[conite]

other manufacturers are doing it.. theres NO reason why TCL couldn't.. see this is the issue, we all think a premium device has to be $1000+ USD when other OEM's like Oppo, Xiaomi are proving otherwise.. You can pick up a Xiaomi Mi 9T pro 6gb, 64GB for $450 canadian.. imported, with premium-device specs. So, how much does that PKB REAALLLLYYYY cost? c'mon.

Economies of scale for crying out loud.

Xiaomi will sell many many millions of Mi 9T devices. TCL would sell 100-500k of your thought device - and pay licencing fees on top of that.

[Chuck Finley69]

Economies of scale for crying out loud.

Xiaomi will sell many many millions of Mi 9T devices. TCL would sell 100-500k of your thought device - and pay licencing fees on top of that.

I’d lay odds 100k would be a reach based on the BB licensing volume so far.

[krzyabn]

Economies of scale for crying out loud.

Xiaomi will sell many many millions of Mi 9T devices. TCL would sell 100-500k of your thought device - and pay licencing fees on top of that.

price a product right, manufacture 500k and if it's a decent enough product it WILL make waves and sell, especially in the N/ america market. Only a million K20 Pro's were sold, yet they're dirt cheap.. no reason why TCL can't follow suite. I don't know the economics of manufacturing but know some people in high places, and even they say it's possible.. TCL is just not wanting to take the risk, which is understandable but if the product is good.. and priced well, it WILL move units.

[conite]

price a product right, manufacture 500k and if it's a decent enough product it WILL make waves and sell, especially in the N/ america market. Only a million K20 Pro's were sold, yet they're dirt cheap.. no reason why TCL can't follow suite. I don't know the economics of manufacturing but know some people in high places, and even they say it's possible.. TCL is just not wanting to take the risk, which is understandable but if the product is good.. and priced well, it WILL move units.

The caveat with BlackBerry Mobile is that the potential market is exceptional small. There is no room to grow beyond (what they had at least hoped for at the start) a sustainable base of physical keyboard fans.

[Bbnivende]

Your analogy makes me think of In-N-Out the burger place. They somehow have found the mother lode of a cult following. One just opened about a mile from where I live. It is the only one this far north and something like 250 miles from the closest one. Unbelievable traffic jams and hoards of people are driving from miles and miles away to eat there. And there are plenty of other burger places in the area. People are waiting 3 hours. The city had to set up special traffic coordinators. This is the magic of a product that is probably not better than the others but found the secret hype ingredient. That is the way the burger joint you describe can make it. Otherwise, Nancy jo's burgers across town probably has better burgers. They don't have as many sales, but their parking lot is full of people who don't have 3 hours to wait for the hyped product. Sadly, BlackBerry devices don't have the marketing mo-jo they once possessed. Maybe someday in my dreams.

Actually In n Out is pretty good. Just not wait in line three hours good.

“In-N-Out is not your typical fast food restaurant that the meat patties taste like microwaved cardboard. Their patties are free of additives, fillers, and preservatives of any kind.

But it’s just not the meat. The lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese are all fresh, too. I almost forgot the fries! Where most fries come straight out of a bag, In-N-Out cuts their fries at the store one potato at a time. “

[bb10adopter111]

price a product right, manufacture 500k and if it's a decent enough product it WILL make waves and sell, especially in the N/ america market. Only a million K20 Pro's were sold, yet they're dirt cheap.. no reason why TCL can't follow suite. I don't know the economics of manufacturing but know some people in high places, and even they say it's possible.. TCL is just not wanting to take the risk, which is understandable but if the product is good.. and priced well, it WILL move units.

But, if selling 500K results in a net loss of $100 per device, that's a $50,000,000 mistake. It's better to invest that $50M in a venture with a higher potential for profit.

From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.

[iMasterus7]

Nice thread, and I believe that I could add my abstract thoughts.
I have been thinking to get an Android budget phone for the last month as an option B for my BlackBerry 10 smartphones. Recently I came across to Xiaomi Mi A3 smartphone (Blue) with Android One version and bought it for 165 euro. Received it yesterday. I liked the design and specs for that price. However, after "playing" with it for 2-3 hours I realized that I don't like this "full touch" form-factor any more. Typing was not that convenient for me on virtual keyboard. Maybe I didn't like the taller display design. I guess that I am used to squared form-factor of the display.

I don't like the whole story of outdated OS on BlackBerry Android smartphones, especially in the light of the recent TCL intrusive adware. However, with that being said, I do now understand those who still buy BlackBerry Android PKB devices, since it is all about that unique BlackBerry physical keyboard experience, which you can't find on other мodern smartphones these days.
So, long story short: long live BlackBerry PKB smartphones

Posted via BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition