[BACK-2-BLACK]

They've got LOADS of cash. They've got the '$5'. They've made a decision to do what Henry Ford called 'stopping the clock to save time'. Maybe Henry Ford was wrong; maybe BlackBerry are wrong. So far, Ford seems to be right, but we'll have to see I guess.

Posted via CB10

ok, if you say so

[La Emperor]

OT: And to further reinforce my post earlier...

Seven days after Google released the security patch, researchers at Exodus Intelligence revealed that the fix didn't actually work properly, and that they had managed to create a boobytrapped MP4 file that bypassed Google's protection and crash devices.

Oh dear.

https://grahamcluley.com/2015/08/bad...efright-patch/

[helopilot06]

Another fine example of why I'm happily never returning to android. If they come out with that as the only option on the slider, as the renders/pics have leaned toward, I will be astoundingly disappointed. The good news if that's the case though, my Z30 still works better than any of my friends androids or iPhone at a year old. Winning!

Posted via crackberry10 on my new Z30!

[BACK-2-BLACK]

Approx $3 billion cash savings isn't exactly chump change.... I'd say they have enough, but JC obviously has other plans in place.

Posted via CB10

of course it is not chump change to the average company...

but it sure is when it comes to the likes of Apple, Samsung, LG....

what do you think their marketing budget is?

or what do you think it would take dollar wise to compete on the marketing front with these leading mobile players?

10 bux
couple hundred mill
several hundred mill
or billion(s) ?

personally, from their business standpoint, I dont see them having the funds to address this milestone at this point.

remember when JC first came on board... and mentioned how the company was spending over a Billion PER QUARTER.....
you think that was all to R&D, software, payroll, etc?


trying or choosing to spend on Marketing right now would have made those death bed rumours come true, and there would be no BB today.


marketing objective for BB right now would be like pissing in the wind.... jmo

[La Emperor]

OT: Security . And on the OSX side of things...

The memory corruption condition can then be used to circumvent kernel address space layout randomization (kASLR), a defensive technique designed to thwart exploit code from running. The attacker then gains a root shell.

Italian teen finds two zero-day vulnerabilities in OS X | CSO Online

[BACK-2-BLACK]

BlackBerry wallet gets PayPal ready | FinTech | Enterprise Innovation

BlackBerry wallet gets PayPal ready

By FinTech Innovation Editors | 2015-08-17


PayPal on BlackBerry

For over a decade, BlackBerry has consistently been recognized by the US Government, including its more security sensitive departments, for mobile security innovation. So it’s no surprise that the company should start offering payment services via its much vaunted BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service.

Arguably the next area of competitive innovation, Gartner predicts the total value of mobile-based transactions will reach US$173 billion in 2017 growing at a compound annual growth rate of 31 percent. This projection includes merchandise purchases, ticketing and bill payments, while it excludes person-to-person payments and airtime top-ups.

In Indonesia where BlackBerry has a large install base, the company rolled out a mobile payment service partnering with local payment providers to deliver peer-to-peer payment via its BBM service. One such partnership is with TransferTo, an international airtime remittance provider, in which BlackBerry users can give prepaid mobile credit to their BBM contacts.

BlackBerry has also been pushing the use of its BBM Money mobile wallet service for the last year on BlackBerry devices, and with the availability of BBM service on Android and iPhones, the BBM Money universe just became a very viable and enviable universe of users, at least in Indonesia. Built by Monitise Indonesia and issued and managed by PermataBank‎, BBM Money leverages BlackBerry’s legacy in security and privacy, using passcodes and encryption to achieve bank-grade security for a variety of financial transactions.

Just this month, BlackBerry announced that it has signed a partnership with PayPal enable BBM contacts that have linked their PayPal accounts can send and receive money via PayPal chats. The service is still in external beta for BlackBerry, iOS and Android BBM users in Canada, and will roll out to other regions around the globe in the coming weeks.

According to Matt Gromada, PayPal’s Director of Consumer Product Marketing, BlackBerry users do not have to download a PayPal app in order to send or receive money via BBM Chat. Simply selecting the PayPal “Send Money” icon in BBM and connecting the PayPal account is sufficient to get the job done.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

of course it is not chump change to the average company...

but it sure is when it comes to the likes of Apple, Samsung, LG....

what do you think their marketing budget is?

or what do you think it would take dollar wise to compete on the marketing front with these leading mobile players?

10 bux
couple hundred mill
several hundred mill
or billion(s) ?

personally, from their business standpoint, I dont see them having the funds to address this milestone at this point.

remember when JC first came on board... and mentioned how the company was spending over a Billion PER QUARTER.....
you think that was all to R&D, software, payroll, etc?


trying or choosing to spend on Marketing right now would have made those death bed rumours come true, and there would be no BB today.


marketing objective for BB right now would be like pissing in the wind.... jmo

I agree... so you know where that puts you...

[Corbu]

Speaking of the relative merits of marketing (especially in this context: Apple?s Share of Smartphone Industry?s Profits Soars to 92% - WSJ), I thought this might peak your interest, since it concerns Maria Sharapova whom we know is a BB fan and user. I thought the wording of the ad could/would have been applicable to BB as well...

American Express Teams Up with Maria Sharapova For U.S. Open Campaign - CMO Today - WSJ

[BACK-2-BLACK]

Companies hope cybersecurity experts in the boardroom can counter hacks - LA Times

Companies hope cybersecurity experts in the boardroom can counter hacks

By Paresh Dave contact the reporter
August 16, 2015, 5:55 PM

The board of directors at construction and engineering company Parsons Corp. needed to fill a seat two years ago..

Naturally, they wanted someone with communication and leadership skills. They also needed someone new: an expert to help them battle computer hackers, cyberthieves, electronic spies, digital vandals and anybody else out to wreak havoc in a connected world.

The privately held Pasadena firm's latest board member is Suzanne Vautrinot, a retired Air Force major general who helped create the Department of Defense's U.S. Cyber Command and led the Air Force's IT and online battle group.

Parsons is at the forefront of a fast-expanding trend in corporate governance: the elevation of cybersecurity experts to the boardroom, a perch traditionally occupied by former CEOs and specialists in marketing and finance.



In recent months, AIG, Blackberry, CMS Energy, General Motors and Wells Fargo have added a board member with computer-security knowledge. Delta Air Lines and Ecolab did the same in recent years.

The reasons are clear. Cyberattacks on large companies skyrocketed 44% last year from 2013. Cybercrime costs businesses more than $400 billion a year, according to Lloyd's of London.

Boards are responsible for advising chief executives on setting goals and plans to achieve them, and to question the challenges standing in the way. Not adequately addressing a cybersecurity risk could prove costly � in money, reputation, legal bills, lost time and lost customers.

Just ask Target. Since hackers breached its payment systems two years ago, Target has spent $256 million cleaning up the mess, with insurance expected to cover about a third. Though costing a small slice of revenue, the damage was enough to sack the chief executive and scare away many customers for several months. Government investigations and several lawsuits from affected customers and business partners are ongoing.

In other cases, cyberthieves steal sensitive corporate data, which could cause the company's competitive advantage to slip and its reputation to wane.

Data show that corporate boards have a long way to go. Just 11% of public-company boards queried this year reported a high-level understanding of cybersecurity, the National Assn. of Corporate Directors said. A review by the New York Stock Exchange and security firm Veracode found that two-thirds of board members questioned think their companies are ill-prepared for a cyberattack. Yet consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that 30% of boards surveyed never talk about cybersecurity at all.

That fact raises eyebrows. "There's some liability in not taking every measure you can to protect your clients, to protect your revenue stream," said Gary Matus, managing director at the executive recruiting agency RSR Partners. "To give people confidence, you have to be getting the best advice you can."

To Parsons Chief Executive Charles Harrington, having a cyber pro on the board was a no-brainer. The nature of Parsons' business demanded it. Along with classified government work, Parsons builds bridges, utility plants and military bases. Harrington realized that those projects' IT networks needed protection. Computer viruses were spreading that could destroy the infrastructure Parsons assembled. So he has been preparing his company for what he calls the age of "electronic battlefields."

He bought two cybersecurity companies. Pairing them with Parsons' engineers and scientists, they aimed to "bake" in security rather than "bolting" it on after.

Harrington knew the direction was right, but needed someone with a new perspective to help him strategize, and communicate that strategy to the board. He tapped Vautrinot, whom he calls a "rare individual with the deep technical set and the communication skills needed to gravitate to a board." And she's "not afraid to dig in and get her hands dirty."

She's no rubber stamp. Vautrinot visits the company's cybersecurity teams. She helps think through what will persuade a customer to pay for cybersecurity services, likening it to the challenge years ago of getting people to wear bicycle helmets. In the boardroom, she cuts through jargon, explaining opportunities to protect the technological backbone of railroads, toll roads and the like. She advises on how the 15,000-employee company should protect its own worldwide network, under constant threat because of the sensitive projects Parsons undertakes.

"You can bring the passion, you can champion, you can ask good questions," she said. "You can help other board members see 'Is it viable? Can we do this and grow as a company?'"



In February, Vautrinot joined Wells Fargo, which is heavily investing other cost-savings into information security. She's also on the boards of Ecolab and Symantec.

Demand for board members such as Vautrinot is increasing, board recruiters said.

David Burg, U.S. cybersecurity leader at PwC, said he's still receiving an "amazing" number of requests from boards for basic education. For example, PwC helps boards compare their company's security approach with competitors'.

There's a big problem with the whole trend, though: a shortage of cyber-qualified board candidates.

John Pironti, a risk and security advisor for the professional group ISACA, is urging his members to ask for more responsibilities during this "big hump of sensitivity," so they'll be primed for larger advisory roles in the future � including on boards of directors.

Harrington is open to that idea. Three years ago, Parsons' board decided to allow employees to join boards of other companies, though it hasn't yet fielded any requests.

"Depending on how critical their IT network is to them, absolutely, having someone on the board can shift the dialogue," Harrington said of other
companies. "Cyber finds a way onto our agendas one way or another."

[BACK-2-BLACK]

TRANSLATED


Amazon sostituisce il suo App Shop con Amazon Mobile

Amazon replaces its App Shop with Amazon Mobile

Monday, 17 August 2015 17:00 Claudio Stoduto



From today, day revolutionary, will no longer exist the Amazon App Shop as we have known it, but will be replaced with the new Amazon Mobile.

Mounted on the BlackBerry with OS 10.3 and the various Kindle Fire of Amazon itself, this Android application store, although not all applications of the Play Store, has been able to carve out its own slice of the market is not getting short shrift.

Do not confuse the new application to Amazon Shopping, the application through which instead will be carried out physical purchases in the online catalog of Amazon.it.

So air of revolution in home Amazon, perhaps the beginning of a new era more prosperous and successful? We hope so.

[BACK-2-BLACK]

Global Enterprise Mobility Market 2015 is expected to reach $11.2 billion growing at a CAGR of 6.83% during 2022. > Mobile Commerce Press

Global Enterprise Mobility Market 2015 is expected to reach $11.2 billion growing at a CAGR of 6.83% during 2022.

Press Release | August 17, 2015

The Global Enterprise Mobility market is estimated to be $6.6 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach $11.2 billion growing at a CAGR of 6.83% during the forecast period 2014 to 2022. The growing cellular subscriber base and enhanced telecommunication infrastructure in terms of robustness, providing consistent connectivity anytime and anywhere, and on the whole increase in network coverage are the major drivers for the Enterprise Mobility market. The budding acceptance from large and small & medium businesses, and beginning of sophisticated mobile devices such as smart phones, PDA�s, and hand held devices are other driving factors that will stimulate the enterprise mobility market in the coming years. The major restraints in this market are the management and fulfillment issues and security risks associated with use of personal devices.

The Global Enterprise Mobility Market is segmented on the basis of Software, Industry, End user, Service and Geography. On the basis of Software, the market is categorized into Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP) Software, Mobile Enterprise Management (MEM) Software, Mobile Enterprise Security (MES) Software, Mobile Device Management (MDM) Software, Mobile Application Management (MAM) Software and others. On the basis of End User, the market is segregated into Small & Medium Business (SMB) and Large Scale Enterprises. The market is categorized on the basis of Industry into Healthcare, Manufacturing, IT and Telecom, Automotive, Defence and Government, Transport and Logistics, Consumer goods and Retail, Banking and Insurance and others. Global Enterprise Mobility Market by Service is segregated into specialized Services and Maintenance. Global Enterprise Mobility Market by geography is categorized into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World.

The key players in Global Enterprise Mobility Market are Accenture, Deloitte, Hewlett- Packard Development Company, Kaspersky Lab, McAfee Inc, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, BlackBerry Limited, SAP AG, McKesson Corporation, and Citrix Systems Inc.

About Market Research Store

Market Research Store is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Market Research Store is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.

[BACK-2-BLACK]

Strong growth seen in bifurcating EMM market, says VDC - FierceMobileIT

Strong growth seen in bifurcating EMM market, says VDC

August 17, 2015 | By Fred Donovan


The enterprise mobility management market grew at a healthy 17.7 percent compound annual growth rate in 2014, as the number of devices under management climbs rapidly, according to a recent analysis by VDC Research.

However, competition has formed a consolidation in the EMM market, with a clear division emerging between Tier 1 vendors and the rest of the market. VDC identified seven Tier 1 vendor that account for a hold a combined 77 percent of the market: AirWatch by VMware, BlackBerry, Citrix, Good Technology, IBM, MobileIron and SAP.

VDC's analysis is similar to that provided in Gartner's recent EMM Magic Quadrant, which put AirWatch by VMware, Citrix, Good Technology, IBM and MobileIron in the leaders' quadrant. However, SAP and BlackBerry were not among EMM leaders in Gartner's analysis.

VDC noted that large enterprises are increasingly concerned about security for their mobile deployments. As a result, they are demanding features like authentication and access control, secure cloud single sign-on, application management, threat protection and identity lifecycle management capabilities. EMM vendors are responding through partnerships with security vendors.

"Traditional endpoint management vendors such as Accelerite, IBM, Microsoft, and LANDesk have a rich history of delivering proven enterprise-grade solutions, but have only recently augmented their product portfolios with mobility management functionality. VDC sees these vendors having an opening for broader participation in the market going forward," observed Eric Klein, director of enterprise mobility and connected devices at VDC.

[BACK-2-BLACK]

I agree... so you know where that puts you...

In the BBRY supporter forum because I actually support the JC/BB turnaround plan and agree with JC about not putting the limited resources into marketing right now....?

not in the Arm Chair CEO forum?

[Shanerredflag]

OT...or ???

Classically Posted.

[BACK-2-BLACK]

OT>
China becoming an "expensive" manufacturing option !


(reminds me of a story during the Beijing Olympics how the Chinese Youth were waking up and beginning to want the "nice" things that 1st world countries have... a car, pc, house, etc... and starting to command higher wages as a result)


https://www.biv.com/article/2015/8/i...vity-plummets/

In a swift and sharp reversal of fortunes, China has swung from being the land of opportunity to the economic sick man of Asia.

By Jonathan Manthorpe
Aug. 17, 2015, 9:09 a.m.

China’s rapid decline in competitiveness as a manufacturing centre is being displayed both in market analysis and in the number of domestic and foreign investors who are looking elsewhere to establish their factories.

The shift is not confined to China. Other emerging economies, such as Brazil, which only a few years ago were seen as being dominant global manufacturing centres for the foreseeable future, have dropped like stones.

At the same time, countries like the United States, Britain and, indeed, Canada, which in the last 20 years or so have been sidelined as too expensive to be profitable, are suddenly looking attractive again.

A significant element in the new productivity picture is energy costs. For Canada and British Columbia, this raises the question of whether it is wise to encourage the export of natural gas and petroleum, and, indeed, other resources such as raw logs. The picture emerging is that industries will move to jurisdictions with attractive and balanced productivity costs. Labour costs are only part of that equation.

A new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) says that wages adjusted for productivity have tripled in China in the last decade. Mexico is now a cheaper manufacturing centre than both China and Brazil. Brazil is now a far more expensive manufacturing centre than the U.S., Canada or Britain.

Factories in China are now only slightly more economical than those in the U.S., according to the BCG’s calculations, based on half a dozen factors in manufacturing costs. China sits at 96 on the BCG’s index, Canada at 115, the U.S. at 100, Mexico at 91 and Brazil at a whopping 123. Australia has the dubious distinction of being the world’s most expensive manufacturing centre, coming in at 130 on the BCG index.

There are two main reasons for China’s declining competitiveness. Rising wages have exposed the deplorable levels of productivity among Chinese workers and manufacturing systems. More systemic is the state control of the energy sector and its milking of the system for inflated profits. This is unlikely to change while China remains a one-party state and the Communist Party insists on keeping monopolistic control of what it sees as critical strategic sectors, under which electricity costs in China have risen by 66% and natural gas costs by 138% in the past decade.

The upshot is capital and investment flight from China. Undoubtedly, an influence is the prospect of the creation of the 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade zone, from which China is excluded. Chinese businesses and those operating in China don’t want to be caught wrong-footed when the TPP – or a trimmed-down version – comes into being. They want to be inside the free trade zone fence. So we are seeing sights unimaginable only a few years ago, such as Chinese textile companies setting up operations in the U.S. cotton-growing state of South Carolina. Until now, South Carolina has exported its cotton to China for working into textiles. But several Chinese companies see production at home becoming increasingly unprofitable as costs mount. They reckon it is more and more attractive to set up their textile mills at the place where the cotton is grown, the productivity is high and the tax breaks are seductive.

Foxconn, the Taiwan-owned electronics contract manufacturer whose products include BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone and Kindle, employs over one million people, most of them at factories in China. The company is perhaps the most high-profile operator in China seeking more cost-effective manufacturing centres and is moving to get a firm footing in more attractive jurisdictions like India and Indonesia. •

China’s economic numbers don’t add up

There is an old joke among Communist Party of China officials that “numbers make cadres and cadres make numbers.”

This amusing aside springs from the well-established reality that local party officials out in the provinces grossly exaggerate the economic performance of their jurisdictions in order to win promotions. With any luck, they will have bounced upward to bigger and better jobs elsewhere in China before anyone discovers the statistics they fed to Beijing had absolutely no relationship to what was really going on.

The Beijing government has been aware for years that the numbers being reported by provincial officials for economic performance are fictional, to say the least. The central government has devised various formulas to try to compensate for these flights of fancy. But Beijing has its own political imperatives for producing economic performance numbers that owe more to propaganda than to statistical realities.

To be fair, Beijing’s statistical reports are a bit more authentic than they used to be. But Beijing has never fully bought in to the concept of free-market economics. In the last few years its enthusiasm has dwindled even further as economic woes have mounted and the political legitimacy of the one-party state has withered.

Perhaps the best example of manufactured numbers is the annual trumpeting of the anticipated growth in the gross domestic product. Officials claim this is on track to be 7% this year, way down on the double-digit golden days of Chinese expansion, and it is therefore being described as the “new normal” for a stable economy. The aim is to avoid the thought that China’s economic contraction is heading for an implosion.

Other numbers published by the National Bureau of Statistics tell a different story, however. These show that at the beginning of August, rail freight was down year-on-year by 10.1%, trade volume was down 6.9%, exports tumbled 8.3% in July over the previous month, construction starts were down 15.8% and steel production was down 1.3% – the first drop in 20 years.

Jonathan Manthorpe ([email protected]) has been an international affairs columnist for nearly 40 years.

[Corbu]

OT:
China

Adding to B2B's post, this recent interview, which I found quite enlightening, for those of you who might be interested:
The Myth About China's Unending Growth - The Takeaway

[_dimi_]

About the Slider and the OS it will probably run, I have a few thoughts I'd like to share :

1. If it runs Android, a huge market will open up to BlackBerry, and it would make perfect sense to offer the physical keyboard as it's a unique selling point. Any Android user who likes the option of having the best keyboard would then consider a BlackBerry.

2. I personally hope they make a BB10 version too. But more than that, I am convinced that releasing an Android device does not mean they will phase out BB10. It's an opportunity to offer an Android device, even a way of diversifying their current portfolio and perhaps compete with Knox. It would not be realistic to believe that Android is now, all of a sudden, secure enough for all industries.

3. Some keep mentioning the hypervisor concept. Now, I don't know what it would mean for the user experience and/or Google agreement. However, we do know that loading the Play Store onto BB10 can be challenging to some consumers. I think JC is smart enough to not go halfway, if it is an Android device, he'll market it as an Android device. Enterprises will buy it knowing it's an Android device , and therefore the 'good enough' security that goes along with it.

4. Hopefully the new partnerships with their Taiwanese suppliers, to manufacture the Slider, will include better conditions for BlackBerry.

What do y'all think?


Posted via CB10

[BanffMoose]

OT: Reddit poster claims to have played with the BlackBerry Slider for an hour and posts his/her thoughts. Sounds like I'm sticking to my Z30 and Passport for a while. Interesting comments of BlackBerry using the passport SE as a means of testing hardware manufacturing for the slider though.

Sorry if this rapid mobile link was posted already.

http://rapidmobile.biz/blackberry/ru...id-smartphone/

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

From RapidMobile.biz:
The Internet is rife with rumours surrounding BlackBerry�s upcoming Android smartphone, that*should be released in October or November. While there has been a few renders and a blurry image posted on the interwebs, there has been nothing really specific about a device that is generating a huge amount of interest.

A user on Reddit (BerryThrowaway1)*claims to have had hands on time with the device and provided his impressions after*allegedly*spending an hour with the device.

The user states that BlackBerry will announce the device at IFA next month and this would be completely unusual for BlackBerry. However, considering that this will be BlackBerry�s first pure Android device, it is possible.

As usual, what he states should not be taken as gospel. Interestingly, his description has now been deleted but this is what he had to say:

�This morning I got to spend around an hour using the BlackBerry Slider.

I won�t comment on how I saw it for obvious reasons.

I was told that what I saw was final hardware. The software is feature complete but not final. The device is scheduled to be announced at IFA in Berlin and released later than that pending carrier approval and regulatory certifications. I believe that IFA is in early September.

The hardware is very nice. The construction seems to take design cues from the Passport Silver Edition. The front-facing speaker ports are like the ones found on the new Passport. I was told that the SE was made to test how certain Slider components would be manufactured by Blackberry�s partners. BlackBerry is not leaving anything to chance.

The slider is a little bit lighter than a Passport � I compared holding one in each hand. The slider mechanism feels sturdy. It doesn�t have any side to side flex like the old Torch did. BlackBerry spent a lot of time engineering the slide mechanism. When closed, it feels tight like a slab phone. It takes a little bit of force to open the screen by pushing on the lip where the screen meets the body of the phone by the speakers. The same for closing the screen. The battery was said to be around 3,000 miliamps. It is not user replaceable. There is an SD card slot and a Sim card slot that looks a lot like what is found on Passport, just not in the same location.

The physical keyboard is like a standard Classic or Bold Keyboard. When the keyboard is opened, the device gets really long. It is not unbalanced though. The keyboard is farther up from the bottom of the device than it is on Passport so easier to type on from what I can tell.

When closed, there is a physical keyboard that is much like the physical keyboard on the Z30.

The 5.5″ screen is definitely Amoled. The black levels make that clear. It is a gorgeous screen and the curves are better done than on the Galaxy devices, IMO. It feels better in your hand.

Yes. It runs Android. BlackBerry wants it to feel like Android by using Material Design framework. So the hub looks like Android. Just like BBM on Android looks like Android and not BB10. There seemed to be a deep BlackBerry integration meaning that messaging had many BB10 features. I saw that you can change led colors and vibrations by contact. Android style notifications are still there when you swipe down from the top of the screen.

BB10 gestures are not present. To get to the hub you need to swipe all the way to the left. I was told that there is another way based on edge notifications on the curved part of the screen.

Google Play was there. It will apparently release with Lollipop but be upgraded to Android M but this might change. It might release with Android M. Google plans to make a big deal of this phone as part of the Android M launch which focuses on Android at Work.

I was not allowed to take any pictures.�
He adds:

�One thing I forgot to say is that there are no active frames. Task switching works like it does in Android. The screen has the typical Android buttons.

I should have asked about Passport update. I didn�t�

�One other thing. Search works just like it does on BB10. Just start typing and you search the phone for everything.�


Posted via CB10

[BACK-2-BLACK]

based on this:

PROS:

• Google Play
• Google to make a big deal about it
• Android M - - notable feature is the update is "APP Permissions"... so a plus for BB peeps I would think
• Edge integrated into Hub?

CONS:

• No BB10 gestures ?
• going to miss "swiping"...one of the best BB10 features
• Dont like the Android "look" or GUI... its very bad imo
• Multitasking cards? Android style?
• and pretty much everything else... lol

FYI ....IFA Berlin - Sept 4 - 9, 2015

personally, not a fan of sliders... especially a 16:9 format

(would prefer All Touch SE Passport !! although I would miss the shortcut hardkeys)

[bspence87]

Google Play was there. It will apparently release with Lollipop but be upgraded to Android M but this might change. It might release with Android M. Google plans to make a big deal of this phone as part of the Android M launch which focuses on Android at Work.

Posted via CB10

Hmm. This is interesting, but I believe it. I can see why Google would want this phone to do well. It stands to win them a bunch of BlackBerry customers, and potentially another shot at iPhone customers.

I just hope that there is another strong partnerships forming here.

[anon(5217564)]

Unless the Android Slider has very good reviews and BB hub integration is as good as BB10
I'd rather wait for classic 2 or upgrade my passport to silver edition.

I played around with the new Note 5 and Edge+ last week in Verizon store, I tried and couldn't stand Android phones no matter how pretty and high spec they are, menus are confusing, widgets are everywhere. I opened and tested some complex websites on some popular android phones (HTC M9, Note5, sony Z3V, etc..) they are lagging and slow and I didn't know what caused it. IOS safari was fast, my passport browser was second, and for the whole time there I was playing with BB classic, see if it can be my PP backup.
I really hope Chen is not giving up on BB10 anytime.

[slipstream89]

If the slider rumour is true and has no Google play, i'll buy one as a secondary device but my passport will always be my driver I still do all my work on this and I'm not forfeiting my gestures. Swipe forever!

Posted via CB10

[theRock1975]

Ok, I just cleaned out the expired credit cards and linked my no-fee chequing account in Paypal.

Blackberry, I'm ready for that BBM update now! BEST IM FEATURE EVER!

[theRock1975]

If the slider rumour is true and has no Google play, i'll buy one as a secondary device but my passport will always be my driver I still do all my work on this and I'm not forfeiting my gestures. Swipe forever!

Posted via CB10

Passport Silver Edition for me! Android: I want none of it.

[Munx]

OT: Reddit poster claims to have played with the BlackBerry Slider for an hour and posts his/her thoughts. Sounds like I'm sticking to my Z30 and Passport for a while. Interesting comments of BlackBerry using the passport SE as a means of testing hardware manufacturing for the slider though.

Sorry if this rapid mobile link was posted already.

http://rapidmobile.biz/blackberry/ru...id-smartphone/

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

From RapidMobile.biz:
The Internet is rife with rumours surrounding BlackBerry�s upcoming Android smartphone, that*should be released in October or November. While there has been a few renders and a blurry image posted on the interwebs, there has been nothing really specific about a device that is generating a huge amount of interest.

A user on Reddit (BerryThrowaway1)*claims to have had hands on time with the device and provided his impressions after*allegedly*spending an hour with the device.

The user states that BlackBerry will announce the device at IFA next month and this would be completely unusual for BlackBerry. However, considering that this will be BlackBerry�s first pure Android device, it is possible.

As usual, what he states should not be taken as gospel. Interestingly, his description has now been deleted but this is what he had to say:

�This morning I got to spend around an hour using the BlackBerry Slider.

I won�t comment on how I saw it for obvious reasons.

I was told that what I saw was final hardware. The software is feature complete but not final. The device is scheduled to be announced at IFA in Berlin and released later than that pending carrier approval and regulatory certifications. I believe that IFA is in early September.

The hardware is very nice. The construction seems to take design cues from the Passport Silver Edition. The front-facing speaker ports are like the ones found on the new Passport. I was told that the SE was made to test how certain Slider components would be manufactured by Blackberry�s partners. BlackBerry is not leaving anything to chance.

The slider is a little bit lighter than a Passport � I compared holding one in each hand. The slider mechanism feels sturdy. It doesn�t have any side to side flex like the old Torch did. BlackBerry spent a lot of time engineering the slide mechanism. When closed, it feels tight like a slab phone. It takes a little bit of force to open the screen by pushing on the lip where the screen meets the body of the phone by the speakers. The same for closing the screen. The battery was said to be around 3,000 miliamps. It is not user replaceable. There is an SD card slot and a Sim card slot that looks a lot like what is found on Passport, just not in the same location.

The physical keyboard is like a standard Classic or Bold Keyboard. When the keyboard is opened, the device gets really long. It is not unbalanced though. The keyboard is farther up from the bottom of the device than it is on Passport so easier to type on from what I can tell.

When closed, there is a physical keyboard that is much like the physical keyboard on the Z30.

The 5.5″ screen is definitely Amoled. The black levels make that clear. It is a gorgeous screen and the curves are better done than on the Galaxy devices, IMO. It feels better in your hand.

Yes. It runs Android. BlackBerry wants it to feel like Android by using Material Design framework. So the hub looks like Android. Just like BBM on Android looks like Android and not BB10. There seemed to be a deep BlackBerry integration meaning that messaging had many BB10 features. I saw that you can change led colors and vibrations by contact. Android style notifications are still there when you swipe down from the top of the screen.

BB10 gestures are not present. To get to the hub you need to swipe all the way to the left. I was told that there is another way based on edge notifications on the curved part of the screen.

Google Play was there. It will apparently release with Lollipop but be upgraded to Android M but this might change. It might release with Android M. Google plans to make a big deal of this phone as part of the Android M launch which focuses on Android at Work.

I was not allowed to take any pictures.�
He adds:

�One thing I forgot to say is that there are no active frames. Task switching works like it does in Android. The screen has the typical Android buttons.

I should have asked about Passport update. I didn�t�

�One other thing. Search works just like it does on BB10. Just start typing and you search the phone for everything.�


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This represents a very interesting call option on the hardware business. This could be big for the stock, very big.

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