[anon(5956773)]

I think they're just trying to make a phone for a small group of fans. I don't think they were trying to have high hopes outside of that small group.

Most people are mainstream sheep. Including many of the BlackBerry people in this forum huffing and puffing like grumpy children that the keyone isn't the best thing since whatever.

It's the same reason the classic was launched. Same reason the q10 was launched. These phones weren't meant to change or revolutionize the world. They were meant to satisfy a small group of very loyal fans.

[thurask]

They were meant to satisfy a small group of very loyal fans.

Nothing can satisfy them.

[NicolaAcoust]

For me ease of use, security, design put to common sense, a philosophy of production that doesn't try to limit the user in order to squeeze money out of him, a method of input which isn't decided by china mass producing something, give the ability to do simple tasks such as edit docs and mails efficiently, in times like this, is quite revolutionary.

Posted via CB10

[anon(5956773)]

I think BlackBerry is just trying to update the idea of keyboard phones to a very small select group of loyal fans. Over time, hopefully BlackBerry can make some money to put out the next keyboard phone.

I'm a hardcore BlackBerry user, but complaining about the company doesn't do any good. Maybe they read the forums, maybe they don't. The decisions of the company are made by its respective boards.

I get a excited when new phones come out. I don't buy them all, but it's fun to watch. If I don't like a phone, instead of whining about what BlackBerry used to be and the thousands of mistakes they supposedly made, I just return the phone.

[donnation]

It's the same reason the classic was launched. Same reason the q10 was launched. These phones weren't meant to change or revolutionize the world. They were meant to satisfy a small group of very loyal fans.

Yeah this is incorrect. You really think that BB wants the same people to buy the KEYone that purchased the Q10 or the Classic? Those two phones sales were miserable and helped lead to the death of BB10. If the same small group of people who purchased those two devices are the same ones that buy the KEYone then I wouldn't expect there to be a KEYtwo. The KEYone has to reach beyond the small group of users that purchased those other two devices or this partnership with TCL will be very short.

Like it or not, this phone is important for BB. Trying to minimize it by saying "Oh they only want a small niche of people buying this device" is ludicrous. They want a large number of people returning to a keyboard. The Crackverry crowd are already built into what TCL sees as baseline sales. They have to reach beyond that for this phone to be a success.

[anon(5956773)]

You can't have an overnight success with any phone. Even the iphone took some years to catch on. Sure, the company wants EVERYONE to buy the phone. But that won't happen.

What's realistic is they make just enough money to pay for the next phone. You don't have TCL's business plans sitting in front of you and neither do I.

It's a beautiful phone, but it's an upgrade for those keyboard users on bb10. That's it. It's not even going to convert all the bb10 people over.

That doesn't mean we can't enjoy the phone and have fun and be productive with it.

[sidtek50]

Yeah this is incorrect. You really think that BB wants the same people to buy the KEYone that purchased the Q10 or the Classic? Those two phones sales were miserable and helped lead to the death of BB10. If the same small group of people who purchased those two devices are the same ones that buy the KEYone then I wouldn't expect there to be a KEYtwo. The KEYone has to reach beyond the small group of users that purchased those other two devices or this partnership with TCL will be very short.

Like it or not, this phone is important for BB. Trying to minimize it by saying "Oh they only want a small niche of people buying this device" is ludicrous. They want a large number of people returning to a keyboard. The Crackverry crowd are already built into what TCL sees as baseline sales. They have to reach beyond that for this phone to be a success.

I agree with you.. however, please go and read all of the comments on this site:

https://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/20...on/?comments=1

Then when you're done, read the comments here:

https://forums.theregister.co.uk/for...eyone_handson/

Then go and read them on facebook or wherever you want to read them next.

No one wants a PKB anymore. They just don't. We might.... me and you. But we're 2 people. The masses don't want it and consider it overpriced.

You're right, Blackberry / TCL want this phone to save Blackberry, however, it wont. It can't. The PKB isn't coming back. Not now. Not ever. The DTEK60 was more what people want, but due to poor advertising and a bad name (DTEK) it didn't really ever get anywhere.

TCL need to improve on the DTEK60, have a fantastic marketing campaign and aim at people who own Samsungs and iPhones. Samsung and iPhone owners aren't going to magically switch to a PKB and save Blackberry / TCL.

[anon(5956773)]

So...the 3 people that want a keyboard phone are going to get them! Good news for us.

[sidtek50]

So...the 3 people that want a keyboard phone are going to get them! Good news for us.

I'm sure you'll love it. If it goes to £399 there will be 4 of us with the KEYOne ;-)

[yessuz]

I'm sure you'll love it. If it goes to £399 there will be 4 of us with the KEYOne ;-)

if it's 399 - i am buying it imediatelly. but 499? ammm... no?

hey, three, gimme it in contract :E

[anon(5956773)]

To me price doesn't matter. If I want something I'll buy it. I don't scream doom and gloom because the success of the company isn't in my interest nor am I responsible for it.

If BlackBerry keeps making keyboards phones, I'll keep buying them. If they stop, I'll stick with what I have.

I don't need to rant and complain about the decisions they make. Now, OTHER people on the boards feel the need to vent like they're debating on CNN. That's just funny to read.

[ominaxe]

TCL need to improve on the DTEK60, have a fantastic marketing campaign and aim at people who own Samsungs and iPhones. Samsung and iPhone owners aren't going to magically switch to a PKB and save Blackberry / TCL.

I love BlackBerry, but if I went touch, I would never buy a DTEK60. It's one of the most boring phones I've ever seen. Just a drop in the sea of sameness.

[Jaalouro]

I think they're just trying to make a phone for a small group of fans. I don't think they were trying to have high hopes outside of that small group.

Most people are mainstream sheep. Including many of the BlackBerry people in this forum huffing and puffing like grumpy children that the keyone isn't the best thing since whatever.

It's the same reason the classic was launched. Same reason the q10 was launched. These phones weren't meant to change or revolutionize the world. They were meant to satisfy a small group of very loyal fans.

^ what you said and in addition to that some are paid trolls to bash any BlackBerry product, even if it isn't released yet!

Passport/CB10 on Bell

[anon(5956773)]

I don't have any proof of that, but we can speculate!

I think these haters are the same kinds of people who bash their grandparents for having flip phones. Or no cell phone at all!

[Karan Riar]

I think BlackBerry is just trying to update the idea of keyboard phones to a very small select group of loyal fans. Over time, hopefully BlackBerry can make some money to put out the next keyboard phone.

Did you forgot about dtek50,60,the all touch designed for the Indonesian market? When nothing's working for you,everything you do looks a mess,that's blackberry's situation right now. They release an all touch people want a pkb phone,they release awesome device like dtek60,people start missing the keyboard. WoW.



Babbu Maan fan club.

[NicolaAcoust]

Sidtek50, I stopped by and read those comments at arstechnica. It was all 'wow, are they insane? Ridiculous, wow such a gross processor.'

What are they talking about!? What do they do with their phones? What is the extra 'edge' they have? What is the extra mile, the extra value they find on their phones to talk in such a way? Or is it the usual 'I bought this set of specs for so many dollars' kind of speech?

'I bet this phone is for the kind of people who doesn't care if Netflix streams correctly' one said. What on earth are this people saying... Netflix works on a smart tv for Christ's sake! It streams correctly on a 2x 256mb of RAM PS3!! And streams correctly on a 3GB Passport on a non native OS.

The specs discussion is particularly interesting for the competition of BlackBerry, since it seems it's the only thing they can sell... if people 'don't want a pkb anymore' is because they've been conditioned to do so. We won't preach on the virtues of dedicated hardware to writing, but that sentence alone explains it all. It's a bunch of buttons set for the only purpose of text input, there is no contest or discussion about its convenience. The touchscreen came as a novelty ending up as way too successful, but people is also getting tired of not being able to write. And it will get tired of not being able to express themselves and will get tired of watching language die.

I'm not saying that BlackBerry is on a crusade against bad tech driven idiocy, buy has an idiosyncrasy and people has to tally their own desires against such ideas sometime... but then again, the bashing on the KeyOne isn't totally unjustified, since they are complaining mostly about the price, which is still $50 below a newest iPhone.

Posted via CB10

[warrigal]

These discussions have been reminding me of the station wagon discussions seen on certain car enthusiast forums/blogs. Station wagons have a dwindling but hard core following of devoted fanatics willing to pay a premium for a station wagon as compared to an equally specced sedan or crossover. I know this because I am one of these station wagon freaks (I have two in my driveway - one a manual transmission, which is another form of unicorn...).

While most people can live without PKBs and wagons, there's a small group for whom nothing else will do. I am so grateful that there are manufacturers willing to cater to these niche groups of enthusiasts, even if there's not a volume sales number in it for them, and even if consumers will always have some gripes simply because of the lack of choice in either arena. I dread the day that PKBs and wagons are truly extinct, so I'll put my money where my mouth is in the meantime. #EndMusings

[murphy_thom]

I think they're just trying to make a phone for a small group of fans. I don't think they were trying to have high hopes outside of that small group.

Most people are mainstream sheep. Including many of the BlackBerry people in this forum huffing and puffing like grumpy children that the keyone isn't the best thing since whatever.

It's the same reason the classic was launched. Same reason the q10 was launched. These phones weren't meant to change or revolutionize the world. They were meant to satisfy a small group of very loyal fans.

Agree 100%. Well written

Posted via CB10

[HabsSuck]

Yeah this is incorrect. You really think that BB wants the same people to buy the KEYone that purchased the Q10 or the Classic? Those two phones sales were miserable and helped lead to the death of BB10. If the same small group of people who purchased those two devices are the same ones that buy the KEYone then I wouldn't expect there to be a KEYtwo. The KEYone has to reach beyond the small group of users that purchased those other two devices or this partnership with TCL will be very short.

Like it or not, this phone is important for BB. Trying to minimize it by saying "Oh they only want a small niche of people buying this device" is ludicrous. They want a large number of people returning to a keyboard. The Crackverry crowd are already built into what TCL sees as baseline sales. They have to reach beyond that for this phone to be a success.

Q10 and Classic sales were disappointing but that was largely due to a poor app catalogue and poor brand image
The app gap is gone but the poor brand image still persist if TCL does not pump in marketing money and get carriers on side then the KEYone will suffer the same fate even though it will likely be leap years ahead of the Q10 and Classic. Don't get me wrong I loved the BB10 OS but the lacks of apps made the device 50% useful they now have a device in the KEYone that can compete with any device on the market.
The success or failure is up to TCL, I wish them luck

[Barbareren]

These discussions have been reminding me of the station wagon discussions seen on certain car enthusiast forums/blogs. Station wagons have a dwindling but hard core following of devoted fanatics willing to pay a premium for a station wagon as compared to an equally specced sedan or crossover. I know this because I am one of these station wagon freaks (I have two in my driveway - one a manual transmission, which is another form of unicorn...).

While most people can live without PKBs and wagons, there's a small group for whom nothing else will do. I am so grateful that there are manufacturers willing to cater to these niche groups of enthusiasts, even if there's not a volume sales number in it for them, and even if consumers will always have some gripes simply because of the lack of choice in either arena. I dread the day that PKBs and wagons are truly extinct, so I'll put my money where my mouth is in the meantime. #EndMusings

As a Scandinavian it is funny for me to see that the Americas consider station wagons niche, hehe. In Norway, where I'm from, you will hardly see a sedan these days, only station wagons and SUVs. It's been a while since I've been to Denmark, but I can safely say that station wagons are by far the most common car type amongst Norwegians and Swedes. Sedans have been 'extinct' there for... I don't know how many years... I had a Nissan Bluebird sedan in the late nineties/early 2000s, oh and also a Chrystler Neon (made in Europe) sedan about 10 years ago, but even then station wagons were more popular... So, I guess it's also a cultural/geographical thing. However, when it comes to PKB smartphones, yeah they are basically extinct there too

[warrigal]

As a Scandinavian it is funny for me to see that the Americas consider station wagons niche, hehe. In Norway, where I'm from, you will hardly see a sedan these days, only station wagons and SUVs. It's been a while since I've been to Denmark, but I can safely say that station wagons are by far the most common car type amongst Norwegians and Swedes. Sedans have been 'extinct' there for... I don't know how many years... I had a Nissan Bluebird sedan in the late nineties/early 2000s, oh and also a Chrystler Neon (made in Europe) sedan about 10 years ago, but even then station wagons were more popular... So, I guess it's also a cultural/geographical thing. However, when it comes to PKB smartphones, yeah they are basically extinct there too

Yes, I should have specified that wagons are a rare beast in North America, and that we wagon enthusiasts are insanely envious of all the various makes and models of wagons that you Europeans get to choose from every year (including diesels and manual transmissions to complete the holy trinity)!

But yes, the PKB is endangered globally. Whether the PKB phones are made for a hard core small base of enthusiasts, or whether there's potential to grow the segment that uses them, I'm glad they're still around. That said, I talk about myself as if I'm a PKB "enthusiast" but I really only discovered the BB-Android union (Priv) in the last few weeks, though I've been whining about VKB-only phones for a while. How could marketing having gotten my attention sooner, I wonder?

[Barbareren]

Yes, I should have specified that wagons are a rare beast in North America, and that we wagon enthusiasts are insanely envious of all the various makes and models of wagons that you Europeans get to choose from every year (including diesels and manual transmissions to complete the holy trinity)!

Hehe, yeah. A manual transmission is also more common in Europe. Personally I prefer automatic, though. The last car I had before leaving Norway was a 2002 A6 diesel station wagon with a V6 engine. I prefer buying second hand, older luxury models to a cheap new car. Her in México I also got an old(ish) A6 Elite version with all the trimmings, but it's a sedan (station wagons are really hard to come by down here as well). I guess we all have our personal preferences, hehe

[Sorry for going off-topic]

[southlander]

It's the same reason the classic was launched. Same reason the q10 was launched. These phones weren't meant to change or revolutionize the world. They were meant to satisfy a small group of very loyal fans.

I remember things differently. I remember Thorsten Heins predicting a possible 10s of millions of units sold with the Q10. This was after the Z10 had more or less failed. It was pitched as like "we wanted to release the qwerty BB at first but more optimizations had to be done for the physical kb in BB 10". The Q10 was predicted as a possible huge seller.