[raino]

As for a all LTE phone.... I imagine Verizon is going to be very slow in offering service to LTE Only devices. They'll be using CDMA as a way to keep people buying their phones for a long time to come.... and to try and keep them on their network.

Actually their current plan is to introduce all-LTE phones sometime next year. Obviously, they'll need a strong, nationwide voLTE deployment for it, but they plan to shift away from CDMA in a big way. They'll keep the network around for a while (a few years) to fill coverage gaps/for the stragglers, but all-LTE phones won't be using the CDMA networks.

Of course this does not necessarily mean that the network is going to be opened up a la GSM--in fact, if we go by the precedent the Uncarrier has set, access to voLTE can be restricted.

Maybe I interpreted it wrong but I read it as their is no real technical reason Verizon can't support outside phones that have proper LTE bands other than the fact that their system sees non Verizon IMEI numbers as being invalid.

Other CDMA devices should be invalid for the same reasons. I would think and assume.

Right. The current network certification requirements for phones, as I understand them, require IMEI whitelisting. The presence of Verizon-friendly CDMA may be one requirement behind a phone getting approved. CDMA bands aren't hard to put in phones, and I'm guessing neither is flashing. The hard part therefore has to be getting the CDMA carriers to approve the phone.

[southlander]

Wouldn't what you've read say that it would be ridiculous for Verizon, Sprint, US Cellular customers to think that BlackBerry could go at it alone in producing devices for those carriers? If the Passport isn't on Verizon, it's on Verizon, not BlackBerry, for the situation. Why do Verizon customers keep blaming BlackBerry?!

This explains the VZW thing:
How To Activate An LTE Nexus 7 On Verizon Wireless

It's a matter of negotiating power. Verizon has the best coverage and the largest US customer base I think. So they call the shots. Sprint and US Cellular (which I think US Cellular uses Verizon's network ??) -- those guys are small potatoes and I don't think really care one way or the other about BlackBerry or offering its phones. Sprint maybe does at least to a degree, as it probably has some corporate accounts to serve -- the ones left using BBs anyway. But US Cellular always seems to offer much less selection. For Example when the BBOS 7 phones dropped US Cellular only ever offered the Torch 9850 far as I know. Imagine that. No Bold 9930, etc.

As for blame, I guess you can blame BlackBerry for not having a competitive product to keep their marketshare higher and thus give Verizon more incentive to want to carry their product. Plus there's the whole Storm debacle that VZW probably holds against BB to this day, lol.

[potatoguy]

I'm not disappointed in BB, but I do wish I had all the apps available to me that the other OS have.

[BruceDern]

Disappointed

1. I bought the PlayBook because BB stated it would get BB10 OS.
Thought it was a "future wise" shopping. But BB killed the PlayBook very short time after. I can't trust them anymore. Tellings us the PlayBook is not able to run BB10 "smoothly" is not true.
BB should fast renew some user trust with something like "send your old playbook back and have 50% off a new passport" or similar is a start.

2. PlayBook is dead but they would release small security updates. No, they don't. Take a browser test at SSLLABS to see if there should be a security update after 2 years now. The use of these device is dangerous.

3. My Z10 showed a terrific behavoir after the update from OS 10.2 to 10.3.1. It didn't switch off completely showing a red LED blinking. Going back to OS 10.2 via Autoloader fixed that and the device switched off if needed. But after the official OS 10.3.2 rollout the device got back the LED sequence and no downgrading allowed due to a harsh OS blocklist. What a hell.
( a BB supporter asked, why i want to switch off my device... )

4. I bought my Z10 not from a carrier source and there is really no chance to get in contact with BB for free. Ever tried to contact BB ? Phone helpline ? The "official" BB support forum is private managed and theses guys say there is less chance BB would read it. To solve my problem i have to open a support ticked for initial $$. If BB would care about the problems their devices tend to have, forums like CB were not extreme filled with help requests.

5. BB's twitter support solution ? Ever tried to discuss a complex
problem via a short massage system like twitter ? Good luck !

4. The AppStore. No one could compare this tiny store with Apple's or Android's store. Cheap crap apps ! Productivity Apps ? False. And please don't say you could sideload any Android App. Yes you could but why ? The lack of good native BB Apps !! It's a shame and the MAIN REASON people leave BB. The new Amazon partnership will not change anything here. To be fair you got tons of crap apps at Apple's or Android's shops, too. For me BB's AppStore is similar to the old and still alive symbian nokia store with same density.

5. The often praised holy security of BB is not actual any more. I was happy to see the browser is "safe" and up to date ( Apple's not ). But i saw infected autoloaders (cap.exe inside deployed malware) and hacked autoloaders (cap.exe inside hacked to bypass signing key checks able to flash anything onto the devices) and i never got any information about fixed security holes due to their intransparent public work with updates ( btw Apple did the same to not frighten the public... ) To be fair i have to say that autoloaders like any other software spread over the web, not downloaded from the original source, give a huge risk. Same for CB, but Mod's delete suspicious postings ( if they were found ! ) other sites later or never. So BB is wise to stop leaking with a shimmer of care but for most of us a bad taste without leaks. Anybody remember the much more longer OS startup times of OS 10.1 ? It was a secure boot concept where first some essential OS parts got initialized before others things. This concept has been dropped and the devices are far more vulnerable at the boot stage. Thanks to our paranoid "anti terror" goverments, who need an easier way to sniff at those devices.

And what's good ?
I'm still loving the clean timeless designs of the devices making me blended by BB everytime.

Don't get me wrong. This is my personal sight and story. I am not payed by any other competitor to post this. I really wished it changed or took a better route or someone could helped me more. Who cares...

Bruce

[kgbbz10]

I'm not disappointed in BB, but I do wish I had all the apps available to me that the other OS have.

So is it BlackBerry's fault that the owners of snapchat refuse to allow their android app to run on BlackBerry? And refuse to allow any sort of third party app?

And I've seen a lot of ppl upset about Google made apps not being able to work which is just ridiculous because those apps are made to work in a Google environment not where ever we feel we should be able to use them. So is that BlackBerry's fault or Googles?

Because the BB10 OS is so amazing some people are able to offer us work arounds and have worked very hard (Cobalt) to bring us certain Google made apps. This would be a positive for BlackBerry for allowing this in their OS.


BBClassic10.3.2.2252

[cbvinh]

You see that as BBRY listening and I see it as:

Rim > Blackberry - perhaps people will forget our phones suck
Full slab like Android/Iphone - the people we fool above will overpay for an under spec'd, beta OS with no ecosystem
Direct sale- well they aren't selling in the stores
Drop T-Mobile - T-mobile telling BBRY to get their non selling devices out of store or compensate us for the loss of shelf space
Q10- well the last phone we had that had any sales had a PKB and trackpad, lets try that again.

still not selling, well up your's folks you customers aren't are target market, we are an enterprise company.

But just in case we'll release an android cuz that's what the BBRY faithful have been asking for.

The arguments I saw from customers was this:

RIM->BlackBerry because no one knew the name of the company that makes BlackBerry's. Their identity should be synonymous with their product. People were clamoring for this and Heins changed the company name. Now, people are arguing that they should change it back because the name BlackBerry is tainted. Chen, so far, has refused to do this, giving his quote, "if your child gets bad grades, do you change his/her name?"

Full slab like Android/iPhone - people were clamoring to copy what's successful. People are still arguing for another full slab.

Direct sales - Yup, not selling well in stores, so customers got what they asked for, direct sales. Now people are saying it's hurting carrier sales and BlackBerry's direct sales are shooting them in the foot.

Dropping T-Mobile - It wasn't over non-selling devices. It was over an ad that wasn't well received by the BlackBerry community. T-Mobile went on record many times during the fiasco to say they were willing to keep BlackBerry devices on their network.

Q10 - BBOS7 users said they wanted the same thing as the Bold.

If you've been following along, there *are* customers who have been clamoring for BlackBerry to go Android, even before BB10 was introduced. They're saying BB10 was a huge mistake and BlackBerry should have gone Android in the first place.

[alimin]

Simple economics.... BB simply does not sell in the US.,... thus much of their marketing goes to emerging economies like Indonesia where BB is still popular... seeing how shoddy US carriers treat BB... not surprised BB does exclusives... especially ATT as they have a many corporate accounts... do remember... if you are a consumer... do not expect to see much in support or advertising... welcome to the wonderful world of niche markets....

I am from Indonesia and BlackBerry is dying here too. Samsung Galaxy phones and Iphones are all you can see nowadays. Sad.

Posted via CB10

[k0nnar]

But i saw infected autoloaders (cap.exe inside deployed malware) and hacked autoloaders (cap.exe inside hacked to bypass signing key checks able to flash anything onto the devices) and i never got any information about fixed security holes due to their intransparent public work with updates

cap.exe = RIM Wireless Device Command-Line Auto-Programmer. It's an internal tool used to create autoloaders (among other functions). Definitely not malware and definitely doesn't bypass any checks.

[kbz1960]

This basically makes anyone's argument that BlackBerry can just produce devices for Verizon, Sprint and US Cellular, without the carriers' support, just ignorant of the system at play. If BlackBerry could sell devices on these carriers, they would.

So why don't those carriers want to support BlackBerry? Think of had anything to do with BlackBerry not selling?

[kbz1960]

It's suprising how much BlackBerry listens...

RIM -> BlackBerry
full slab, like Android/iPhone as first BB10
direct sale of devices to customers
drop T-Mobile
Classic, ala Q10 with trackpad
...

Pkb how's that working for them? Who did they listen to about that?

[anon(9208252)]

Pkb how's that working for them? Who did they listen to about that?

The Q10 fairies.

[kbz1960]

The Q10 fairies.

The tooth fairy could probably do better lol.

[Mr Mozi]

Thorsten Heins, I miss you...

[cbvinh]

So why don't those carriers want to support BlackBerry? Think of had anything to do with BlackBerry not selling?

Can BlackBerry produce devices for these carriers without their permission?

People on these carriers want BlackBerry to produce devices for them. BlackBerry can't do it without their permission. What are they to do?

[cbvinh]

Pkb how's that working for them? Who did they listen to about that?

Quite a bunch of customers here and CEO's...

[BruceDern]

cap.exe = RIM Wireless Device Command-Line Auto-Programmer. It's an internal tool used to create autoloaders (among other functions). Definitely not malware and definitely doesn't bypass any checks.

Right, the cap.exe inside an autoloader was infected. Something hook at it and was malware. Got it after testing a extracted cap from an autoloader. Said Virus Total with 25 positive hits. I got the same versioned cap from Darcy's Tool bundled and this one was clean.

[NinjaRAT]

My 2 cents, I just upgraded to a Z30 from my Z10 that I've been using close to its inception. Of course, I'm on at&t (because of work, not choice) and had to purchase an unlocked almost new STA100-5 model, which has consistently shown 4G coverage everywhere. Win Win: I get an upgraded BB and paid half the price, including various cases and skins from the seller, and am able to take advantage of my current carrier that otherwise never backed the device without suffering performance degradation.. When I can afford it I'll look at the new slider, but for now the Z30 has that new car smell and for me a worthwhile upgrade.

And regarding the slider on Verizon, just this morning Blaize posted this article and it seems all four carriers will be getting the new device...

BlackBerry 'Venice' slider could arrive on Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon in November | CrackBerry.com

Of course things can change, but I'm not seeing a lot of merit in the OP's argument.

[ronfc]

I'm still happy with my Z30 so that's that. I don't care what BlackBerry does with their company because I'm quite sure whatever that is they're doing is for their own good. If they decided to stop making devices or move away totally from the consumer market, then so be it; that'll probably the time to start looking for Android devices. That's a better idea than crying your heart out to BlackBerry.

Cave, cave, moderator videt

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

I am from Indonesia and BlackBerry is dying here too. Samsung Galaxy phones and Iphones are all you can see nowadays. Sad.

Posted via CB10

Good example of BlackBerry losing touch.... with their market. And not being able to compete without the unique BIS Service.

I think this move to Android will be the end of BlackBerry in developing markets.

[chuck188]

Any device don't have any problem when it comes to something like this. It is on the person who has the problem. The threads made here are helpful to other people. If not to you, then maybe you could help them with their BB problems if you have an idea. There's nothing wrong with it. We are here to learn and to offer some help at the same time.

[Milan Drasko]

I am due to double typing and due to android invasion

Posted via CB10

[dwisetyoaji]

Z3 is my 1st BlackBerry. I found good at the beginning, but updating to 10.3.2 the display start to flicker. If I go to blackberry service center, the service is really bad. It takes days to weeks just for basic repair. I also found that many different BlackBerry products with different warranty, some of them are "refurbished" but the seller never tell it. I can say that some people that used BlackBerry phones before, they are disappointed regarding to the phone quality. I just hope that blackberry aware with this problem, If they want to compete with other manufacturers.

Samsung X100 - Samsung C210 - Nokia N70 - Nokia 608 - Sony Xperia J - Lumia 620 - Blackberry Z3

[NaijaBerry]

For sure I'm disappointed with BlackBerry! I'm disappointed they won't let me have the Slider now preferably full blown Android, I need to replace my Nexus 5 don't know if I can hold out till the rumoured November release.....totally disappointed!

[ikalinin]

i think realistically, most BB owners wouldnt mind Android powered BB. If it integrates the HUB and does email/ keyboard the way BB10 does, i think it would be a win win for everyone.

[glwerry]

I am a long-time BBer, just recently switching from OS7/CDMA to Classic on LTE. Wonderful experience.

Yes, more apps could be useful, although frankly I don't have the patience to page through endless applications trying to find those "killer" apps.

Short answer, no, I am not disappointed in BB, although I am disappointed in their slide.
The roots of this slide in some cases go back 5 or so years, where the OS7 devices had terrible build quality - my son and daughter-in-law both has OS7 BBs that had terrible hardware issues - in disgust they went iPhone and now won't look back.