[smithm565]

Seems like BlackBerry could help with this?

https://www.inc.com/chris-matyszczyk...e-for-you.html

[smithm565]

buy signal? Cramer says to stay away from BB

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnb...e-too-far.html

[rarsen]

OT for those interested in Security and Privacy, during a prime purchasing season:

The Worst Designed Products of 2019
https://www.inc.com/kevin-j-ryan/wor...as-google.html
The home security device Google Nest Secure has a built-in microphone, which is not inherently bad. What's bad is not disclosing to your customers that the device has said microphone. Google didn't mention the mic in its advertising--or, even more concerningly, in the tech specifications on the device's product page--until it announced that a new update made the product compatible with its voice assist feature. That won't help Google gain any trust among those convinced that Big Tech is spying on them. The company told Business Insider that the microphone "was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs. That was an error on our part." Indeed.

[Corbu]

https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/com...cember-20-2019
BlackBerry to Announce Fiscal Year 2020 Third Quarter Results on December 20, 2019

[Corbu]

Slight rehash of the the Süddeutsche Zeitung piece from Friday.

7 December 2019, 10:33 a.m.
Computer - Munich

Facebook may need to change apps after patent ruling

Directly from the dpa news channel

Munich/Menlo Park (dpa) - According to the Munich Regional Court, some functions of Facebook apps violate patents of the smartphone pioneer Blackberry. Facebook could thus be forced to modify the app of the online network, the chat services WhatsApp and Messenger as well as the photo platform Instagram in order to be able to continue offering them in Germany. A Facebook spokesperson said the company already had software updates available. In addition, the validity of the Blackberry patents is being challenged before the Federal Patent Court.

Blackberry can have the decision of the Regional Court provisionally enforced if the company deposits a security deposit. This is a common practice in patent litigation to compensate for the defendant's loss if it does get the case in the end. Blackberry was not initially available for comment and there is no information as to whether the decision should be enforced. The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reported on the case on Friday.

The proceedings in Munich reflect a patent dispute between Blackberry and Facebook in the USA. There Blackberry sued the online network in March 2018 on the charge of infringing seven patents. These include, for example, the idea of providing an app symbol with a counter for the number of unread messages. Or even marking people in photos and getting name suggestions in a search line. A few months later, Facebook also accused Blackberry of patent infringement in a counterclaim.

Even in the proceedings in Germany, only "a few specific functions" of the apps were affected, Facebook emphasized. The online network was examining an appeal.

"The judgments effectively prohibit the offering and delivery of the aforementioned applications in the Federal Republic of Germany for use in the Federal Republic of Germany, as long as they use the patents at issue", said a spokeswoman of the court to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung". Facebook could comply with the ban by "no longer offering and delivering apps at all or by modifying them beforehand in such a way that the specifically challenged functionality is modified".

Blackberry was a pioneer in the early years of the smartphone market, but lost the connection when touch screen devices like Apple's iPhone and phones with Google's Android system became popular. In the meantime, Blackberry no longer develops its own smartphones, but has a Chinese provider build telephones under its own brand name. Instead, the Canadian company is concentrating on software business with companies - and sees its patent portfolio, accumulated over decades, as an opportunity to improve the cash position. In addition to Facebook, Blackberry also sued the makers of the popular photo app Snapchat.


So, Facebook already had software updates available... How coincidental.

[W Hoa]

Slight rehash of the the Süddeutsche Zeitung piece from Friday.

So, Facebook already had software updates available... How coincidental.

Yet at the same time they are considering an appeal. Go figure.

[Corbu]

https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/com...-certification
BlackBerry QNX Hypervisor Awarded World’s First Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) ‘D’ Certification

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Seems like BlackBerry could help with this?

https://www.inc.com/chris-matyszczyk...e-for-you.html

So could about two dozen other companies.... Not saying BlackBerry's products couldn't get the job done, just that I'm not sure they are competitive enough for the consumer market.

[Corbu]

A bit more "colour" on the issue before the German courts:
FOSS Patents: BlackBerry wins German patent injunctions against Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram over four (most likely invalid!) software patents

Please note that Florian Mueller does not seem to be the most unbiased guy out there. But for the sake of information sharing...

We at least get factual details on the patents at issue.

[EchoTango]

Switching gears for just a moment, anyone have predictions to share for the upcoming Earnings Report ? Are we going to see another "stellar" performance like the last one ? I suspect this will be another lukewarm break even affair with "the can kicked down the road" once again.

Hard to see anything else when the company seems to delight in achieving the mediocre.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Switching gears for just a moment, anyone have predictions to share for the upcoming Earnings Report ? Are we going to see another "stellar" performance like the last one ? I suspect this will be another lukewarm break even affair with "the can kicked down the road" once again.

Hard to see anything else when the company seems to delight in achieving the mediocre.

Well if you believe Chen and his guidance.... either revenues increase or he's going to have to really swing for the fences to meet what he has "promised".

A lot will depend on their getting Enterprise sales teams back up and running and how well they have done selling Cylance as an Add On product.

If it got it in for this quarter, I wouldn't be surprised if BlackBerry settled some of those suites just to off set the Enterprise declines that might still be going on. So it could look OK...

[drobbie]

Expect more financial engineering. One quarter will not make much of a difference given BlackBerry don't have a must have product that the market is clamoring for

[EchoTango]

Anyone want to speculate on the availability date and impact of SPARK ? Will this be the holy grail for Blackberry ESS ?

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Anyone want to speculate on the availability date and impact of SPARK ? Will this be the holy grail for Blackberry ESS ?

Based on the latest press release from BlackBerry... it should have been ready by the end of last year. I think a lot would depend on if QNX Momentics for IoT ever really got anywhere. At this point I'm not sure the consumer IoT market is interested. Where BlackBerry might have a market is in the industrial area (manufacturing, utilities...), but then there are companies that have been providing hardware and proprietary software for these systems... before there was an Internet.

BlackBerry SPARK was a great idea... I think Cylance is their Holy Grail!

[EchoTango]

Based on the latest press release from BlackBerry... it should have been ready by the end of last year. I think a lot would depend on if QNX Momentics for IoT ever really got anywhere. At this point I'm not sure the consumer IoT market is interested. Where BlackBerry might have a market is in the industrial area (manufacturing, utilities...), but then there are companies that have been providing hardware and proprietary software for these systems... before there was an Internet.

BlackBerry SPARK was a great idea... I think Cylance is their Holy Grail!

My understanding of SPARK was a unified ESS offering with all the Blackberry related products integrated within one application. When Cylance came along, there was a delay on Spark so this product could be added. Chen has been touting this for a few quarters as the answer to the competitive landscape.

I know they've invested quite a lot of development resources to get this project done.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

My understanding of SPARK was a unified ESS offering with all the Blackberry related products integrated within one application. When Cylance came along, there was a delay on Spark so this product could be added. Chen has been touting this for a few quarters as the answer to the competitive landscape.

I know they've invested quite a lot of development resources to get this project done.

Well whatever it is... some aspects of it are out. They are offering it to developers for use with their applications. In this case they are trying to muscle out SSL/TLS for secure web traffic.

[Redzinaldas]

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...300971884.html

WM Motor Chooses BlackBerry to Power Next Generation Vehicles

[Redzinaldas]

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...300971885.html

BlackBerry and MARELLI China to Power Major Chinese Vehicle Brands with QNX Platform for Digital Cockpits

[Corbu]

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...300970490.html

L-SPARK and BlackBerry Announce Second Accelerator Cohort to Develop Connected Vehicle Technologies

[rarsen]

Another Trump volatility orchestration of the market!

Stocks in retreat on uncertainty about U.S-China trade deal
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/do...=mw_latestnews

[Corbu]

FWIW:
https://www.cantechletter.com/2019/1...-manager-says/
I can’t believe BlackBerry is one of my top picks , this fund manager says

[dalinxz]

Came across this tonight, one can't make this stuff up... oversold since 2013 ROFL



go to the video at 10:30

[Corbu]

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...300973778.html
MetaMinds Partners with BlackBerry to Deliver Smart Education Systems in Romania

[Seadog83]

FWIW:
https://www.cantechletter.com/2019/1...-manager-says/
I can’t believe BlackBerry is one of my top picks , this fund manager says

This is the whole problem in a single sentence. Why can't you believe it? Does it have poor growth? Poor price/revs ratio? Involved in a dying industry? Are it's key metrics much worse when compared to it's peers? People with poor track records in the wheel house? No. None of those at all. Well why then is it so hard to believe that this stock would be recommended when all the numbers look good? Oh that's right, for the sole, encompassing, impossible to quantify fact that it's Blackberry.

Here's a stock that by any rational measure, comparison to peers, or valuations by even notably bear analysts suggesting this is a stock that is undervalued by somewhere between 50-300%. Despite all that, it's still hard to believe someone is there recommending it. Why? Because Blackberry.

Just imagine how ludicrous that headline would sound modified along the lines of "believe it or not, Apple is a top pick". or "believe it or not, we're recommending a woman for supreme court" The entire unwritten assumption there is that BB (or a woman) is so fundamentally flawed that they could never conceivably be selected for greatness.

[Corbu]

I get and share your point, Seadog83.

Tbh, though, I suspect this is a bit more of a case of the Cantech Letter editor, or Nick Waddell - whomever picks their headlines - wanting to generate clicks by bashing good ole BlackBerry. Such an easy prey. Such a novelty idea. We never get tired of it. And given the following that this company has (even on this site, I may add), we should not be surprised. Most still like to bash the company, it seems. I am always astonished reading the comments of so many people who claim to know so well what should have been done, what should be done, and what will happen. They have obviously been there and done that... But that's another story.

Take a look at the interview and judge for yourself. Starting at 2:37.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/john-zec...2019-1.1360535