Chen did not say anything about Mercury, just that a keyboard phone was being planned.
Given that he has to find a partner willing to take the risk for making and selling it, and the biggest market for keyboard phones is in the under $100 range, I wouldn't expect a flagship Mercury type device.
He doesn't need to find a partner willing to take risks or anything since he said it is an in house phone. We have seen a lot of leaks so since it the in house design they won't ditch their work and start all over again. Moreover there is the prototype already being used and some lucky people even saw the device. So expect nothing more and nothing less. Specs are out there (GeekBench and GFXBench). Design is told by couple of people. Personally, I am expecting a passport silver edition with a 3:2 aspect ratio display with the specs mentioned.
Nothing has changed . BlackBerry could not have afforded this much of media coverage.
In his recent Bloomberg interview Chen implied he was about to decide between partnerships with either a Chinese or Indian manufacturer. Like the Indonesian partner, their first interest would be with their own domestic market. So then maybe the best we could hope for would be a mid-range product that could be profitable in both Asian and North American markets?
He doesn't need to find a partner willing to take risks or anything since he said it is an in house phone.
Who is going to carry the inventory? If Chen carries that inventory on his books, then it has to be a very small run. Otherwise he'll have some very upset investors!
He doesn't need to find a partner willing to take risks or anything since he said it is an in house phone. We have seen a lot of leaks so since it the in house design they won't ditch their work and start all over again. Moreover there is the prototype already being used and some lucky people even saw the device. So expect nothing more and nothing less. Specs are out there (GeekBench and GFXBench). Design is told by couple of people. Personally, I am expecting a passport silver edition with a 3:2 aspect ratio display with the specs mentioned.
Nothing has changed .
Lots has changed. The Priv was the last in house device. The DTEKs are the last phones for which BlackBerry is responsible for manufacturing, distribution, sales, and support.
BlackBerry may have done preliminary work on an in-house design, but it will only be built in partnership with a manufacturer willing to take the risks on the hardware.
I'm getting pretty annoyed that everyone over at BlackBerry can't get on the same page. I posted a thread a little while ago, after watching an interview with Marty Beard, in which he was asked about a pkb phone and he said that they were going to wait to see if there was a demand, and based on that, they would decide. Then he went on to say he thinks the demand would be likely. Coming from Chen, however, it sounds like they've had a pkb phone in the works for quite some time...was Marty just trying to keep it hush? Super annoying that everyone at BlackBerry has a different answer to the same question.
On the positive side, I'm very excited to hear this news, and hope it'll be a decently spec'd phone because I'm looking to upgrade my passport. I'm actually hoping that it IS android, because it seems like that's the route I'm going to have to go anyways (to stick with a BlackBerry), and I definitely want a pkb. For me, it'll soften the blow of having to leave bb10.
Lots has changed. The Priv was the last in house device. The DTEKs are the last phones for which BlackBerry is responsible for manufacturing, distribution, sales, and support.
BlackBerry may have done preliminary work on an in-house design, but it will only be built in partnership with a manufacturer willing to take the risks on the hardware.
Chen clearly said an in house pkb phone that he promised people. He may have already wrote the inventory down at the previous earnings Call. Actually somebody pointed out in one of the posts that the inventory write down seems very big.
I think it will be a very limited batch and who knows if the demand is high the licensee to be will pick up where BlackBerry left.
Chen clearly said an in house pkb phone that he promised people. He may have already wrote the inventory down at the previous earnings Call. Actually somebody pointed out in one of the posts that the inventory write down seems very big.
I think it will be a very limited batch and who knows if the demand is high the licensee to be will pick up where BlackBerry left.
"So I got a call from one of the reporters yesterday, and they said "the BB10 diehards say they will not under any circumstances stop talking about 10.3.3". What is your comment?"
"10.3.3 just got delayed 10 months later. It's true."
I think it's great news BlackBerry will release another PKB device. IMHO the demand per se is still there, and could surely survive as a niche market. However the devices need to be right and the marketing needs to be there. Personally I'd always buy a PKB phone over anything else.
Over the past months I used either a Galaxy Note 7 or Note Edge so I got used to VKB a bit more, but it simply isn't the same experience and never will, clicking real keys will always be better for me.
Now even if some of the renders resamble the "real deal" it would be great. The keyboard could be just as good as the ones used on the Passport SE or even Classic. Combined with touch-sensitivity, the fingerprint sensor and maybe an at-least 4.5" display, I'd buy it in an instant.
I donkt even really care that much about specs anymore and if I could choose, I'd rather have an additional gig of RAM instead of a faster SoC. My Priv is performing just as I need and I sincerely hope the new device will be around the same level.
it depends on the sale, if the qwerty make profit,i confidence it will be another in house device...because bb knows there are millions die hard fans...john chen never said will stop bb10.last phone or not will be based on each quarter result..they need make profit and increase the value of stock then can focus on release bb10 device..i dont think they will stop making in house device but just slow down in releasing new model.
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I doubt it considering sales are likely to be skewed by those who simply want to own the last handset designed by BlackBerry.
To add: production is likely to capped at 300K, maybe 500K, to ensure no lingering stock.