[OTCHRussell]

The Q10 is AWESOME!! just too bad no one knows it!!

[alternator77]

Considering cnn struggling ratings they seem ripe for a takeover as well. Maybe apple can buy them out and make their support official.

Posted via CB10

[dazzleaj]

Let me first say - I have absolutely no preference over any platform although I do use Android and Windows Phone as my daily phones. I've used over 100 BlackBerry devices over the past 6 years so I've got enough experience in working with and using BlackBerry devices.
This thread piqued my interest for several reasons. From several years experience fixing BlackBerry devices for three mobile networks in the UK (and dealing with irate customers face to face), here's how I see BlackBerry's current predicament:

• BlackBerry's main problem is loyal customers who feel they can no longer trust the Canadian brand
• Failing to deliver BlackBerry 10 last year is a MAJOR problem
• Far too many OS 6 / OS 7 devices developing App Errors and wiping user data
• Confusion over BlackBerry ID and problems with switching SIM cards resulting in lost data
• Failure to innovate (read my explanation below)

These are just 5 reasons that BlackBerry sits where it does now. As for Failure to Innovate:

BlackBerry 10 IS an innovation but ONLY if you are a BlackBerry user. Why do I say that? Simple - the key features of BlackBerry 10 are unique to BlackBerry but (aside from the BlackBerry Hub), they are NOT unique in the industry. BlackBerry's marketing needs to ensure that they get the message across to potential users about the key USPs (Google it if you're not sure what this means) of BlackBerry 10.

To recover their position, BlackBerry need to deliver and deliver quickly. However, personally I do feel that it is too little too late. Why?

There's an age-old adage that It takes 10 positive reviews to counter the effects of 1 negative review. Well with the double major service outage last year, BlackBerry encountered at least 50 million negative reviews. The BlackBerry PlayBook fiasco has added several million more (the outrage of BlackBerry's backtracking is understandable) whilst their decision to offer BBM on rival platforms has actually worked against them - instead of websites, reviewers and journalists recommending BlackBerry devices, they instead recommend waiting for BBM to launch on Android and iOS.

A lot of the failure of BlackBerry 10 is down to their launch earlier this year. Okay so they put the Z10 up for sale the next day - a great move but there was no reason to switch from another OS to the Z10. If you were thinking of picking up a BB10 device, as a full touchscreen user, you would be tempted by the QWERTY keyboard of the Q10. Oh wait, it wasn't available for months. On the subject of the Z10 - great device and unique for BlackBerry users but the first FOUR (yes I had FOUR within two weeks of launch) I got were ALL faulty, whether suffering from lags or randomly crashing and rebooting. The specs were great for BlackBerry users but they were NOTHING SPECIAL to the industry at large.

On the subject of the launch, BlackBerry 10 is actually a great platform but (working in retail at the time and for several months after), BlackBerry completely screwed the launch up. They made two KEY errors by saying that both Skype and WhatsApp would be available at launch. In fact, neither were and I had A LOT of customers reflect this to me when returning their devices.

One of the best features of BlackBerry OS 7 and below was Desktop Manager and being able to switch devices. With BlackBerry Link, you could switch data except it was hit and miss and in the UK (having collated data with several contacts across networks), it RARELY WORKED to transfer contacts. Which pissed people off and resulted in the "Oh Sod this, I'm off to Android/iPhone/Windows Phone".

BlackBerry (and to an extent other manufacturers) need to learn it's not all about the product - the implementation and rollout is CRITICAL. Unfortunately Heins & Co royally messed up the launch by creating false promises (remember, customers have a VERY LONG memory) and delivering a product that didn't get the recognition it deserved simply because there were too many issues.

What do BlackBerry need to do? I don't profess to be an expert (although I've got several years of experience seeing the rise and falls in the industry) but what I would do is:

• BE HONEST to your loyal customers! If you try and pull the wool over the eyes of BlackBerry customers, there may be no customers left.
• Don't release a half-baked product - whether it's software, hardware or OS, DO NOT offer a product unless it's 100% ready.
• Do some testing! - make sure each product is tested THOROUGHLY before you put it on sale - another bad launch and it's only downhill from there

Last point (I swear..) - BlackBerry you need to produce something that has never been seen before. Throwing multiple BlackBerry 10 devices into the market won't help you. Spend as much as possible to research & develop even a single feature that is completely 100% unique. This will help you retain and capture new customers otherwise all you are doing is churning and spinning around on the same spot before you eventually fall over.

There's A LOT I haven't begun to cover in this, including the laziness of BlackBerry in porting Android apps but I'll leave that for another day!

I get that some of you may not agree with my thoughts but the point is that they are MY THOUGHTS. If you agree, wicked thanks. If you don't be constructive and say why (just don't be a troll).

If you got this far... Well done! It was a LOOONG read I know but hopefully you'll have found it useful at least.

Good post. Points well made.
Thanks

[katesbb]

I blame the marketing of BB10. The commercials are absolutely terrible and don't show may reason why anyone should go out and get a Z10 over an iPhone or Android phone.

I was thinking that too, wishing that they'd show the Hub and Multitasking more, but then I remembered that the PlayBook advertising bragged about it's advantages with Flash, Multitasking, etc., and that didn't seem to help sales much

[LuvULongTime]

All of the excuses have been used up.
6 months ago - just wait for BB 10 - millions will be sold
3 months ago - just wait for a full quarter with BB 10 - millions will be sold.

Reality - 4 million FEWER customers - poor sales of BB10 devices - abandonment of the Playbook (not that it was ever a financial success - but the faithful all believed BB 10 was coming).

Enough with the excuses. Time for Thor, Frank and the team to DELIVER.

What would you do now? Looking back, what would you have done differently?

[Jeremy Bivens]

A big problem is: Too much news! BlackBerry 10 was released a few months ago. Since day 1, there have been hundreds of headlines asking "Is this the end of BlackBerry?" After a week, the market gets saturated with doubt for the company before it has a chance to prove itself. In reality, BlackBerry has done a pretty good job supporting the OS. (10.1 already out, 10.2 coming soon, leaks for the geeks, 3 devices on sale..)

For example, many are tired of waiting on the 4.2.2 runtime to be updated (and are consistently complaining about it) But BlackBerry stated it was coming with the 10.2 update & gave an ETA on its release. But since there has been so much attention to it, many are getting more and more restless irregardless to the fact only a few days have passed.

When you constantly keep the topic on your mind, of course its going to be an issue. You have to ALLOW BB10 to mature.

[nabil114]

End may be near for BlackBerry - Jul. 1, 2013

Now things have gotten real. BBRY is now a takeover target. So much for a fun ride.

You know Heins did it to himself. I knew that they should focus on products. Second, I know their track record for being to get out perfect products. He could have released early. He would have listened to the consumers about the issues and fixed it. I do not know why they believe they can create the perfect product. They got the reputation about the Windows about the smartphone world.

Marketing does not mean increased marketing budget. It is about the message you are trying to portray to potential customers.

They are trying to save costs by not going to Japan. They have the highest operating cost structure in the industry. I am wondering what they are doing with all the expenses. They do not answer what the analysts have to say but do what they think. If the company fails, it is their fault. The government believed in them.

I am questioning if they have talent in the company, they would create new product ideas. They are sticking to their strengths because they cannot create new ones.

Mike Lazaridis was about innovation so why did stop change in his company.

Whether Heins like it or not, he is focusing on new business models which might not replace the current revenues. The business he is focusing on are like start-ups.

They make promises without any backing what they are doing. It is a shadow organization.

They bring in telecom executives not the product development executives in the boardroom.

[tufcustomer]

CNN can be as credible as Blackberry has been of late. LOOOL (No offense to anyone). Point is, anyone can make a prediction, only time will tell what actually happens.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

A big problem is: Too much news! BlackBerry 10 was released a few months ago. Since day 1, there have been hundreds of headlines asking "Is this the end of BlackBerry?" After a week, the market gets saturated with doubt for the company before it has a chance to prove itself. In reality, BlackBerry has done a pretty good job supporting the OS. (10.1 already out, 10.2 coming soon, leaks for the geeks, 3 devices on sale..)

For example, many are tired of waiting on the 4.2.2 runtime to be updated (and are consistently complaining about it) But BlackBerry stated it was coming with the 10.2 update & gave an ETA on its release. But since there has been so much attention to it, many are getting more and more restless irregardless to the fact only a few days have passed.

When you constantly keep the topic on your mind, of course its going to be an issue. You have to ALLOW BB10 to mature.

Consumers aren't going to buy a product with the assumption that it will mature and get better. A smartphone isn't a bottle of wine that get more valuable as it ages.

It either does what they want or they return it and get something that does.

[anon(5828343)]

Let me first say - I have absolutely no preference over any platform although I do use Android and Windows Phone as my daily phones. I've used over 100 BlackBerry devices over the past 6 years so I've got enough experience in working with and using BlackBerry devices.

This thread piqued my interest for several reasons. From several years experience fixing BlackBerry devices for three mobile networks in the UK (and dealing with irate customers face to face), here's how I see BlackBerry's current predicament:

• BlackBerry's main problem is loyal customers who feel they can no longer trust the Canadian brand
• Failing to deliver BlackBerry 10 last year is a MAJOR problem
• Far too many OS 6 / OS 7 devices developing App Errors and wiping user data
• Confusion over BlackBerry ID and problems with switching SIM cards resulting in lost data
• Failure to innovate (read my explanation below)

These are just 5 reasons that BlackBerry sits where it does now. As for Failure to Innovate:

BlackBerry 10 IS an innovation but ONLY if you are a BlackBerry user. Why do I say that? Simple - the key features of BlackBerry 10 are unique to BlackBerry but (aside from the BlackBerry Hub), they are NOT unique in the industry. BlackBerry's marketing needs to ensure that they get the message across to potential users about the key USPs (Google it if you're not sure what this means) of BlackBerry 10.

To recover their position, BlackBerry need to deliver and deliver quickly. However, personally I do feel that it is too little too late. Why?

There's an age-old adage that It takes 10 positive reviews to counter the effects of 1 negative review. Well with the double major service outage last year, BlackBerry encountered at least 50 million negative reviews. The BlackBerry PlayBook fiasco has added several million more (the outrage of BlackBerry's backtracking is understandable) whilst their decision to offer BBM on rival platforms has actually worked against them - instead of websites, reviewers and journalists recommending BlackBerry devices, they instead recommend waiting for BBM to launch on Android and iOS.

A lot of the failure of BlackBerry 10 is down to their launch earlier this year. Okay so they put the Z10 up for sale the next day - a great move but there was no reason to switch from another OS to the Z10. If you were thinking of picking up a BB10 device, as a full touchscreen user, you would be tempted by the QWERTY keyboard of the Q10. Oh wait, it wasn't available for months. On the subject of the Z10 - great device and unique for BlackBerry users but the first FOUR (yes I had FOUR within two weeks of launch) I got were ALL faulty, whether suffering from lags or randomly crashing and rebooting. The specs were great for BlackBerry users but they were NOTHING SPECIAL to the industry at large.

On the subject of the launch, BlackBerry 10 is actually a great platform but (working in retail at the time and for several months after), BlackBerry completely screwed the launch up. They made two KEY errors by saying that both Skype and WhatsApp would be available at launch. In fact, neither were and I had A LOT of customers reflect this to me when returning their devices.

One of the best features of BlackBerry OS 7 and below was Desktop Manager and being able to switch devices. With BlackBerry Link, you could switch data except it was hit and miss and in the UK (having collated data with several contacts across networks), it RARELY WORKED to transfer contacts. Which pissed people off and resulted in the "Oh Sod this, I'm off to Android/iPhone/Windows Phone".

BlackBerry (and to an extent other manufacturers) need to learn it's not all about the product - the implementation and rollout is CRITICAL. Unfortunately Heins & Co royally messed up the launch by creating false promises (remember, customers have a VERY LONG memory) and delivering a product that didn't get the recognition it deserved simply because there were too many issues.

What do BlackBerry need to do? I don't profess to be an expert (although I've got several years of experience seeing the rise and falls in the industry) but what I would do is:

• BE HONEST to your loyal customers! If you try and pull the wool over the eyes of BlackBerry customers, there may be no customers left.
• Don't release a half-baked product - whether it's software, hardware or OS, DO NOT offer a product unless it's 100% ready.
• Do some testing! - make sure each product is tested THOROUGHLY before you put it on sale - another bad launch and it's only downhill from there

Last point (I swear..) - BlackBerry you need to produce something that has never been seen before. Throwing multiple BlackBerry 10 devices into the market won't help you. Spend as much as possible to research & develop even a single feature that is completely 100% unique. This will help you retain and capture new customers otherwise all you are doing is churning and spinning around on the same spot before you eventually fall over.

There's A LOT I haven't begun to cover in this, including the laziness of BlackBerry in porting Android apps but I'll leave that for another day!

I get that some of you may not agree with my thoughts but the point is that they are MY THOUGHTS. If you agree, wicked thanks. If you don't be constructive and say why (just don't be a troll).

If you got this far... Well done! It was a LOOONG read I know but hopefully you'll have found it useful at least.

Excellent post!

[anon(5828343)]

The Q10 is AWESOME!! just too bad no one knows it!!

Awesome?!? Good maybe...but awesome?

[not biased]

Nokia 105, selling for 20 dollars, profit 5.50 usd,
Samsung apparently has lost 25billion in market cap because of imploding sales of galaxy4,
Microsoft lost market share again and now is fourth in us with 4.5 percent
New Asian company selling phones direct from Internet, undercutting everyone
Berry has to do something different to survive and thrive, which has intact begun

[Brandon Orr]

Guys, Rome wasn't built in a day. Apple didn't become the dominant phone in a year even. Nor did Android. I agree the results were a disaster, but I also wouldn't be running for the hills either. It's a solid product. It's not an operations or quality problem. It's a marketing problem. You guys have to understand, BlackBerry is trying to carve out a niche market. It's not competing with Apple or Android. If it can carve out a 5% market niche that can offer a solid product that can be used with cross platform BBM, then I see real value in what they're doing. With BBM cross platform they no longer need to compete they can do their own thing. For people who need a business machine much like what IBM does. They have the android runtime to provide and easy way to get those more desirable apps to the platform. It's all about molding yourself to what's out there. I believe they can carve out this niche much more effectively with this new platform than with BBOS. I can envision them become THE mobile computing platform specifically for businesses, but with the added benefit that it now has most if not all of the features that consumer android and iPhone devices have (for the most part) . I bet a lot fewer people will hate their company given BB10 device and I might even venture that many won't mind using it as their primary phone as the platform evolves. I've personally seen some pretty good marketing from BlackBerry in Toronto through TV and other ads. You have to understand that marketing in a country like the states with over 20 cities with million plus residents is extremely difficult and costly. They're focusing on only the biggest urban centres like LA and NY. It'll take time. While I'm skeptical about their future, I also don't think they're out of it just yet. It does worry me the amount sold since the start have only been 3.7 million, but I'd be interested to see how their numbers look after BES 10.2 revenues come online which gives them revenues from Apple and Android handsets. I think there's a good opportunity for them to become profitable in a stable way without relying on crazy handset margins. Apple most relies on handset margins and the App store...and Google doesn't make money on Android except for through Google Play. There's a real opportunity to become a real player in mobile software and services.

So hold onto your horses.

Posted via CB10

[Mohammed Zakaria1]

What more they can say

[Wiki Cydia]

I don't think BB 10 is behind anyone in any area except apps...and that takes time.

I'm not talking about comparing BB10 to other platforms based on its abilities or its feature set. After all, it's not the feature set that led to the article, but rather the fact that BBRY isn't selling enough devices to spur the apps, market share, profit share and overall visibility it needs to be successful.

[cenloe]

BlackBerry should have adopted Android. I just purchased a Q10 and my biggest complaint is lack of apps. Maybe OS 10.2 may help alleviate that but in the meantime I'm switching back and forth between my Note 2 and the Q10. I'm my humble opinion if BlackBerry would have filled the void (lack of Android physical keyboard handsets) they would have been just fine.

Posted via CB10

[m1a1mg]

The problem is two fold.

1. BBOS10 phones aren't selling as well as expected by some analysts.

2. Smartphones rarely get better sales over time. It's either rack it up from the beginning or nothing.

[njblackberry]

What would you do now? Looking back, what would you have done differently?

BB10 was launched prematurely. A date was set (30 January) and they met it. Ready or not. With popular applications that "were committed" and the device people MAY have wanted - the touch screen - launched 3 months later. It was PlayBook revisited.

The launch itself was ineffective and marketing non existent. Terrible way to get started.

In retrospect, they could have waited, done a better job with the US and told the truth (anyone remember Heins saying that this was the fastest selling BB launch)? Wonder what second best was.

[njblackberry]

The problem is two fold.

1. BBOS10 phones aren't selling as well as expected by some analysts.

2. Smartphones rarely get better sales over time. It's either rack it up from the beginning or nothing.

They also launched during an iPhone gap. The iPhone 5 was out in November (yes, it is terrible and everyone hates it - and they sell more in one week than BB did in three months). Once another iPhone comes out, it will cause more issues for BB. Since the buzz over the Z10 (mostly on this board) has subsided and never got started for the Q10, that poses another challenge.

[pkcable]

[tstrike34]

Lightens the mood, me likey!!

[Bluenoser63]

End may be near for BlackBerry - Jul. 1, 2013

Now things have gotten real. BBRY is now a takeover target. So much for a fun ride.

Yet. The headline doesn't match the last line.

"No matter what they do, the wrong move won't kill you overnight, and the right move won't save you overnight," Milanesi said. "It's going to be a long, drawn-out process."

[omekaac]

This kind of articles should only give BlackBerry the will to succeed.

Posted from my Z10 via CB

[tstrike34]

The Playbook debacle has had me steaming for awhile. The **** poor performance really grinded my gears.

I love BBRY... Really I do, but I see the writing on the wall. I think it is safe to say that many of us here in Crackberry nation have invested on the BBRY brand to a point of fanaticism (putting our wallets, our IT ideologies, and our livelihoods on the line for BBRY). Hence our outrage and shock at the mere audacity and perceived arrogance of the BBRY brass in terms of customer loyalty and corporate performance.

What I really do not see thus far is a clear path forward for BBRY in terms of strategic governance. At the time of Heins promotion, I saw an opportunity to right the ship and patch the holes until the Canandian ship, BBRY made it to port for repairs. Instead, I see a lot of listing at sea whilst taking on water. For many, there are no lifeboats... For others, there is just hope to keep them warm.

Marketing had a real good shot at leading BBRY out of the fog of ineptitude, but that lighthouse went dim after a few appearances.

Something was fishy when I engaged Saunders and VzW in a tennis match of who has the release for Z10 10.1 (and the patch for fixing random reboots).

I really wish this was fiction, but there is some internal damage that may be irrevocable. BBRY may have to push all in or risk takeover/assimilation. The honeymoon is over, and the laughing has stopped.

This has gotten downright serious, grave even (despite the cash on hand which will be burned through quickly) in my view.

[bp3dots]

Consumers aren't going to buy a product with the assumption that it will mature and get better. A smartphone isn't a bottle of wine that get more valuable as it ages.

It either does what they want or they return it and get something that does.

There's a lot of playbook and BB10 owners around here who did just that.