[_dimi_]

The Passport has been out since September, and price only seems to have increased since then:

549 US dollars, 699 CA dollars, 529 pounds, 649 euros

So what could this possibly tell us?

Posted via CB10

[bbjdog]

Excellent PP review from yesterday:
Blackberry Passport Review - Qwerty Perfected ? AudiophileON

Attachment 352526

That's a nice picture of the passport!

[Corbu]

That's a nice picture of the passport!

Indeed.

I do hope they keep on improving that device and make it even better (as they should the Classic)...

FWIW:
Here's what our readers think of the BlackBerry Passport

As _dimi_ alludes to, it may be starting to get more traction than we think. Who knows...

[world traveler and former ceo]

_dimi_ !

Ha! I had to laugh, go easy on Jake though, he is pumped about BBRY and just wants the same thing all of us want and that is to see BBRY trade up and stick. BBRY doesn't have a dividend or an EPS to place a floor on the stock price. I like to see others here point out that AAPL is down, the DOW is down and in many cases they are looking bad. In that context, BBRY is doing very well indeed. Take care.

+1 yes indeed... Google, FB, Apple, Microsoft, .. Have all had a bad week so far... Blackberry has held its own, and then some, of late...

OT: how about Halo, Acad, PSDV.. etc... good day they had.....

BlackBerry's turn will come.... imo

Posted via CB10

[anamar_97]

If anyone wants to see what an AT&T Passport looks like in the wild. Having the amazon app store has been very good! ...

[bungaboy]

If anyone wants to see what an AT&T Passport looks like in the wild. Having the amazon app store has been very good! ...

That would look exceptionally nice in my hands!

[3MIKE]

I don't think this has been posted yet, the link follows.




BlackBerry, T-Mobile Reunion Will Be A Catalyst For Both Companies
May. 11, 2015 5:34 PM ET *|* 24 comments *|* About: BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY), Includes: T, TMUS, VZ
Disclosure: The author is long BBRY. (More...)


Summary

BlackBerry and T-Mobile announced reunion and return of BlackBerry products into the T-Mobile distribution channel.

BlackBerry once again carried by the top three wireless carriers in the United States.

Relationship beneficial to both T-Mobile and BlackBerry, and will allow T-Mobile to better compete for small/medium business and large enterprise markets.

T-Mobile may be in the position to be the leading distributor of BlackBerry devices and services in the United States.

It was a welcome surprise to login into Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and see a photo of T-Mobile (NYSE:TMUS) CEO John Legere wearing a black BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) t-shirt, holding a BlackBerry Classic device announcing...



Source: Twitter

In my belief, the reunion with T-Mobile is likely to be the key catalyst in BlackBerry's US retail turnaround strategy. More than that, it may be a strong mutually benefiting business relationship that will help T-Mobile. In this discussion, let's take a look at this announcement and its impact on both BlackBerry and T-Mobile.

BlackBerry Gains a Champion For Their Cause
Obviously, the addition of T-Mobile to BlackBerry's distribution channel is a big win. Not only do they have access to T-Mobile's wireless customers, they have returned to the now fastest growing wireless carrier in the United States. BlackBerry will now be selling their devices at the top three US wireless carriers Verizon (NYSE:VZ), AT&T (NYSE:T) and T-Mobile, and soon they will officially overtake Sprint (NYSE:S).

What's the big deal you may ask? After all, BlackBerry has done this before and blew it, right?

The difference this time is the ability to use BlackBerry devices to sell BlackBerry software and enterprise solutions, BES 12, along with the various productivity and security suites. The carriers also are now in the position to bill for the services directly through their bills. I have no doubt that BlackBerry may be profit sharing with carriers for the solutions they resell, such that they have a vested interest in seeing this succeed.

The biggest benefit I feel to partnering with T-Mobile, more so than AT&T or Verizon, is that out of all the carriers, T-Mobile can use BlackBerry to ignite their own growth, which we will discuss below.



While it is bittersweet to see BlackBerry back with T-Mobile, I wish it happened sooner, so that perhaps T-Mobile would be the launch and exclusive carrier for the BlackBerry Passport. There are no doubts that T-Mobile and John Legere would be better brand ambassadors of BlackBerry compared to the modest AT&T launch of the Passport and Verizon's Z30 flop. All you have to do is look at the exchanges on Twitter, between T-Mobile, BlackBerry, John Legere and John Chen, who just signed up for Twitter to promote the T-Mobile deal. You certainly did not see such cross endorsements and fanfare from AT&T or Verizon launches.

Why it works both ways for T-Mobile
As cult-like as BlackBerry is today, T-Mobile has as much of a following for their value proposition. T-Mobile is positioning itself in the United States as the value leader by providing the fastest 4G LTE network at lower prices than AT&T or Verizon. No different than the value proposition that BlackBerry is bringing, trying to be the value and security leader. Both companies are on the outside looking in, and both want each other to succeed.

How does BlackBerry help T-Mobile?
In my field, the financial services industry, pretty much every firm from small business to large enterprise is going to belong to either Verizon or AT&T. These people have been sold on the idea of the "best" network a long time ago, and have not bothered to look or had the desire to evaluate other companies. More than that, AT&T and Verizon are the safe choice for owners and IT staff as their employees will be less likely to protest about the wireless service. Imagine telling your employees that the company phone will be on Cricket Wireless or Boost!

T-Mobile has become a respected name in wireless over the last few years, no doubt helped by their "Un-Carrier" campaigns. T-Mobile is now serious about growing the business/enterprise customer base and has fired the warning shot across the bow to Verizon and AT&T with their latest Un-Carrier campaign announcing business lines as low as $10 to $15 a month.



By working with BlackBerry, T-Mobile can now approach enterprise customers of any size and offer them a complete business productivity and security solution, including BlackBerry Classic devices with financing and $0 up front, BES 12 services and software solutions, on the T-Mobile network, for a price likely far cheaper than what the customer is paying Verizon or AT&T.

In our own small business, when we switched to T-Mobile, we were able to get three additional new devices and still had a lower monthly bill than with the prior carrier. With T-Mobile's new promotions, we will be able to add new BlackBerry devices, financed with $0 up front, and still save over the regular price of one line elsewhere.

Bottom Line
You cannot dispute in any way that this deal with T-Mobile is a net positive for BlackBerry. The costs will be marginal, unlike the deals with Verizon as the unlocked BlackBerry devices are fully compatible with T-Mobile's network. They can either sell unlocked phones, or perhaps an AT&T like version branded for T-Mobile. In either case, the phones are GSM based, and not CDMA as are Verizon and Sprint phones.

Beyond the new retail distribution through T-Mobile stores and online, BlackBerry has picked up a carrier and a CEO who for the time being seems vested in seeing BlackBerry succeed. After all, I have not seen Verizon or AT&T CEOs wearing BlackBerry T-shirts.

While the T-Mobile effect for this quarter will likely be negligible, it will certainly be a catalyst though the end of the year. Long or short, the T-Mobile and BlackBerry reunion will have an impact on both the business and the stock price.

Additional disclosure: Nothing in this article should be construed as investment advice. Please consult your financial professional to see how anything discussed here applies to you. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. This is not Tax Advice. Please consult your tax professional.


http://seekingalpha.com/article/3170...21352&uprof=75

[Bacon Munchers]

A good article showing the players in th emerging mobile health care system. Once again, BlackBerry on top of it's game.

Here are some snippets for the thread skimmers:

--------------
Perhaps the most convincing argument for the rising prevalence and broadening acceptance of smartphone health care is the increasing amount of money that investors are willing to pump into such technology.

Meanwhile, the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working to accommodate the influx of mobile health-care technology with its final guidance (PDF) on mobile medical apps, released in February, revealing a light, hands-off approach to regulating most mobile health apps.

It seems that all the big mobility players are making moves into smartphone health care, with Microsoft also recognising the importance of mobile phone-based medical services.

"BlackBerry's capabilities align closely with NantHealth's, and this investment represents the type of forward-looking opportunities that are vital to our future," said Chen.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-rap...tag=YHFb1d24ec

Side thought: I still hold my position that Microsoft will end up on the bid list for BlackBerry. I also ponder involvement with GE...

[bbjdog]

Indeed.

I do hope they keep on improving that device and make it even better (as they should the Classic)...

FWIW:
Here's what our readers think of the BlackBerry Passport

As _dimi_ alludes to, it may be starting to get more traction than we think. Who knows...

They are two great devices! I would not want to much changes to the passport, just some of the things that have been discussed on this thread.

The classic, I haven't bought one yet. So I have no opinion on it, but take your word for it.

But it still takes poor photos. Lol

[CDM76]

Has anyone tried the Stock Daddy Turbo app yet ? If you have what do / don't you like ?

http://appworld.blackberry.com/webst...ntent/35677891

Thanks
C

Posted via CB10

[zyben]

Another slap on the wrist for Morgan Stanley. I'm sure this time they'll learn their lesson and never do it again:

FINRA Fines Morgan Stanley $2 Million for Short Interest Reporting and Short Sale Rule Violations

-- FINRA found that Morgan Stanley, over several years, failed to completely and accurately report its short interest positions in certain securities involving billions of shares --

and, of course:

-- In concluding this settlement, Morgan Stanley neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA's findings. --

FINRA Fines Morgan Stanley $2 Million for Short Interest Reporting and Short Sale Rule Violations | FINRA.org

[cjcampbell]

I wish they'd come out with some meaningful and deterring fines. They had "billions of shares" mentioned yet only a $2 million fine?

Posted via CB10

[zyben]

I wish they'd come out with some meaningful and deterring fines. They had "billions of shares" mentioned yet only a $2 million fine?

Posted via CB10

Imo, the regulatory agencies are complicit in Wall Street's filthy criminal behavior.

[Bacon Munchers]

Head's up fellas. Samsung to launch a new IoT platform named Artik:

http://www.engadget.com/2015/05/12/s...=rss_truncated

I wonder when BlackBerry will end up being contracted to assist.

This hardware could also end up being folded into devices that BlackBerry will sell, as per the BlackBerry/Samsung partnership.

[Bacon Munchers]

Apologies if posted:

Institutional Trading Alert for BlackBerry

A total of 96 block trades were executed during the market session, typically at least 10,000 shares or more represent a single block unit. Block trading activity shows that $16,521,703 worth of shares were bought and $7,030,852 worth of shares were sold by institutional investors. The positive net cash flow of $9,490,850 into the stock shows that investment houses have positive outlook for shares of BlackBerry.

On the options side, a total of total of 78.82K call and 31.54K put contracts were traded yielding a 0.40 put/call ratio.

http://www.avafin.com/articles/1055428.html

[La Emperor]

Quote from your link above,BM.

The latter also includes Wi-Fi and Zigbee connectivity, which means it should play nicely with plenty of existing IoT equipment.

BBRY is already securing devices conforming the Zigbee specs.

On the week of April 13, Certicom began issuing certificates for the smart meter initiative in the United Kingdom, a market with over 104 million smart meters and home energy management devices that conform to ZigBee� Smart Energy specifications.

Certicom Launches Managed Certificate Service to Secure Sensor Networks and IoT Applications

[Corbu]

Nigeria:
Blackberry Moves To Retake Nigeria, MEA Phone Leadership |

[Bacon Munchers]

Nigeria:
Blackberry Moves To Retake Nigeria, MEA Phone Leadership |

I have a Nigerian friend over there for business right now that told me BlackBerry was very popular. When he goes there, he takes a bunch of BlackBerry phones and makes a good profit, as they are considered a status symbol.

[Corbu]

Thanks for that post, BM!

More on the same subject, from yesterday's WSJ:
Samsung Unveils New ?Internet of Things? Push - WSJ

SAN FRANCISCO— Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled a set of technologies to spur more companies to add computing power to everyday devices such as fitness trackers, light bulbs, security cameras and drones.

The effort, called Artik, centers on tiny circuit boards that come packed with new processors, communication chips, sensors and other components. Samsung is also offering software and related services to help configure new devices and connect them to the Internet.

One of three initial Artik boards, about the size of a ladybug, has a Samsung chip with two processors, Bluetooth wireless connectivity and other features. The board, intended for applications like smartwatches, would sell for less than $10, said Young Sohn, Samsung’s president and chief strategy officer.

The largest board, about the size of two postage stamps side by side, includes essentially all the features of a Samsung smartphone, including an eight-processor chip, 32 gigabytes of data storage and video capabilities. It will sell for less than $100, Mr. Sohn said, and is suited for applications such as home hub devices to store video and other consumer data.

Mr. Sohn said the effort is designed to help other companies move faster in jumping on the trend Silicon Valley calls the Internet of Things. But Samsung said it is also intended to enhance the company’s own products, including televisions, home appliances and smartphones.

Until now, Mr. Sohn said, each Samsung product division typically chose its own chips and software to add features like computing and communications. Now they will standardize on Artik technology in hope of getting new and updated products to market faster.

“We have lots of stuff to connect,” said Yoon Lee, vice president of Samsung’s smart home and digital appliances business.

Samsung, besides manufacturing TVs and smartphones, is the largest maker of memory chips and makes processors used in some of its smartphones. The company had signaled interest in the Internet of Things by its purchase last year of SmartThings, a U.S. startup that developed a variety of connected devices along with an online service to help the devices communicate.

SmartThings, which Samsung operates as an independent subsidiary based in Silicon Valley, is a key part of the Korean company’s strategy to create a neutral platform for the Internet of Things. Its cloud-style service is designed to help interconnect devices from many other companies, including Samsung competitors that prefer other chips or software.

Alex Hawkinson, who was CEO of SmartThings and continues to run the unit, said the evenhanded policies extend to requiring Samsung developers and those at other companies to use the same software tools. “It runs very deep, philosophically,” he said.

But Samsung will face plenty of competition. Intel Corp. has announced a variety of new chips and small circuit boards for use in wearables and other emerging device types. Qualcomm Inc., the biggest maker of chips for smartphones, also has targeted the field and is hosting its own event in San Francisco Thursday.

[Corbu]

Interview with David Kleidermacher in Elektronik Praxis (German magazine).

In German, translated with GT + some of my own editing. Not perfect but ok.

?Wir m�ssen die Embedded-Erfahrungen auf das IoT �bertragen?

Safe Systems

"We need to transfer the embedded experience to the IoT"

Safe software systems were and are the specialty of David Kleidermacher, the longtime chief technology officer of Green Hills Software. As Chief Security Officer at Blackberry he now devotes himself to the cloud. In this interview he explains how both worlds - Embedded and the cloud - can come together.

The Internet of Things is hotly debated in the embedded and in the IT sector. At the same time many IoT approaches are rather vague. How do you see the situation?

Historically, companies such as Green Hills and QNX have always strongly focused on the device. But in the IoT context, the device must be part of a larger story. It takes data security and the ability of the device to scale up to the cloud. It is also important to offer an end-to-end solution that includes both the data analysis as well as a robust cloud solution that runs anywhere in the world and can handle incredible amounts of information.

Where do you see BlackBerry in this context?

One of the things that were attractive to me at BlackBerry is: you already have such a solution for mobile devices. For many years they have had a Data Center, which is able to process enormous amounts of information, messaging, upgrades to the devices in the field and the like. And you know what? Embedded systems need all of that too! In this respect, the marriage between the BlackBerry and QNX is a good connection.

Many people - especially with a technical background - do not trust the IoT. What has to happen so that people accept the IoT?

Blackberry has announced its IoT platform earlier this year at CES. The clear advantage Blackberry always had compared to its competitors, is their good reputation in terms of data security. When people think of us, they think of safe mobility and secure corporate data. BlackBerry brings this into the IoT.

The people trust our data center, which now handles huge amounts of information. We use exactly the same data center to process IoT data. The people understand. They say, OK, this thing I can trust. Who else has a commercial solution for over-the-air updates (OTA) in the field that has been tested in operation with millions of devices, and can cope with quite different software versions? There are a number of hard problems with OTA, and BlackBerry has already solved.

What do you focus on in your role as Chief Security Officer?

One of my tasks is the concept of "High Assurance". Many people in the embedded industry know that high reliability levels are very important. They understand that a system, such as in the case of a medical device or in an automotive system with ASIL-D level, the functions must meet reliable, which has provided the equipment developer - with respect to the functional and data security.

But if you look at some cloud services, such as Google or Samsung, then this assurance idea that companies like QNX is represented for a long time, almost non-existent. There are simply not! You hear every day of new hacks. Therefore, I believe that we have much to gain if we use what we have learned in the embedded space on High Assurance, transferred to the IoT. My strategy is to apply these ideas to mobile devices and the cloud.

This influences the embedded sector overall IT rather than vice versa?

Exactly. BlackBerry is very receptive to this idea, because the company already has a security culture. Google is a great company - they plan things like balloons for Internet access in remote areas and the like. But with BlackBerry security culture has always been part of the company DNA. Thousands of people think every day about data security - a large percentage of the whole team. I would bet that this percentage is far lower in other major tech companies.

BlackBerry’s subsidiary QNX has a lot of experience in the field of embedded systems. It has strongly promoted the idea of microkernel operating systems, among others. Would you agree that microkernel for applications in the Internet of Things are good?

Definitely. Most people would, however, believe that a microkernel can not run on a microcontroller of the Cortex-M-class. That may still be true, but things are going! People want to use hypervisors, they want to run with these hypervisors systems such as Linux and still do very different things.

And that is why we will see that chipsets on which microkernel can run increasingly come even on low-end hardware used. Of course there will always be tiny sensors on which you can run any microkernel environment. But when microkernels are used on an ever broader front, the trend is in the right direction.

There are now a lot of alliances and consortia dedicated to the standardization of the Internet of Things. Are you already a member of one of these organizations or are planning to join one?

We are working on a consortium that is dedicated to the task of bringing greater levels of security to certain markets, which are dependent on it. There are a lot of other consortia such as the IIC (Industrial Internet Consortium), which focus on protocols and similar things.

But I worry about how to do these things safely. The protocols are ultimately just - hey, it's the World Wide Web! Good programmers can always abstract the details of a log. It has its programming, and no head you have to make about how the data is ultimately transported. At least one should have to make about no head. But if the protocol was not securely planned and implemented - then you have a real problem.

[DaSchwantz]

I wish they'd come out with some meaningful and deterring fines. They had "billions of shares" mentioned yet only a $2 million fine?

Posted via CB10

Billions of shares over several years. Crime pays, obviously.

Posted via CB10

[Corbu]

Navy starts migration from BlackBerry to Apple and Android -- GCN

[masterful]

Navy starts migration from BlackBerry to Apple and Android -- GCN

How do they managed and deploy anything to those thousands devices?

#BBFactCheck

[Heinz Katchup]

How do they managed and deploy anything to those thousands devices?

#BBFactCheck

Using BES12

[MollyMorton]

Bit OT - are the trial retracted/timed messages we've had since the update per month, or was that 'forever' unless we pay for the subscription?

�9/year for full-featured BBM. That's going to makes millions*

*unless almost everyone ignores it and just gets mildly annoyed instead.

This move seems crazily expensive, and reminding users every month that their messaging app costs money seems a strange decision over charging once a year...but I'm a bear of little brain. I'm sure I've missed something very important and obvious, and should be rejoicing because it's going to send the SP upwards very soon, but it's hard, so hard.

Posted via CB10