[Tre Lawrence]

I think that this is quite possibly what they want to do in the long-term. Which is a bit of a shame, because I love BlackBerry hardware. But as a shareholder, I think it could work out very well financially. The AGM has definitely helped boost my confidence in the company, and I'll be considering purchasing some more shares before the price goes up again.

If the hardware goes away, I will not be happy, but I agree: it might be the best option in the long term.

[currentodysseys]

I think they will keep controlling the hardware but it will become the medium mostly for delivering the services and will not be the core product. Loosing control of the hardware would not be beneficial strategically in my opinion. What they have to achieve is to shift the role that the hardware plays in the business model and make.it part of the revenue sources secondarily and primarily a strategically applied component.

Just some more thoughts for further discussion.
Cheers!

[tonyrenier]

I listened to the entire broadcast, my biggest relief is that Prem Watsa is still on the Board and I've seen no indication that he's dumping stock. I bought my original stock at about 13.50 ( yes, ouch!), I'm currently swamped with medical bills from a bouncing baby kidney stone or I would be looking to buy more now. However, I don't think Thor is the man to bring us to the promised land, he's lost way too much credibility, he minimized the hype he was pushing before the earnings call, I can't believe that wasn't challenged.
Also, why the Q5? License the EFFing software to one the hungry manufacturers in the East and let them see if they can outdo the Z10 for a 1/4 of the price. Let BBRY build the Mercedes versions of the phones, hell my 8830, 9630 and 9650 all work, I could use them as hammers. This is in complete contrast to 2 Samsung "phones" which would go into random reboots if I sneezed in their presence.
C'mon, let's get practical, BackBerry needs the developing countries and they can buy much cheaper hammers.

[kfh227]

If the hardware goes away, I will not be happy, but I agree: it might be the best option in the long term.

The security trust goes away and cross selling with BES will suffer.

Posted via CB10

[RubberChicken76]

I honestly see them going services only within a year. Find someone else to do the hardware on the phones, tablets and whatever else they feel like putting BB10 on. It takes everything that they cant compete at right now off their plate. They dont have to worry about devices sold or when the next phone is coming etc. They become a software and services company and let others deal with those issues

Hmm ... that would be a big change from the BlackBerry we know today. Much smaller in size, much smaller in revenue and a very different focus.

[Gekko]

I honestly see them going services only within a year. Find someone else to do the hardware on the phones, tablets and whatever else they feel like putting BB10 on. It takes everything that they cant compete at right now off their plate. They dont have to worry about devices sold or when the next phone is coming etc. They become a software and services company and let others deal with those issues

what hardware company in their right mind would sign up for this? hardware margins are extremely low and razor thin so you need to make it up on LOTS of sales volume - which BB does not have. no hardware company is interested in a stillborn ecosystem.

[jcsf123]

what hardware company in their right mind would sign up for this? hardware margins are extremely low and razor thin so you need to make it up on LOTS of sales volume - which BB does not have. no hardware company is interested in a stillborn ecosystem.

The ODM model. Quanta, Foxconn, etc.

[global14u]

Very good question about Indian market. This is a huge market where BB can expand.

BlackBerry is dying in India. The kids have moved away to Android and now with the Z10/Q10 pricing. Apple is more attractive than BlackBerry.

Also, if Thor just found out that his office work is happening on BBM he's been missing out a lot that's happening in the real world.

If bbm eyeball time is 90 minutes., I wonder if WhatsApp is over 120 minutes and with a bigger base. Something for Thor to think about. If we users know this, wonder what's going to be the usp that bb will deliver to regain the im market.i

BlackBerry is getting sidelined in India. Most of the Cb forum members are from North America, I just got back from India and its sad that most people there haven't even seen a Z10, let alone know how wonderful it is.

Mentioning India market potential in such a manner is misleading. This is probably just to pacify the sheep till the next mandatory meeting or good news, which ever is first.

Indian carriers are negotiating with Sammy to get 4g handsets at 100 to 150 USD / xx million units per year. Yes, 4g at these low prices.

BlackBerry has to drop their prices in India. Thor needs to know where's the real world at today.

I wanf BlackBerry to get back go being #1 in the smartphone war atleast as most admired . It management makes comments like today and the past few months, while reality is moving in the opposite direction, no wonder expectations are raised and missed !!!


Posted via CB10

[Gekko]

The ODM model. Quanta, Foxconn, etc.

that's different than licensing. BB is doing that now. they are PAYING for every device made by contracting out the manufacture of devices - so they still have the risk. that's different than simply licensing the OS where you assume no hardware manufacturing risk which is i believe what Howie was referring to.

[Gekko]

BlackBerry is dying in India. The kids have moved away to Android and now with the Z10/Q10 pricing. Apple is more attractive than BlackBerry.

Also, if Thor just found out that his office work is happening on BBM he's been missing out a lot that's happening in the real world.

If bbm eyeball time is 90 minutes., I wonder if WhatsApp is over 120 minutes and with a bigger base. Something for Thor to think about. If we users know this, wonder what's going to be the usp that bb will deliver to regain the im market.i

BlackBerry is getting sidelined in India. Most of the Cb forum members are from North America, I just got back from India and its sad that most people there haven't even seen a Z10, let alone know how wonderful it is.

Mentioning India market potential in such a manner is misleading. This is probably just to pacify the sheep till the next mandatory meeting or good news, which ever is first.

Indian carriers are negotiating with Sammy to get 4g handsets at 100 to 150 USD / xx million units per year. Yes, 4g at these low prices.

BlackBerry has to drop their prices in India. Thor needs to know where's the real world at today.

I wanf BlackBerry to get back go being #1 in the smartphone war atleast as most admired . It management makes comments like today and the past few months, while reality is moving in the opposite direction, no wonder expectations are raised and missed !!!


Posted via CB10

i thought i head that emerging markets was going to save the day and that the USA didn't matter?

[not biased]

Anyone have stats for India market? South Africa berry is number one with 38pc as of 8 July.

[bungaboy]

Thor just said earlier when addressing his "approaching breakeven" comments in q4, something along the lines of "I don't know what it means to you, but to me it means a small loss". My issue isn't the loss, its the CEO's shady commentary.

Seems that may not be your only issue. :-)

[sonbuster]

in order for the share price to appreciate, investors need transparency. they need to know how many z10 and q10 sales are doing? something TH refused to disclose during ER. 2.7M doesn't cut it. we need breakdowns. BB10 cancelled on playbook is not just a broken promise, it's an indicator of trust. Can they even deliver their other promises? BBM on android and iOS? how do we know they won't cancel that either? prior to ER we heard nothing from BlackBerry, they bailed on investors. they show up on the 28th drop the bomb and left investors in disarray with more questions than answers. the stock tanks 30 % and they dip. days after we hear absolutely nothing from them, no damage control, no call for calm, absolutely nothing. besides today's AGM, when will we hear from them again? the next ER when they report another loss?

BlackBerry needs to keep investors in the loop. their absence is worrisome. if they had issued a profit warning, re: venezuela before ER, so many people wouldn't have lost so much money and maybe the stock wouldn't have dove 30%. Let's face it, the bar was set very low in Q1, and they didn't even come close to expectations. 1M in the first month of sales (in Q4) without US sales to 2.7M including partial Q10 sales in the 3months of Q1. Clearly shows that there is no traction and momentum is decreasing. To current investors, i wish you all the best, but how many more lies and blunders do you have to see before you bail?

[w0lfgang]

Ok stupid question....I see the "Live Blog" area on the front page....is their a recording of the meeting? A webcast maybe?

[danprown]

There is a transcript in the gargantuan BBRY- Shares thread

Ok stupid question....I see the "Live Blog" area on the front page....is their a recording of the meeting? A webcast maybe?

[cjcampbell]

There is a transcript in the gargantuan BBRY- Shares thread

I think it's only a page back at this point so don't leave it too long or it will be tough to find.... lol

[anon(2729369)]

Very true but at least it is giving the direction they are taking upon. Will it have hurdles? sure I bet, but at the same time, if they launch this kind of service, I can see it being a big success, as it will target specific audiences giving them what they want. Plus imo they must be looking at it as a cross platform feature, in which case we are in for a great product and at the same time without competition in the individual user services currently available... this could also potentially work positively for BB10 phones adoption in the long run and provide point of differentiation for the fight with android.

Maybe i am too quick to go that far but if this is where it may go, to that product alone I would put my money.

We already know that BES is coming to the cloud (hopefully it will be something similar to the BIS management platform they were trialling a couple of years back) and I think that's what BB will try to push for small businesses (not governments, although, if those use something like Salesforce, then I don't see why they couldn't use BES redux as a cloud MDM). Hmmm, thinking about the way BB works, they might try to only build something like iCloud and push that as a BES for SMEs...

Seeing as how their enterprise solution has evolved, I don't see it ever becoming cross-platform. They have a hard dependency with Microsoft products and it will probably stay that way for a long time.
EDIT: I think you meant managing devices on every major platform, in which case the previous paragraph doesn't apply. I too hope that they will make this possible and will not make this a premium feature.

One solution I'd love to see is a BES proxy which could connect to our backend services directly or via a cross-platform gateway (doubt it). That way you don't have to make room for BES in your infrastructure, don't have to install Windows servers and can manage users and policies online.

[w0lfgang]

stock is on fire !!!

Yeah we'll be back to $14.50 in at least a year *rolls eyes*

[nabil114]

Yeah we'll be back to $14.50 in at least a year *rolls eyes*

You realize company's valuation depends how the company earns. Not how good the product is

[anon(2729369)]

Why didn't TH mention that they've fired the VP of sales in the US as an indication that they're making changes?

Note to BB: Dark theme and OLED screen combo = disaster outside

[BB.David]

I honestly see them going services only within a year. Find someone else to do the hardware on the phones, tablets and whatever else they feel like putting BB10 on. It takes everything that they cant compete at right now off their plate. They dont have to worry about devices sold or when the next phone is coming etc. They become a software and services company and let others deal with those issues

But what mobile hardware company will be willing invest and license BlackBerry 10?
The main complaints of BlackBerry 10 is lack of "must have" Apps and carrier support. Shiny, new hardware isn't going help that.

If BlackBerry decides to leave the hardware business... I really think they'll become a services-only company.

I think ultimately BlackBerry will consists of...
- BES 10
- QNX embedded in certain systems (autos, corporate, industrial, etc.) with the BlackBerry logo
- BBM for current BB10, iOS, Android, and eventually Windows Phone
(But I predict BBM will fade in the sea of messaging apps).

[cgk]

Anyone have stats for India market? South Africa berry is number one with 38pc as of 8 July.

India is a very different market, mainly still feature phones - in the smartphone sector,the faster rate of growth there is by companies like Micromax, Karbonn and Spice (who? most of you are going to say) and the action seems to be mainly at the low end - but off the top of my head, Samsung dominates that market with about 45% and I think Blackberry has a sub 5% share (maybe sub-3%). I'm sure someone will pop along shortly with some figures to correct/amplify my numbers.

[Superfly_FR]

I honestly see them going services only within a year. Find someone else to do the hardware on the phones, tablets and whatever else they feel like putting BB10 on. It takes everything that they cant compete at right now off their plate. They dont have to worry about devices sold or when the next phone is coming etc. They become a software and services company and let others deal with those issues

I for one do no buy it. And don't like it either. Can't be a "bottom up security platform" if you don't control 100% the hardware. Breaking appart any fundation of this security model will create confusion, at least.

I tend to believe they'll go back to the 2000s, where services were 70-80% of revenues and device 20% with high margins: Sell the services, you'll sell the devices.

[Superfly_FR]

It would seem that the broader stock market was not impressed. After a run up at the start "ON FIRE" it closed up .09.
See what tomorrow brings. It is going to be a very, very long haul.

Did you ever see a stock chart (with such volume : 20mi +) like this during any official BBRY event for the last two years ? . The "on fire" part was significant, because it started and continued during Thorsten presentation.
This is quite *ahum* unusual . I do believe "the street" started to understand several key points. But "Understand" and "buy" are just cousins, not father and son

[njblackberry]

You said the stock was on fire.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch. The presentation, whilst well received in Waterloo, along with applause (there was more enthusiasm there than at the NYC Launch) won't save the stock.
Only performance will.