[Corbu]

On BlackBerry's purchase of Secusmart earlier this week...

Not sure, this piece by Reuters was posted. Not bad:
BlackBerry buffs up security credentials with Secusmart deal | Reuters

Still can't believe the BBC did not deem the news worthy of being reported.

As for The Guardian, this is their rather lame effort:
BlackBerry buys encrypted voice firm Secusmart | Technology | theguardian.com

I must quote this comment from the above:

Jeez, does every article about Blackberry have to start with the phrase "Troubled phone maker..."? (1) They're no longer troubled, and (2) they do much more than make phones. As you note in your article they do a lot of services/software for security etc. And then you end with a negative comment. If this had been Apple, you'd be fawning all over it as a brilliant masterstroke. Impartiality, please.

I find those types of comments to be more frequent than they used to be. Seems like there is some fight left in BBRY supporters!

[Corbu]

Just to recap what was announced at June's EC, now that July is behind us:

July
"We also launched Z3 yesterday in Vietnam and a number of additional countries are coming in the next week, including India."
Blackberry Security Summit Event (NYC)
BBM for Windows

September
FY 15 device portfolio + Passport (London)
BBM Meetings

November
Classic
BES12

December
QNX cloud

[StormieTwo]

^
|
|
That

I like it!

BB10 4 ME

[kfh227]

Researchers jailbreak iOS 7.1.2

Yayyyyy

EDIT: wait.... the article implies that apple is not doing root cause analysis and is hacking fixes. Wow. That code base will look like spaghetti in no time.

No Steve Jobs.. apple is fuxored.

Posted via CB10

[Corbu]

Concerns Nigeria but quite interesting:
BringBackOurBlackBerrys: Why Nigerians are returning to their BBs

...

However, the joy of having an Android phone seems short-lived for many users because of the challenge of data subscription costs. Compared to BlackBerry data subscriptions, data subscription for Android smartphones and tablets costs far more.

Speaking with Digital Savvy on the matter, a smartphone dealer, David ‘Professor’ Apple, said that many Android phone users were switching back to BlackBerry devices because of high data subscription costs on Android. “This is the reason many Android users are going back to BlackBerry. The cost of subscription is relatively high. Most Blackberry subscriptions cost N1,000 on most networks and the data that comes with it can conveniently last up to a month. But for Android, the charges are far higher and the data for one month does not last,” he said.

Apple is not alone in his view. Quite a number of Android users have been up in arms, saying that the data subscription for their smartphones is insufficient for their activities online. Many complain that the Android subscription at N1000 hardly lasts up to a week. Some say they even use it up in one day!

...

[bungaboy]

BringBackOurBlackBerrys: Why Nigerians are returning to their BBs

BringBackOurBlackBerrys: Why Nigerians are returning to their BBs

[kfh227]

^^

Short term win but as bandwidth gets cheaper there things like music in the app store will be desired.

Did Chen shoot himself in the foot?


Posted via CB10

[neteng1000]

BringBackOurBlackBerrys: Why Nigerians are returning to their BBs

BringBackOurBlackBerrys: Why Nigerians are returning to their BBs

This applies to BIS right? Not BB10

Posted via CB10

[JLagoon]

Oh, I forgot to tell a little story.

Yesterday I was talking to a friend (who works for a major US Oil & Gas company). He was driving (using hands free I hope) and he kept cutting in and out. He uses an iPhone 5S.

I laughed and jokingly said to him "You have to get a BlackBerry so you can carry out a telephone conversation!"

To my surprise he replied "Yes, there are lots of us who want our BlackBerries back."

So I told him how good the antenna was in the BlackBerry Z30 and how good the battery was as well as other great features.

I won't be surprised to see him (& lots of others in that big company) move back to BlackBerry in the very near future.

Right on. The proof:

[Bilaal]

Buying opportunity, fellas?

Warning: That plunge in stocks is just the beginning

[Bilaal]

John Kerry needs a BlackBerry

http://m.spiegel.de/international/world/a-984246.html

Posted via CB10

[slipstream89]

I hate those articles...it "could " have a 20% correction but that may happen in a year. what is the point of even saying that it's like saying I could win the lottery in the coming months, but it may not happen.

Posted via CB10

[bungaboy]

This applies to BIS right? Not BB10

Posted via CB10

With BELL Canada I have to have BIS on all my BlackBerries. I don't know how it works in Nigeria.

[early2bed]

For many if not most of you, a 20% or more correction along with a sustained stagnant stock market would probably be the best thing that could happen to you, financially. If you are accumulating assets then you want to do so during periods where stocks are cheaper. It's the people who are at or near retirement that really need to worry about these corrections. They already have all of the wealth that they will ever have in the market while many of you have only a small fraction of your lifetime wealth in the current market.

If you are truly starting out as a long-term investor then you should be hoping for a big correction.

[TimJohnSmith]

With BELL Canada I have to have BIS on all my BlackBerries. I don't know how it works in Nigeria.

BIS is BBOS7.x and earlier. BB10.x does not use BIS.

Tim Smith from my Z10 on Rogers

[bungaboy]

BIS is BBOS7.x and earlier. BB10.x does not use BIS.

Tim Smith from my Z10 on Rogers

Yup. Tell that to Bell!

[bungaboy]

For many if not most of you, a 20% or more correction along with a sustained stagnant stock market would probably be the best thing that could happen to you, financially. If you are accumulating assets then you want to do so during periods where stocks are cheaper. It's the people who are at or near retirement that really need to worry about these corrections. They already have all of the wealth that they will ever have in the market while many of you have only a small fraction of your lifetime wealth in the current market.

If you are truly starting out as a long-term investor then you should be hoping for a big correction.

And you should stop giving non-solicited, non-professional advice.

[95aero]

Kerry will use a BlackBerry next time



Posted with my great BB Q10

[_dimi_]

I wasn't sure if I really wanted to share my view on a possible Dell partnership... it could trigger the shorts to run for cover pushing the stock to 35 dollars and then I wouldn't really know what to do all day... anyway, I guess it's worth the risk

It seems to me that JC practically lays out (prepares the media/public) months or weeks in advance by giving subtle comments in interviews. For example, he said during one of his e-mailed interviews (below) that Foxconn is not an exclusive partner. Now, with the Dell rumours of a possible partnership, could we see this come true?

Imagine a BlackBerry built by Dell, sold by Dell enterprise salesforces. It would free up capital for BlackBerry to focus on software capabilities (security, device management, or potential acquisitions...), which Dell is in need off. BlackBerry wouldn't have to build its own salesforce. Foxconn could be used for cheap devices, Dell for secure devices for the enterprise.

Remember what Morgan said? First restructure the company to cope with smaller device volumes, find ways to grow your software revenue so you become less dependent on the hardware side. Eventually you do a deal with a secure player willing to pay dollars for the infrastructure/hardware patents/extra revenue. As BlackBerry is still in need of the hardware revenue, they could (for now) do a deal similar to the Foxconn deal. BlackBerry claims the revenue, with profit going to Dell. Plus Dell gets a commission for every BES license sold / migration facilitated.

It reminds me of the IBM/Apple partnership. Although in BlackBerry/Dell case it makes perfect sense, to me at least.

Another positive would be the fact that Dell no longer needs to 'justify' a partnership to the outside world. Yes, there are stakeholders. They saw potential in taking a public company private so I'm assuming they have plenty of vision to transform their current business model (PC industry = not growing) for the next decade.

Sources:

India key for BlackBerry revival: CEO John Chen - Economic Times

Dell, BlackBerry downplay threat from Apple-IBM alliance | Reuters

[_dimi_]

Also, it seems Dell and SAP are strong partners (application management, cloud,...) so perhaps the many (former) Sybase management now working for BlackBerry are now looking in the same camp... imagine, first their management, then their partners

Edit:

Take a look at Mr. Beard (COO) day-to-day role within BlackBerry:
"I’m going to be involved in everything from marketing, to the way we’re manufacturing, to the way we’re selling solutions, bringing in enterprise application partners and customer support, which will become increasingly important as we move deeper into the enterprise. Our goal is to be as efficient as possible."

Is it just me, or does he have a lot of ground to cover - IF they're going at it alone!

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2014/07/30/...-people-wrong/

[bungaboy]

BlackBerry Z3 ‘Extremely Well Received’ In Key Emerging Markets

BlackBerry Z3 ?Extremely Well Received? In Key Emerging Markets

[Superfly_FR]

Just a few words to thanks for your kind mentions and music. Still around, fast reading and probably few comments from me, you also need a break lol.
Hope you'll all have some vacations time soon,

Cheers, it's heaven here,
SF

Posted via CB10

[Corbu]

Slightly OT:

So, this is a mishmash of various things that we have come across recently... all dealing with Security. Right up rarsen's alley but I hope he won't hold it against me.

Let's see... This week, we had the CIA improperly searching the Senate's computers, China spying on the CNRC as well as on government-owned Israeli companies and Smart home kits proving easy to hack... not to mention Kerry using unsecured lines...

BBC News - Canada National Research Council 'hacked by Chinese spies'
BBC News - Israeli Iron Dome firms 'infiltrated by Chinese hackers'
BBC News - Smart home kit proves easy to hack, says HP study

From this latest one:

Earlier this month, another security firm revealed that wi-fi-controlled light bulbs sold by an Australian firm, Lifx, could reveal their owner's username and passwords if a hacker used a device that masqueraded as being another bulb.

In January, another report highlighted the case of a smart fridge that had been hacked and used to send out spam emails.

And last year, LG was prompted to issue a fix for its smart TVs after one owner discovered his set was monitoring his watching habits and then transmitting the information over the internet unencrypted.

Ian Brown, professor of information security and privacy at the University of Oxford, said HP's report should act as a wake-up call.

"We're used to hearing about vulnerabilities in computing systems, but those are often legacy products designed before today's greater focus on security," he told the BBC.

"It's slightly shocking to see these brand new internet-of-things devices being created with so many security holes.

"I hope device manufactures realise they have to do much better if they want to avoid damaging consumer trust in the whole sector before it even takes off."

And this quote from this week's Summit:

Charles Eagan, VP Software Foundation Technologies at BlackBerry sums it up as, : “Security is like oxygen, you don’t notice it until it’s missing. When it’s missing, it’s all you think about.”

Nothing really new here, but seems to me a global collective wake-up call is in order.

And a good week to everyone!

[helopilot06]

Just a few words to thanks for your kind mentions and music. Still around, fast reading and probably few comments from me, you also need a break lol.
Hope you'll all have some vacations time soon,

Cheers, it's heaven here,
SF

Posted via CB10

Im jealous sf! I havent had a vacation in 10 years lol. Enjoy it double for me!

Posted via CrackBerry App

[rarsen]

Slightly OT:

So, this is a mishmash of various things that we have come across recently... all dealing with Security. Right up rarsen's alley but I hope he won't hold it against me.

No offense in any way Corbu, I'm a simple contributor of potential interest items when some time is available. I don't own much of the info, not always available at crucial times and only proposing to direct attention to certain elements, which could also interest others. I'm absolutely delighted when excellent contributors like yourself raise interesting and very useful information, helping to better understand for the common interest of BB investors. My best to you and the esteemed colleagues continuing efforts to help each other.