Another Lost Generation

A few years ago, a lot of the younger people I worked with were on BB phones. With the many delays of BB10, slowly they all faded off to the iPhone, with a few Samsung for the slightly more adventurous. We have all heard the stories of the plenty of BBM contacts that eventually left a few brave soles.

My niece is 14 tomorrow and she had 50+ BBM contacts in her BBM contacts. She, as with most of her friends, were on BBOS7 phones. Despite my efforts to tell her about the new Z10, and after getting one and showing it off for her, I could tell her sights were set clearly on the iPhone.

There was no thought behind it, no concern about the specs, no concern about the apps. Nope, she was just a teenager, and that is what all her friends were moving to. So I knew we would lose her... Today was that day! She had 3 friends left on BBM.

I will go down with the ship, not out of some blind loyalty, I just think BB10 works well for me. What brings me great sadness is that we have now lost another generation, one who will not even get the chance to see what a great OS BB10 is.

A couple of social apps is not going to be the difference. The point is, it is going to be a long battle back, if it is even possible.

14 year old girl don't care about specs. They want to be cool and buy what they think will make them cool.

If specs drove people apple would not sell any phones. Their o's is a patch job but their marketing to people like you're sister and friends is amazing.

One day people will wake up and see that apple is just a big marketing ploy and then they will choose with their brains.

Posted via CB10

Well perhaps, no offense intended, your niece was just easily swayed/convinced? I'm 18 and have a Z10. My first Blackberry ever. My sister is 22 and also has a Z10. We researched together and both were very impressed. :D What really won us over, was the fact that it was the most gestured based OS out there. I showed off my Z10 to a friend from school before graduating, bumped into him at a Walmart and was pleasantly surprised to see he was carrying a Z10. (and i think some of my other friends would join the BB10 crowd if they had the cash for it)

All i'm saying is, yes it's "cool" to have a Z10. And that's what most teen wants. But some of us know a good phone when we see one. Cheers!

Nice to see there is hope out there!

This is why BlackBerry needs to wait out the storm for a few years. Generations don't want to follow the previous group. In a couple years the iPhone will no longer be cool, just like what happened to BlackBerry in fact, it's already happening. BlackBerry needs to be ready for the next change of the guard in a few years.

Posted via my Z10

I think there is a large market for BlackBerry for the younger generation. Adolescent mostly use the phone for texting and gaming. Give them a some apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and they will be happy. Right now I would get my cousin a q5. It has a physical keyboard and he can write to his friends quite easily. Some games out there fortunately not too many, otherwise he would use the phone for gaming. Q5 perfect phone for teenagers.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by psskid

14 year old girl don't care about specs. They want to be cool and buy what they think will make them cool.

If specs drove people apple would not sell any phones. Their o's is a patch job but their marketing to people like you're sister and friends is amazing.

One day people will wake up and see that apple is just a big marketing ploy and then they will choose with their brains.

Posted via CB10

I'm in my late 50s. I have a phd in molecular biology and run a large research lab. I bought an iphone because it does vastly more for me than a BlackBerry can due to the apps. I like the Q10 keyboard and have two phones so one is a Q10. But the keyboard is the only thing I see as being an advantage over iOS or Android. I think the view that all those millions of people who buy other phones are stupid and misguided rather than figuring out what the other phones are providing is part of the reason BlackBerry is where they are now.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by GadgetTravel

I'm in my late 50s. I have a phd in molecular biology and run a large research lab. I bought an iphone because it does vastly more for me than a BlackBerry can due to the apps. I like the Q10 keyboard and have two phones so one is a Q10. But the keyboard is the only thing I see as being an advantage over iOS or Android. I think the view that all those millions of people who buy other phones are stupid and misguided rather than figuring out what the other phones are providing is part of the reason BlackBerry is where they are now.

Posted via CB10

I agree. It's dumb to say that people who use other phones are dumb. But listen to what the OP said she didn't even do her research. Man ask an average person, I've done this before, what the specs on his/her phone are. You'll get blank stares.

I've met many people at school who honestly and literally just buy a phone because it's what their friends have. They don't investigate which phone does what. As the OP's 14 year old niece, they want it because it's "cool."



"If you can't soar with the eagles, then don't fly with the flock!" (BBM#18)

BlackBerry was cool a few years ago too. They even had a pink version to cater to teenage girls. Some, like me, stayed on since. Others follow the trend. Maybe BlackBerry needs to go a full cycle again... go niche business, then find its way back to the cool consumer market.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Undbiter65

I agree. It's dumb to say that people who use other phones are dumb. But listen to what the OP said she didn't even do her research. Man ask an average person, I've done this before, what the specs on his/her phone are. You'll get blank stares.

I've met many people at school who honestly and literally just buy a phone because it's what their friends have. They don't investigate which phone does what. As the OP's 14 year old niece, they want it because it's "cool."



"If you can't soar with the eagles, then don't fly with the flock!" (BBM#18)

There is certainly some of that in consumer choice, especially in teenagers, but I would argue that for the most part specs dont matter. It is what you can do with the phone that matters. I remember comparing specs on PCs, like 20 years ago. Apple has proven that specs dont sell, functionality sells.

Originally Posted by GadgetTravel

There is certainly some of that in consumer choice, especially in teenagers, but I would argue that for the most part specs dont matter. It is what you can do with the phone that matters. I remember comparing specs on PCs, like 20 years ago. Apple has proven that specs dont sell, functionality sells.

Arguably. Anyways, what I'm saying is they don't know squat, even about the phone they are buying. I'm not generalizing, but there IS people out there who honestly do that. Buy because it's cool.

Ask them how how many mega pixels the camera has, what is the screen resolution on the phone, what OS it runs, how many processors, does it support wifi direct, etc and they won't know a thing. Again I'm not generalizing, having owned other products (I was a big Apple person and currently own a Galaxy Tab) I know that some devices just work better for other people. Some people make the most uninformed decisions ever.

"If you can't soar with the eagles, then don't fly with the flock!" (BBM#18)

Originally Posted by Undbiter65

Arguably. Anyways, what I'm saying is they don't know squat, even about the phone they are buying. I'm not generalizing, but there IS people out there who honestly do that. Buy because it's cool.

Ask them how how many mega pixels the camera has, what is the screen resolution on the phone, what OS it runs, how many processors, does it support wifi direct, etc and they won't know a thing. Again I'm not generalizing, having owned other products (I was a big Apple person and currently own a Galaxy Tab) I know that some devices just work better for other people. Some people make the most uninformed decisions ever.

"If you can't soar with the eagles, then don't fly with the flock!" (BBM#18)

I don't know how many megapixels any of my phones have. Nor what processors. I would argue that for the most part that is spurious information. I know my cell phones take decent/crappy pictures but they are always around. If I want better I have a Canon prosumer (yea! I said "prosumer") - a G series. If I want better yet I get out the Canon DSLR and L glass - or if I am really crazed I get out the view camera with s Schneider-Krueznach lens, 4x5 inch sheet film at about 50 ASA and a hand held light meter- focus on ground glass with a magnifying lens. Can enlarge to the size of a building without losing image quality. But the fact is that the sensor size in most phones is so small that megapixels aren't a great metric for image quality. Likewise comparing a processor from one phone, using one OS, to another phone using another OS is not terribly useful. It needs to be a fast enough processor for the OS and the apps. As long as it is fast enough, what I can do with it is a lot more important than those technical details.

Yes. I am also close to 50 and have been in the technology field in automation for years.

Yes the Iphone does have apps that can do many things and yes the keyboard for both the Q and Z 10 is much better then the iPhone or Android.

You do have to remember that the BB10 ecosystem is very young so apple should have more apps. By contrast, from launch if BB10 till now BlackBerry has more apps then app did in the same time frame frome the date they launched. Yes I know comparing dates from 2007 is not a good way to measure success but is says something. Also BlackBerry has more usable apps then Microsoft phone in the same amount of time

The main thing to remember is that apple is today where BlackBerry was a few years ago. People may laugh but time will show that their OS is being built from and patched from the original OS as BlackBerry did with OS5,6,7. Before they rebuilt and made BB10. There will come a day when the OS will have to be rebuilt and all the apps in the current store will have to be rewritten.

I use BlackBerry because I feel that it is a better product if you learn all the features. Not just the keyboard but all the features. I have used i phones for our business and got rid of them. Won't touch android due to the wild west of app store. If you read what QNX has to offer and what this OS will be capable of with future builds, the option for me is only BlackBerry

Posted via CB10

I'm 16 and I'm the only person with a BB10 phone at my school. And I only know one other person who has an OS7 device. Very sad :(

Posted via the super amazing BlackBerry Q10

Originally Posted by CarGuy1368

I'm 16 and I'm the only person with a BB10 phone at my school.

Q10

Do you get a lot of people interested in what your phone?

Hey you're your own person which is cool.

I don't hate all apple. I have a mac book pro and love it. Loaded with both mac and windows operating systems.

Posted via CB10

BlackBerry only has one hope to stay relevant at this point: niche to big time.

There's no possible way they are going to achieve mass appeal given the last few years. The more recent stomp down of BBRY further solidified that idea.

They need to leave, appeal to core users and "prosumers" and once their niche is nice and carved, they can possibly start pitching to masses.

Originally Posted by Undbiter65

I agree. It's dumb to say that people who use other phones are dumb. But listen to what the OP said she didn't even do her research. Man ask an average person, I've done this before, what the specs on his/her phone are. You'll get blank stares.

Considering that in many cases, people don't understand what the specs mean when they read and compare them, or more to the point which ones can even be compared, the average person may have an advantage in that department. The really relevant stuff, like does the device do what it's meant to do, does it do it well and does it look and feel right aren't on a spec sheet.

Dude you serious about that???Am 14 first phone BlackBerry 9700 amazing phone.Started reading crackberry and loving BlackBerry when I was 10 but didn't get one till I got 13...When bb10 came out my bold stopped working and I had summed up 800 dollars. Bought my Z10 and am rocking it atm best phone I have ever gotten! Got the PlayBook when it got to 200 bucks.I just like how I type fast on a Z10 and the HUB :) amazing! I don't care if they go bankrupt am staying with BlackBerry forever because it gives me my needs and I don't care about all those apps instagram and snapchat I just need whatsapp and bbm. I made a friend buy one of my age. This phone is for teenagers but no marketing...That's BlackBerry's weak point.Honestly the teenage market is more important then the other generations. That's why apple is so good at selling.

Posted via CB10

Yeah most school kids I see are rocking iphones and andriods these days. Still see legacy devices a fair bit only bb10 phones I've seen are my own and ones in the second hand shop tho lol

Posted via CB10