[BACK-2-BLACK]

OT:

Amazon Surprises With Profit In The Second Quarter, Stock Shoots Up

After a month of criticism and increased competition, Amazon.com AMZN -1.26% and its CEO Jeff Bezos finally had something to smile about. On Thursday, the online retailer reported an unanticipated net profit and topped analysts’ sales estimates for its second quarter, sending its stock shooting up more than 17% in after-hours trading.

July did not start off as the best month for Amazon, despite the fact that it celebrated its 20th birthday with Prime Day, a sales bonanza that the company promised would be bigger than Black Friday. While Amazon declared the event a success and experienced a significant lift in sales, some customers derided Prime Day, which failed to live up to expectations on discounts and product selection. This week, Amazon also had to contend with the launch of Jet.com, a startup founded by former Amazon executive Marc Lore that said it will beat Amazon on price with its Costco-like membership program.

If investors had any concerns about Amazon’s core online retail business, those worries were allayed on Thursday by the company’s strong second quarter figures.

For the three months ending on June 30, the Seattle-based company reported second quarter net income of $92 million, or 19 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $126 million, or 27 cents a share, in the same period last year. A group of 36 analysts polled by Yahoo expected an average loss of 14 cents a share.

Net sales were reported to be $23.2 billion, up 20% from revenues of $19.3 billion in the second quarter of 2014. That figure came in higher than the average estimate from analysts, who anticipated net revenue to be $22.4 billion, and was above the company’s own previously projected range of $20.6 billion to $22.8 billion.

Amazon said it expects third quarter net sales to fall between $23.3 billion and $25.5 billion, representing growth of 13% to 24% from the same period last year. The company also said that operating income could fall between a $480 million loss and a $70 million profit. In the third quarter of last year, Amazon recorded an operating loss of $554 million.

More to come…

[bungaboy]

OT: Security Related.

Family�s home-monitoring camera hacked; eerie voice speaks

Matt Ingram
MIDDLESEX CENTRE, Ont. � The Canadian Press

Family?s home-monitoring camera hacked; eerie voice speaks - The Globe and Mail

A southwestern Ontario family had a creepy encounter with a camera monitoring their young child when it suddenly began playing music and a voice said they were being watched.

It happened a little after nine in the evening on July 7 to a young family in Middlesex Centre, a rural area north of London, Ont., according to Ontario Provincial Police Const. Liz Melvin.

She said one of the parents was rocking the young child to sleep in the nursery when the camera was remotely activated.

�The camera played some eerie music and a voice could be heard indicating the parent and child were being watched,� Melvin said. �Obviously it�s going to be disturbing.�

The family�s Internet service provider confirmed the router had been hacked and the source of the hack could be from anywhere in the world, she said.

In response to the incident, the OPP issued a warning Wednesday reminding people that cameras connected to the Internet can be hacked. They said security cameras and monitoring systems can be susceptible to hackers because many have an option to be used remotely enabled by default.

�Be aware that potentially nothing is secure if it�s connected to the Internet,� Melvin said.

Melvin said no other incidences have been reported and she wasn�t aware of any past investigations into this type of camera hacking in the area.

�Whether it�s isolated or not, that�s a good question, it seems to be in this area, but it could just be that it�s unreported,� Melvin said.

Even if it is an isolated occurrence, Melvin said camera hacking is an ongoing concern because of the potential for unauthorized people to make video recordings.

She said there are no suspects in the case and the investigation is ongoing.

Ritesh Kotak, a research and innovation strategist with the Toronto police, deals with cyber security issues and says remote hacking of devices like cameras will become more prevalent as more Internet-connected devices are created if proactive steps aren�t taken.

�It�s not just cameras, it�s smart watches, fridges, our cars, everything just about now is connected to the Internet,� Kotak said. �About 25 billion (devices connected to the Internet) will be sold by the year 2020, that�s 30 times more than 2009 just to give you an idea.�

�The importance of cyber security and having proper procedures, policies, technology and a solution to this is absolutely imperative moving forward,� Kotak said.

Kotak says people can protect themselves from device hacking by using strong passwords, installing software updates and guarding against phishing scams where hackers attempt to solicit sensitive information.

Melvin agrees it�s important for people to use strong passwords and suggests also checking if their camera is remotely enabled by the manufacturer, purchasing cameras from trusted sources and covering cameras not in use.

Melvin herself decided after hearing about the incident to cover the camera on her office laptop to protect against unwanted viewers.

�Make sure you have some checks in place to minimize your risk,� Melvin said. �You don�t want to invite a stranger into your home or your life.�

[Shanerredflag]

OT:

Amazon Surprises With Profit In The Second Quarter, Stock Shoots Up

After a month of criticism and increased competition, Amazon.com AMZN -1.26% and its CEO Jeff Bezos finally had something to smile about. On Thursday, the online retailer reported an unanticipated net profit and topped analysts� sales estimates for its second quarter, sending its stock shooting up more than 17% in after-hours trading.

July did not start off as the best month for Amazon, despite the fact that it celebrated its 20th birthday with Prime Day, a sales bonanza that the company promised would be bigger than Black Friday. While Amazon declared the event a success and experienced a significant lift in sales, some customers derided Prime Day, which failed to live up to expectations on discounts and product selection. This week, Amazon also had to contend with the launch of Jet.com, a startup founded by former Amazon executive Marc Lore that said it will beat Amazon on price with its Costco-like membership program.

If investors had any concerns about Amazon�s core online retail business, those worries were allayed on Thursday by the company�s strong second quarter figures.

For the three months ending on June 30, the Seattle-based company reported second quarter net income of $92 million, or 19 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $126 million, or 27 cents a share, in the same period last year. A group of 36 analysts polled by Yahoo expected an average loss of 14 cents a share.

Net sales were reported to be $23.2 billion, up 20% from revenues of $19.3 billion in the second quarter of 2014. That figure came in higher than the average estimate from analysts, who anticipated net revenue to be $22.4 billion, and was above the company�s own previously projected range of $20.6 billion to $22.8 billion.

Amazon said it expects third quarter net sales to fall between $23.3 billion and $25.5 billion, representing growth of 13% to 24% from the same period last year. The company also said that operating income could fall between a $480 million loss and a $70 million profit. In the third quarter of last year, Amazon recorded an operating loss of $554 million.

More to come�

That. Was. My. Wife....pretty sure she accounted for most of those sales.


Classically Posted.

[Corbu]

Blackberry Ltd touts its software in New York, but has a tough sell ahead | Financial Post

NEW YORK, N.Y.- Last year, the beleaguered BlackBerry Ltd. was an afterthought for Guy Miasnik, who runs U.S.-based mass-messaging startup AtHoc Inc. “It wasn’t on my radar screen,” he admits. But on Tuesday BlackBerry announced it had acquired AtHoc, and a day later Miasnik was singing its praises on a stage for all to hear. If only the fallen titan could turn all its skeptics into believers – better yet, paying believers.

Wins like this are the lifeblood of companies vying for a slice of the crowded enterprise software business, which is where chief executive John Chen has turned to stabilize a revenue figure that won’t stop falling. The company was selling itself and its suite of end-to-end security offerings to prospective clients Thursday at the second annual BlackBerry Security Summit, which was held at a New York City hotel.

The event featured keynote addresses from top brass about how BlackBerry can make governments, hospitals and banks more secure and productive, testimonials from enterprise customers and product demos, including a live breach into a medical infusion pump. It was a targeted sales pitch, with little mention of BlackBerry’s foundering handset division, illustrating just how much the Waterloo, Ont., company has pivoted.

“If we would have had this event five years ago, it would have been all about keyboards screens and CPU speed,” chief security officer David Kleidermacher told reporters. “We’re providing all the mobile security, productivity and collaboration tools regardless of what kind of device. And it’s not just mobile. I think we have the broadest line – we handle everything from your mobile devices to your (Internet of) things.”

But as Miasnik’s pre-acquistion brand awareness suggests, the breadth of Blackberry’s line-up, or any recent successes, is often invisible. BlackBerry doesn’t splash its logo on the dashboards of the more than 60 million vehicles that have its QNX infotainment system installed. Most companies and governments won’t even allow BlackBerry to tout that they’ve become a client.

Sure, it’s the business of privacy but a device planted in a person’s hand is a walking ad.

“We’re not always mentioned everywhere and for everything that we do,” Jeff Holleran, senior director of enterprise product management, said during an interview following the summit. “It would be great if we could have the logos up for the tens of thousands of customers we have everywhere in the world. But one of the things our customers like about us is that we respect their privacy.”

And BlackBerry’s success hinges on more than advertising, however that cost may grow in the coming quarters. It’s really about how it distributes and monetizes the plethora of services and products it offers, whether built in-house or acquired.

“There’s a lot of work that we need to do on the marketing side. It’s underway, but we need to ramp up the aggressiveness,” said chief operating officer Marty Beard. “One of the things we need to work on is how (the services) come together in suites, or very distinct platforms, that we bring together, brand, train our sale forces on … There’s a lot going on.”

[Corbu]

Well, this seems to be the first time JC states this so clearly...

I'll sure keep an eye open for that interview! If any of you find it or find more details, please post!

BlackBerry prepared to ditch smartphones, Chen says | Toronto Star

By: Bloomberg Published on Thu Jul 23 2015

BlackBerry Ltd. may be forced to stop making smartphones if turnaround efforts fail to gain traction, chief executive officer John Chen said in an interview Thursday.

The company could still reduce the number of models, discontinue low-end devices and focus more on professionals and government workers to bring the smartphone business back to profitability, Chen said.

“That’s the most ideal case,” Chen said. “At a certain point in time, the economics take over.”

BlackBerry’s smartphone revenue fell 31 per cent to $263 million in the most recent quarter from a year earlier. If the current state continues for a “long time” and drags down the company’s shareholders and balance sheet, it wouldn’t be right to keep going, Chen said.

Since taking over a year and a half ago, Chen has outsourced manufacturing to several Taiwanese firms to cut costs and also allowed the Waterloo, Ontario-based company’s software to work on devices made by other manufacturers.

He’s still got a long way to go before the software business becomes dominant. Smartphones accounted for nearly half of the revenue for the company’s fiscal year that ended in February. BlackBerry cited an average analyst estimate in its annual general meeting presentation in June that showed the device business’s proportion of revenue growing this year, even as Chen works to double software sales to $500 million.

Chen joined the company just as its share of the smartphone market sunk to less than 1 per cent. He turned his focus to building and acquiring software that helps companies communicate and work securely without worrying about hackers, regardless of what kind of mobile device they’re using.

A key reason that BlackBerry’s stuck with devices is that many of its core government customers don’t let their employees use personal devices for work. The development of other super-secure devices, like Boeing Co.’s self-destructing smartphone, could fill that gap if BlackBerry were to exit the market, Chen said.

One of the challenges of shifting focus to software from devices is pressure from within the company to keep developing new smartphones, Chen said.

“That has a lot to do with the DNA of the company,” he said. “A lot of good employees grew up building devices.”

[BACK-2-BLACK]

BlackBerry Extends Corporate Security Focus to the Internet of Things

By
Steven Norton
6:21 pm ET
Jul 23, 2015


"
NEW YORK � BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen on Thursday said the company�s four acquisitions since September put it on track to create �the most secure mobile platform that the industry has to offer.� The deals are part of a turnaround based on enterprise security software and services as well as smartphones aimed at professionals.

There was little talk of handsets at Thursday�s event here. Executives instead focused on the growing number of sensors and physical devices that connect to an enterprise, from medical devices to fire alarms.

To highlight the vulnerabilities of these devices, the company demonstrated how hackers could take over an infusion pump, a device used to distribute fluids to a patient. Alongside Chief Security Officer David Kleidermacher, a BlackBerry security researcher broke into the pump via his laptop and changed the speed of a morphine drip.

CIOs now are approaching the BlackBerry about securing not just mobile devices, but also the sensors and other equipment in the enterprise that connects to the Internet, said Jeff Holleran, BlackBerry�s VP of corporate strategy. The company now is looking at how to connect fire alarms and other devices to corporate networks via BlackBerry�s security platform.

With its most recent purchase � software provider AtHoc on Wednesday � BlackBerry signaled its desire to improve communications between organizations and the devices floating among them. The software works across mobile operating systems to allow users to communicate in real time during a cyberattack or other type of crisis situation, the Journal�s Ben Dummett reported. Its platform also connects to devices like sirens and fire panels. A sensor in the panel could trigger an alarm, then alert users via their phones. The company�s services are used by most branches of the United States military.

For CIOs, BlackBerry�s deal with AtHoc reaffirms the convergence of IT and physical security within the enterprise. The deal �addresses a broader set of enterprise requirements around security, safety and overall compliance,� AtHoc CEO Guy Miasnik said.

Write to [email protected]"

[BACK-2-BLACK]

BlackBerry lays out security strategy as turnaround takes shape

Reuters
1 hour ago
By Euan Rocha
"

NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd on Thursday showcased a suite of security products that safeguard everything from medical devices to Hollywood movie scripts, though its CEO acknowledged that his effort to transform the company remains a work in progress.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company, whose smartphone market share has dwindled, is attempting to morph into a more software-focused entity.

"I'm pretty satisfied with the progress on the turnaround so far," BlackBerry's Chief Executive John Chen said in an interview just before an event in New York. "I laid out the $500 million software revenue target and I'm still comfortable with that commitment for this fiscal year, it looks good."

He indicated however that the full turnaround he has been promising could take longer than initially promised. Going by his initial timetable, BlackBerry would now be about six months away from seeing real traction from its overhaul. But Chen said he now sees it taking about 12 to 18 months for investors to reap rewards.

Analysts have been skeptical about the company's ability to steadily and sustainably grow software revenue, even as revenues from its smartphone unit and legacy system access fees decline.

"We're patiently building the product pipeline and the sales channel," he said. "There is still a lot of work to do, I'd love for everything to move faster, but I caution people to be a bit patient because we can't rebound in a very short period of time, no company can. We are doing all the right things for the long term and the company is definitely out of financial trouble."

Despite Chen's success in shoring up BlackBerry's balance sheet, and halting its cash bleed, its shares are still trading at levels they were at 15 months ago, as investors look for proof that it can get back on a growth trajectory.

The company, which has acquired a string of niche software-focused companies in the last 18 months, is now set on building out a bigger sales team, while also tapping the sales staff of telecom carriers and other partners to market its array of security-focused products.

"The company was not really set-up as a software delivery company, and it's not a trivial thing to get there," said BlackBerry's Chief Operating Officer Marty Beard, adding that measures taken in the last year have improved BlackBerry's ability to identify and target potential clients.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Christian Plumb)"

[Corbu]

BlackBerry lays out security strategy as turnaround takes shape | Technology | Reuters

By Euan Rocha

NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd on Thursday showcased a suite of security products that safeguard everything from medical devices to Hollywood movie scripts, though its CEO acknowledged that his effort to transform the company remains a work in progress.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company, whose smartphone market share has dwindled, is attempting to morph into a more software-focused entity.

"I'm pretty satisfied with the progress on the turnaround so far," BlackBerry's Chief Executive John Chen said in an interview just before an event in New York. "I laid out the $500 million software revenue target and I'm still comfortable with that commitment for this fiscal year, it looks good."

He indicated however that the full turnaround he has been promising could take longer than initially promised. Going by his initial timetable, BlackBerry would now be about six months away from seeing real traction from its overhaul. But Chen said he now sees it taking about 12 to 18 months for investors to reap rewards.

Analysts have been skeptical about the company's ability to steadily and sustainably grow software revenue, even as revenues from its smartphone unit and legacy system access fees decline.

"We're patiently building the product pipeline and the sales channel," he said. "There is still a lot of work to do, I'd love for everything to move faster, but I caution people to be a bit patient because we can't rebound in a very short period of time, no company can. We are doing all the right things for the long term and the company is definitely out of financial trouble."

Despite Chen's success in shoring up BlackBerry's balance sheet, and halting its cash bleed, its shares are still trading at levels they were at 15 months ago, as investors look for proof that it can get back on a growth trajectory.

The company, which has acquired a string of niche software-focused companies in the last 18 months, is now set on building out a bigger sales team, while also tapping the sales staff of telecom carriers and other partners to market its array of security-focused products.

"The company was not really set-up as a software delivery company, and it's not a trivial thing to get there," said BlackBerry's Chief Operating Officer Marty Beard, adding that measures taken in the last year have improved BlackBerry's ability to identify and target potential clients.

[Corbu]

BlackBerry Extends Corporate Security Focus to the Internet of Things - The CIO Report - WSJ

NEW YORK — BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen on Thursday said the company’s four acquisitions since September put it on track to create “the most secure mobile platform that the industry has to offer.” The deals are part of a turnaround based on enterprise security software and services as well as smartphones aimed at professionals.

There was little talk of handsets at Thursday’s event here. Executives instead focused on the growing number of sensors and physical devices that connect to an enterprise, from medical devices to fire alarms.

To highlight the vulnerabilities of these devices, the company demonstrated how hackers could take over an infusion pump, a device used to distribute fluids to a patient. Alongside Chief Security Officer David Kleidermacher, a BlackBerry security researcher broke into the pump via his laptop and changed the speed of a morphine drip.

CIOs now are approaching the BlackBerry about securing not just mobile devices, but also the sensors and other equipment in the enterprise that connects to the Internet, said Jeff Holleran, BlackBerry’s VP of corporate strategy. The company now is looking at how to connect fire alarms and other devices to corporate networks via BlackBerry’s security platform.

With its most recent purchase – software provider AtHoc on Wednesday – BlackBerry signaled its desire to improve communications between organizations and the devices floating among them. The software works across mobile operating systems to allow users to communicate in real time during a cyberattack or other type of crisis situation, the Journal’s Ben Dummett reported. Its platform also connects to devices like sirens and fire panels. A sensor in the panel could trigger an alarm, then alert users via their phones. The company’s services are used by most branches of the United States military.

For CIOs, BlackBerry’s deal with AtHoc reaffirms the convergence of IT and physical security within the enterprise. The deal “addresses a broader set of enterprise requirements around security, safety and overall compliance,” AtHoc CEO Guy Miasnik said.

[Shanerredflag]

Well, this seems to be the first time JC states this so clearly...

I'll sure keep an eye open for that interview! If any of you find it or find more details, please post!

BlackBerry prepared to ditch smartphones, Chen says | Toronto Star

Hmm...kind of flies in contrast to this interview (pay attention at 3:20 to 3:50)



Classically Posted.

[Corbu]

Oups... Sorry B2B! Good job!

[Corbu]

Hmm...kind of flies in contrast to this interview (pay attention at 3:20 to 3:50)

I know. Very curious to find out more about that Bloomberg interview...

[BACK-2-BLACK]

Oups... Sorry B2B! Good job!

no worries mate
I'm always duplicating yours !
you are standard in this thread.... so i try to check for your posts first if i have the time to post

[Corbu]

no worries mate
I'm always duplicating yours !
you are standard in this thread.... so i try to check for your posts first if i have the time to post

[Corbu]

OT:

Tony Fadell: What will Google's $3.2bn guru do next? - BBC News

[Shanerredflag]

I know. Very curious to find out more about that Bloomberg interview...

Yes indeed...

Classically Posted.

[world traveler and former ceo]

Well, this seems to be the first time JC states this so clearly...

I'll sure keep an eye open for that interview! If any of you find it or find more details, please post!

BlackBerry prepared to ditch smartphones, Chen says | Toronto Star

Yes.. first time it has been spelled out clearly... the upcoming Samsung / BlackBerry slider "venice" must be a winner for BlackBerry!

...And they must build on future collaborations with companies like Samsung on the device side, winding down their own internal Hardware staffing, while outsourcing as much as possible of the Device production etc...

.... I do agree that one , maybe two at most , distinctive high end phones like "venice" are all they can reasonably deliver per year at this point.. but niche can still win for them. Venice must be a winner, it's that simple... CEO Chen knows it's services, software that will propel blackberry going forward...

I would like to see deeper partnerships with Samsung on the device side...

Posted via CB10

[Corbu]

BlackBerry pecks up crisis squawker AtHoc to add sauce to BBM ? The Register

BlackBerry pecks up crisis squawker AtHoc to add sauce to BBM

Networks are the future, reckons John Chen's firm

BlackBerry shed some light on its latest acquisition target, AtHoc, today. It looks an improbable fit at first: AtHoc does crisis comms for emergency services and campuses, and its big customers include the military, the Department of Homeland Security and the DoD.

Speaking at BlackBerry’s annual security summit in New York, CEO John Chen said richer services containing content the services could be built onto AtHoc, once it was integrated with BlackBerry’s own secure global network.

The prize is clearly the Internet of Things, which, as envisaged, provides millions of attack vectors for hackers, and healthcare IT, where a workflow involves data flowing across multiple providers who may or not be secure.

The San Mateo-based company manages Things (like fire alarms) and personal safety, AtHoc CEO Guy Miasnik said today, and it already has a bunch of Federal health care customers.

“Our vision is to marry AdHoc to BBM – so we can distribute rich content in a secure manner,” Chen told analysts and customers in New York.

BlackBerry has agreed the deal to buy AtHoc, but it requires regulatory approval. It’s the fourth acquisition that BlackBerry describes as “filling in the gaps” between its historic messaging and BBM. WatchDox secures data and permissions, such as printing, on a file, while SecuSUITE provides secure voice for BBM calls. The virtual SIM app from British company MoVirtu is behind the impressive WorkLife, which partitions personal and work data and voice so neither party can see the other.

Clearly network smarts provide a key differentiator for BlackBerry, allowing it to make assumptions about network end points that rivals that don’t have a global network can’t do, and then build security and management services on top of that network. For example, a hospital needs confidential patient data to flow between various enterprises over multiple sites, while enterprise security monitors need to fret over every firewall port, making a Swiss cheese of your router

Ironically, pundits and analysts all wanted BlackBerry to get rid of its global network of network operating centres as the company was crashing two to three years ago. Why would anyone need it when push email was bog standard?

With the shortcomings of bog standard internet being exposed every day, it’s hard to now imagine BlackBerry without it. �

[Bacon Munchers]

Well, this seems to be the first time JC states this so clearly...

I'll sure keep an eye open for that interview! If any of you find it or find more details, please post!

BlackBerry prepared to ditch smartphones, Chen says | Toronto Star

I feel that BlackBerry should have never entered the mid-tier device market. It's a race to the bottom. The world's most high end things stay that way, and hold their value for the reason that they aren't compromised on quality nor price.
The latest is that Chen wants to build no more than two devices per year. I hope it is one all touch and one button phone. Of course, high tier only. Let BlackBerry devices become a status symbol again, while making their big money in software.

BTW - Speaking of Chen's latest comments on Fox, did anyone hear him talk about WatchDox and "We are selling it to the movie industry for scripts..." comment? This rings out S-O-N-Y contract to me.
I'll bet a box of Canadian maple glazed doughnuts that in the near future, we will hear of it...

Oh! Also, that AtHoc thing. NICE tie-in to BBM BlackBerry! I didn't see that one coming. Bravo!
Ooo! Mighty Passport at 5%! Just enough battery to watch a few Youtube items...

[georg4BB]

The latest is that Chen wants to build no more than two devices per year. I hope it is one all touch and one button phone. Of course, high tier only. Let BlackBerry devices become a status symbol again, while making their big money in software.

We should not forget that BlackBerry can sell one device for a time span of 2, maybe 3 years especially when these devices are high end at the beginning. The hardware race will slow down in the next years, we have seen this in the PC market before, so there is no need to replace devices in a fast pace.
This means, they can keep at least 4 different devices in the market at the same time. For example Passport, Slider, Traditional KB and hopefully a high end VKB.
On the other hand they could just order VKB devices - low and high end - elsewhere put the OS on it and done.

[smart548]

I feel that BlackBerry should have never entered the mid-tier device market. It's a race to the bottom. The world's most high end things stay that way, and hold their value for the reason that they aren't compromised on quality nor price.
The latest is that Chen wants to build no more than two devices per year. I hope it is one all touch and one button phone. Of course, high tier only. Let BlackBerry devices become a status symbol again, while making their big money in software.

BTW - Speaking of Chen's latest comments on Fox, did anyone hear him talk about WatchDox and "We are selling it to the movie industry for scripts..." comment? This rings out S-O-N-Y contract to me.
I'll bet a box of Canadian maple glazed doughnuts that in the near future, we will hear of it...

Oh! Also, that AtHoc thing. NICE tie-in to BBM BlackBerry! I didn't see that one coming. Bravo!
Ooo! Mighty Passport at 5%! Just enough battery to watch a few Youtube items...

Even if I think you are right, if I recall well, the Curve series (mid-tier) is in BB's history the one that in percentage sold the most..

Posted via CB10

[DaSchwantz]

Hmmm...AtHoc to integrate with BBM...so now we start to see Chen's plans for BBM to unfold...

Posted via CB10

[bungaboy]

Seems like I just lost 4 hours of my morning . . .

[donmateo]

Not terribly surprised, but then again, you can't release the Leap as a one per year device and expect good sales.

Blackberry may cut device launches to just one a year, says CEO | ZDNet

[Corbu]

BlackBerry vows to make even fewer phones ? The Register

It isn’t just Microsoft that’s going on a drastic phone diet. BlackBerry’s CEO John Chen today indicated that the Canadian enterprise vendor would cut its device portfolio from the four devices previously promised for 2015 to “two or one” a year.

“We are reducing jobs, but it is not so much as reducing; we are shifting it, so we are taking a lot of the hardware, hence that traditionally we make four phones a year or design, made, manufactured, whatever. We are not going to do that anymore. We are going to at least cut it down a lot; maybe two, maybe one, but not so many,” Chen told Fox Business.

The “two new phones every year” model works well for Apple, of course, but BlackBerry isn’t Apple; and in its most recent quarter BlackBerry shipped just 1.1m devices through to end customers, an annual run rate of under five million. Chen in the past said 10m per annum looked to be the break even benchmark that would justify BlackBerry’s running hardware business. Two or one means hanging on by BlackBerry’s fingernails.

Chen was speaking at BlackBerry’s annual Security Summit in New York this week, where amongst the many interesting new enterprise offerings, it’s easy to forget that BlackBerry still has a device business at all. Most recently, reports have pegged BlackBerry offering Android-flavoured devices, or at least an Android image, under the control of a hypervisor. Executives declined to elaborate on what they called “rumours” – but it’s evident the device business is so low down the rankings it may as well be watching the game from a TV outside the stadium.

Nevertheless, there are reasons for staying in the devices game, as specialist BlackBerry’s strategy chief Jeff Holleran told us. Some customers, such as the defence industry, or Angela Merkel, simply insist on it. You get chip level security, with various operations such as boot up being managed by ARM’s trusted mode. Bog standard Android or iOS don’t do this.

The network allows BlackBerry to sells a highly managed device, where the network provides the 2FA. So a lot of things become much easier with a trusted secure device. Therefore it makes sense to sell some kind of secure endpoint; if it didn’t, the customer would go off and try and find one. And probably spend more, and still not find one that’s as secure.

Quite what the two (or even one) a year might look like is a reasonable conjecture. One full touch device and one with a keyboard, perhaps? I gathered here at the Summit that we won’t have to wait long to find out. �