thin for my liking especially when the screen is up to reveal the keyboard. But this is interesting because due to the thinness of the phone, you�d never actually know theres a keyboard. Think of this as the torch, but its bigger, and doesn�t feel cheap and plastic-like. On a design note, the glass (which has curved edges, like the Samsung Edge) has a raised bezel to push the screen up. Subtle and smart.
Next, the keyboard. I used for the two seconds and I truly miss my Bold 9900. The keyboard works like the Passport, with swipe gestures. Feels good. I (with big thumbs) had no problems typing. When the keyboard is hidden, an on-screen keyboard appears and seems to have a lot better typing experience than my Z10.
The camera... its got an 8MP on the front, and an 18MP on the back. Dual-colour flash.
The OS... its multilayered. It�s android but its first layer is BlackBerry. Basically your phone is running Lollipop with BlackBerry�s security features added. Theres an app for these features to control permissions and such. That being said, there is Google Play services. Finally.
Initial Prototype feel... according to him (my friend, the employee) the phone is buggy and the battery life is awful. This isn�t something thats surprising. So I hope and assume that for the consumer release, it�ll have better battery life and a very fluid response. That being said, I did not have time to ask him about hardware specifications.
At the end of the day, I think I�ll op for this phone instead of an S6 or OnePlus. Price will ultimately be the deciding factor, but this phone looks, feels, and is for real. I perfect balance of a professional sharp looking phone with BlackBerry�s high level of security and the Google Play services we�ve all been asking for. 10/10 would buy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/blackberry/...kberry_venice/

God damn, there is no way in hell that my girlfriend will let me buy this to replace my passport. But then again why replace such a beast of a phone

[kadakn01]

HTC returns to loss



By ARIES POON
Updated July 6, 2015 4:10 p.m. ET
TAIPEI— HTC Corp. sank into the red again in the second quarter, hit by plummeting smartphone sales and valuation losses on production lines left idle.

HTC said Monday its unaudited net loss in the quarter ended June 30 was 8.03 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$261 million). That snapped four straight quarters of modest net profit, a short-lived result of its strategic shift to sell more midprice phones in emerging markets as opposed to more expensive ones, and cost cuts by outsourcing some of its manufacturing.

In the second quarter, its revenue totaled NT$33.01 billion, almost half the NT$65.06 billion it fetched in the second quarter of 2014. HTC doesn’t disclose its shipment number, but the company has said it has closed some of its production facilities as sales have dropped and as it has outsourced some of its manufacturing. The company didn’t reveal its valuation loss on idle production lines.

HTC was a top Android smartphone maker a few years ago, but its return to losses indicates how second-tier smartphone makers are struggling in a maturing market.

Low-cost smartphone makers, such as China’s Xiaomi Inc., are grabbing emerging-market share quickly at a time when global smartphone shipment growth, particularly toward the high-end is slowing.

Despite praise for the sleek design of HTC’s flagship device for this year, the One M9, some analysts were skeptical, citing the phone’s incremental hardware upgrade from its One M8 last year.

HTC’s shares in Taipei sank to a record low of NT$71.10 on June 30, compared with an all-time high of NT$1,300.00 in April 2011. The shares ended flat at NT$73.80, ahead of the company’s announcement.

Chairwoman Cher Wang, who returned to day-to-day operations last year and has also been doubling as chief executive since late March, has said the company “is moving beyond the smartphone business.” It has recently launched a fitness band and a virtual reality device.

[Supa_Fly1]

STOP !
It IS ps-ed and comes from a CB thread.

Posted via CB10

Actually this shows the basis of what my humble research could do. I'm unsure if I posted but follow me play this fiddle if you will kiddies

BlackBerry implements QNX Hyper-Visor into BB10 fully on the chip set level. Forms manufacturer partnerships - wait this has already happens as announced at the recent qtr earnings call (2 new partners to be exact).

Now, the boot screen shows BB10 through and through yet the end user or configurable by BES12 IT Policy allows the user to go Android+Bb Enterprise Experience sw / or / full unadulterated BB10 (full monty). This is how BlackBerry secures Android, as a fully running IS within a secure enclave at the cpu level that has enterprise grade security protecting it that no g services can circumvent.

The first full shipping dual boot OS smartphone.

Posted via CB10

[Supa_Fly1]

FWIW:
New BlackBerry Passport Approved For Singapore And Malaysia?
New BlackBerry certified in Malaysia. Is this the new ?Dallas?? | SoyaCincau

Attachment 361154

This beast is going to be SUPER expensive to repair! But with bolts and no squeegee to get it open for repairs! This is going to be exquisite.

Posted via CB10

[Superfly_FR]

Actually this shows the basis of what my humble research could do. I'm unsure if I posted but follow me play this fiddle if you will kiddies

BlackBerry implements QNX Hyper-Visor into BB10 fully on the chip set level. Forms manufacturer partnerships - wait this has already happens as announced at the recent qtr earnings call (2 new partners to be exact).

Now, the boot screen shows BB10 through and through yet the end user or configurable by BES12 IT Policy allows the user to go Android+Bb Enterprise Experience sw / or / full unadulterated BB10 (full monty). This is how BlackBerry secures Android, as a fully running IS within a secure enclave at the cpu level that has enterprise grade security protecting it that no g services can circumvent.

The first full shipping dual boot OS smartphone.

Posted via CB10

Frankly and friendly :
Technically, all scenario are possible.
Still, until we see a major change in Google/BlackBerry relationships, anything is 200% fiction.
Reason why I asked we stop elaborating about this rumor in this particular thread .

and about the "it shows" ...
http://forums.crackberry.com/bb10-le...berry-1027099/

[snaponsly]

Hi Guys... Just want to introduce myself as i've been following this thread pretty religiously for the last 6 months but never signed up or felt the need to reply as I was not a Blackberry enthusiast or even a previous device owner. I just bought some share on a hunch back in October/November around the time of the Samsung deal and made a good bit of money when the stock popped. Since then i've been following every move BB makes, bought more shares when the price went down and have now become quite the fan I am planning on buying my first BB phone... probably this new rumored "Venice" will be a good place to start as I am already an Android user.
Thanks for all the great posts and links! You guys have been a great help!

[Corbu]

South Africa:
Samsung ups security with BlackBerry partnership | Fin24

[Corbu]

OT:
Hacking Team, the Surveillance Tech Firm, Gets Hacked - WSJ
Hacking Team, the Surveillance Tech Firm, Gets Hacked
Italian company sold surveillance tools to dozens of countries, according to leaked files

[Corbu]

OT (but not irrelevant, given the latest rumours):
Samsung Sees Seventh Straight Profit Decline - WSJ

Samsung Sees Seventh Straight Profit Decline
The world’s largest smartphone maker by shipments said operating profit likely fell about 4%

By JONATHAN CHENG and MIN-JEONG LEE

Updated July 6, 2015 8:34 p.m. ET

SEOUL— Samsung Electronics Co.’s second-quarter earnings estimates Tuesday suggest that sales of its new flagship smartphones were significantly worse than expected.

The disappointment underscores the perils of navigating the fast-changing smartphone market: Even with a hit product on its hands, the South Korean company appears to have misjudged demand.

The South Korean technology giant said that it expects to earn just 6.9 trillion Korean won ($6.1 billion) in operating profit for the three months ended June 30, a 4% decline from the same period a year earlier. It said revenue likely dropped to 48 trillion won, down 8.4% from the same period last year.

The overall year-over-year profit and sales declines come amid likely robust growth in Samsung’s semiconductor operations, leaving most of the blame for the slide on the company’s once-highflying mobile division.

The company didn’t break out its quarterly earnings projections by business units.

Final quarterly results are due later this month.

When the Galaxy S6 and its curved-screen variant, the Galaxy S6 Edge, were launched in April, the phones were praised by reviewers and greeted with strong advance orders from consumers.

But Samsung appears to have badly miscalculated in its expectations for what kinds of smartphones these consumers were after.

According to a person familiar with the matter, the company initially expected to sell four Galaxy S6 smartphones for each Galaxy S6 Edge that it sold, and set up its production facilities accordingly. Instead, demand was much likely closer to even for the two devices, the person said.

That led to a glut of unsold Galaxy S6 devices—particularly white-colored devices—and not enough Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones, the person said.

In April, just two days before the Galaxy S6 and its companion device became available in stores, Samsung’s mobile chief J.K. Shin pledged to boost production of the curved-screen Galaxy S6 Edge to meet demand, citing evidence of supply constraints.

In late April, executives said on a conference call with analysts that the company would be able to meet demand by the end of June.

Since then, the company has reconfigured its manufacturing operations, which are concentrated in Vietnam, to be able to produce as many Galaxy S6 Edge devices as the market demands, according to the person, who says that sales and profit figures could pick up again in the third and fourth quarter of the year.

It remains unclear whether Samsung may have missed its window of opportunity with consumers, however. Unlike rival Apple Inc., whose iPhones tend to sell well even a year after they are first introduced to the market, Samsung’s flagship smartphone sales have historically peaked in the first few months after its launch.

For Samsung, the expected drop in operating profit marks the seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines, and is a steep come down from initial analyst expectations that earnings would rebound strongly from the dismal results after the Galaxy S5’s launch in the second quarter last year.

The results, however, were better than the 30% year-over-year operating profit decline that the company suffered in the first quarter of the year.

For the second quarter, analysts estimate the company shipped 71 million to 76 million smartphones, with the two Galaxy S6 phones accounting for slightly more than 20% of the shipments. This compares with an estimated 74.5 million units shipped during the year-ago period, according to Strategy Analytics.

Following years of robust earnings growth on the back of the popularity of its Galaxy S smartphones, Samsung’s mobile profits began falling last year after the Galaxy S5 largely fell flat with consumers. The company also saw its market share eroded by a number of low-cost competitors from China and India, a threat that may continue to challenge the South Korean company.

Shares in Samsung, which tumbled 5.3% in the previous two sessions, to a 2015 low, weren’t active ahead of the stock market opening in Seoul on Tuesday. The stock has fallen 17% since the April 10 launch of the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge.

[TimJohnSmith]

It seems like multiple big Android houses are in decline. A foreshadowing?

Tim Smith from my Z10 on Rogers

[cjcampbell]

OT (but not irrelevant, given the latest rumours):
Samsung Sees Seventh Straight Profit Decline - WSJ

And somehow people keep thinking BlackBerry will make money on handsets by switching to Android. Samsung profits declining yet again and HTC back in the red on their handsets.

Posted via CB10

[Hende Nicolas]

Anyone worried? Tanking SP isn't a sales pitch to enterprise or anyone else

Posted via CB10

[Soumaila Somtore]

I don't know what is going on with the market but a this price I am adding more!!!


Happy day gang!!!

[morganplus8]

I don't know what is going on with the market but a this price I am adding more!!!


Happy day gang!!!

I have to agree, I bought a large block of ECA for $ 9.95/shr/US and I'm buying all kinds of stock down here. If the world doesn't come to an end because of 9 MM people, we are going to have some cheap stock for next week. You have to love days like this where people lose their minds and throw out value. Now, do we come to our senses and have a bounce into the close?

[3MIKE]

Yesterday everybody had their hands on the trigger and today someone stepped on bubble wrap and there you go !!

[Supa_Fly1]

And somehow people keep thinking BlackBerry will make money on handsets by switching to Android. Samsung profits declining yet again and HTC back in the red on their handsets.

Posted via CB10

I love this point CJ.

While HTC thinks it can compete in the mid-range, they no longer have Beats Audio, and Dual Speakers is becoming more of a base on high-end devices (Z30, Passport, Xperia Z2/3/3+) they will not be able to differentiate between the competition - Metal body will no longer cut it.

This is why I'd like high end BB's only - enterprise will pay for it, users will continue to demand it.
New Segments:
Rugged Passport & Z30/Leap - IP68 (Dust/Water proofing through heavy nano-coat and more of a rubberized body for impact shock resistance). Tablet as well. Make this a FULLY functioning BB10 tablet ruggerdized ... load it with unique apps to serve the Mining industry as well as other industries that require tablets for their construction work force. STILL Windows CE dominates here - iOS hasn't really touched this nor has Android oddly enough. FLEET sales boys and girls!

[Supa_Fly1]

OT-Related: SECURITY!


A London Hedge Fund Lost $1.2 Million in a Friday Afternoon Phone Scam
London Hedge Fund Fell for 'Coutts' Scam on Friday Afternoon - Bloomberg Business


What would SecuSmart and BlackBerry could do/offer in such a situation to minimize such a scam. I had thought with knowledge of social-engineering-crime all financial employees would have been trained some 10 years ago!

[rarsen]

OT from the Related Technologies and Security general files:

An explosion in apps development means security headaches for CIOs | ZDNet
"A recent study commissioned by Actian found that 43% of CEOs would fire their CIO/CTO if there was a security breach from a tech investment. Without the right tools, data masking and provisioning new database clones is hugely labor and time intensive and that means many large enterprises try a short-cut: they build a security perimeter around their app development teams and hope no one finds a hole. There's always a hole."

Hacking Team used shockingly bad passwords | ZDNet
"As the company cleans up its systems and tries to rebuild, its malware samples are in the wild, making it significantly easier to counter ongoing or future surveillance. Hacking Team, for all intents and purposes, is ruined."

[cjcampbell]

OT-Related: SECURITY!


A London Hedge Fund Lost $1.2 Million in a Friday Afternoon Phone Scam
London Hedge Fund Fell for 'Coutts' Scam on Friday Afternoon - Bloomberg Business


What would SecuSmart and BlackBerry could do/offer in such a situation to minimize such a scam. I had thought with knowledge of social-engineering-crime all financial employees would have been trained some 10 years ago!

BlackBerry would have had absolutely no affect on this. This was an old school, low tech (no tech) con. The guy fell for it and voluntarily handed over the info asked for.

[TimJohnSmith]

Anyone worried? Tanking SP isn't a sales pitch to enterprise or anyone else

Posted via CB10

It's a global market downturn.

Tim Smith from my Z10 on Rogers

[BACK-2-BLACK]

I love this point CJ.

While HTC thinks it can compete in the mid-range, they no longer have Beats Audio, and Dual Speakers is becoming more of a base on high-end devices (Z30, Passport, Xperia Z2/3/3+) they will not be able to differentiate between the competition - Metal body will no longer cut it.

This is why I'd like high end BB's only - enterprise will pay for it, users will continue to demand it.
New Segments:
Rugged Passport & Z30/Leap - IP68 (Dust/Water proofing through heavy nano-coat and more of a rubberized body for impact shock resistance). Tablet as well. Make this a FULLY functioning BB10 tablet ruggerdized ... load it with unique apps to serve the Mining industry as well as other industries that require tablets for their construction work force. STILL Windows CE dominates here - iOS hasn't really touched this nor has Android oddly enough. FLEET sales boys and girls!

The thing is, all these Android makers are having a hard time dominating the market (on an individual basis) because they reaaaallly do not have a differentiator.... This is why they "rush" to get a phone out with the latest feature and make a big deal of this insignificant gimmick....which others will have in a matter of months.

So at the end of the day, they are all alike....

In essence, you need a true competitive advantage.... Not a short lived "gimmicky" one that really doesn't qualify as a competitive advantage.



Enter BlackBerry.

(Should the rumours materialize)

They will be able to provide an Android Based phone that will offer what others cannot duplicate or come close to offering, and that is, a "BlackDroid" phone that will have, and be known for, as THE most secure android phone. PERIOD.


So the likes of HTC, Samsung, Sony, Oppo, Xiaomi, etc...will never be able to offer that competitive advantage (hence the buyout attempts/rumours) and will have to rely on short lived gimmicks to "try" and get customers attention.


So maybe with this type of competitive advantage might be beneficial to BlackBerry (especially in the beginning).... But really, BB should license out their offerings and let all the big and small phone makers fight the losing battle....

After all (hate to say it), mobile phone hardware (that share a common platform like Android) will become a commodity !!!

[Corbu]

Forbes, Fast Company On Ford?s QNX-Powered SYNC 3 Infotainment System: ?Cutting-Edge? | Inside BlackBerry