[KNEBB]

Someone mentioned something on the forum I hadn't thought of and I wondered if it's verified. It was said that the Mercury is going to be a Mid-Range smartphone, not a Flagship device in reference to specs. It left me scratching my head, if this is true.
With the rumors of this being possibly one of the last BlackBerry Smart phones, and with the talk of improvements to the Camera,Operating System functionality and Form-factor (including a PKB with Fingerprint Scanner), why not try to be the complete Quintessential Blackberry Device, especially if this is one of the last attempts to get it right.
Why leave room for unnecessary criticism or reasons not to consider a great device concept?

A BlackBerry Fan!!!

[brookie229]

Why leave room for unnecessary criticism?

There is ALWAYS room for unnecessary criticism.

[KNEBB]

Yes, and there's always room for Jell-O, but too much of anything, will kill you...

A BlackBerry Fan!!!

[falbo]

No it won't satisfy all blackberry users as that's a tall order even for a tall phone

[early2bed]

So, Blackberry smartphones have been losing money for years so why don't we load it up the last ones with expensive components so that we can be sure to lose even more? When your customers aren't buying your devices do you make them more expensive to see if that works? Most products go out with a whimper, not a bang.

There is a certain price range that a smartphone brand can sell in. The top pricing tier belongs to iPhone. Apple's job is to try to come up with new or enhanced features to delight their customers and continue to justify that premium.

BlackBerry belongs in the middle pricing tier. Their job is to come up with a set of features that will satisfy people who buy BlackBerries. That's why the fingerprint scanner just was included - because it's not expected of mid-range phones.

[itsyaboy]

I probably will be very good for me!

Posted via CB10

[2 TONES]

So, Blackberry smartphones have been losing money for years so why don't we load it up the last ones with expensive components so that we can be sure to lose even more? When your customers aren't buying your devices do you make them more expensive to see if that works? Most products go out with a whimper, not a bang.

There is a certain price range that a smartphone brand can sell in. The top pricing tier belongs to iPhone. Apple's job is to try to come up with new or enhanced features to delight their customers and continue to justify that premium.

BlackBerry belongs in the middle pricing tier. Their job is to come up with a set of features that will satisfy people who buy BlackBerries. That's why the fingerprint scanner just was included - because it's not expected of mid-range phones.

Agreed. Im an iphone user, ive had android before but my latest blackberry was the q10. I think blackberry (and many other brands) are not in a position to ask 600+ dollars for a phone because people will think 1) is blackberry not dead yet? and 2) if it's 600+ dollars i'd rather go for an iphone or a samsung. I think many other brands are just having difficulties selling their devices for 600+ dollars.

If the merc is gonna cost more than 600, i will probably wait until it drops in price or not buy it at all if the reviews aren't good.

[thurask]

No it won't satisfy all blackberry users as that's a tall order even for a tall phone

Doing so is physically impossible, and that's part of why they're in the mess they're in.

[ominaxe]

As they say in that Different Strokes song, 'what might be quintessential for you, might not be quintessential for some.'

[Nguyen1]

Hey, question. If I want an android phone with pkb, at least 3g, and at least marshmallow, but I don't want a mercury or priv, what phone is third best then? Do any exist?

The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate.

[whatsever]

The Mercury will be a lead in serie as flagship, so just above midprice. That is what they are aiming for and must say it's a good choice and also the battery size, chipset and screen size will be give users a good standbye time and if the camera is really the Sony. O boy this device is good enough for all users and expecting price will be around 400 dollar if I may believe those webpages from India I quess it will be just under the 500 dollar (479)

[Resilience]

Hey, question. If I want an android phone with pkb, at least 3g, and at least marshmallow, but I don't want a mercury or priv, what phone is third best then? Do any exist?

The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate.

None

[KNEBB]

So, Blackberry smartphones have been losing money for years so why don't we load it up the last ones with expensive components so that we can be sure to lose even more? When your customers aren't buying your devices do you make them more expensive to see if that works? Most products go out with a whimper, not a bang.

There is a certain price range that a smartphone brand can sell in. The top pricing tier belongs to iPhone. Apple's job is to try to come up with new or enhanced features to delight their customers and continue to justify that premium.

BlackBerry belongs in the middle pricing tier. Their job is to come up with a set of features that will satisfy people who buy BlackBerries. That's why the fingerprint scanner just was included - because it's not expected of mid-range phones.

Okay, let's examine your statement. Is the assumption that smartphones have to cost as much as they do. Or that there's a ton a new innovation associated with the Mercury's design where R&D has to be recuperated immediately to justify a price like that of an IPhone or the Galaxy.

Well, we do know that the names associated with those other devices help to justify their price. But since BlackBerry no longer has the strength of their former name recognition, perhaps it's time put out a unit that offers more for less than the competition does, to catch the consumers eye similar to what Alcatel, OnePlus and others have done.
Because in the past as you mentioned, other BlackBerrys haven't seem to be competitively priced for the consumer to be willing to pay for those devices over the competition. But historically, once they go on sale (as with the Passport, Z30, Classic, the Priv, Dtek50 and soon the Dtek60) unit sales increase.
But also like the Passport, Z30, Classic, the Priv, and the Dtek's; there's always an excuse why (whether an unusual Form-factor, lack of competitive features or complaints of being underpowered for the price) they fall short of "initial" sales expectations. But they do sell, as the Passport is still doing (even though it's OS is coming to an end).
So why not eliminate the traditional reasons not to consider a great BlackBerry device, giving it a better chance to sell?

A BlackBerry Fan!!!

[darkbull]

I understand your point. But actually, by all means, this might very well be the perfect BlackBerry. For me (and I believe, for a lot of other people) a Blackberry means Great Battery life. I personally don't care about the CPU inside as long as it's smooth. What I Care more is the Battery life and ergonomy of use. At the end of the day, when all the Android or Iphone fanboys already had to plug their phone twice. We'll be running high, without loosing time or carrying extra power packs

[si001]

Bigger screen, physical KB, all the apps..It will be a great phone and I'm sure it will sell well.

But I can see 2 reasons why people here will complain.
1)not running bb10
2)if it's not top spec

[JAS0NB0URNE]

Someone mentioned something on the forum I hadn't thought of and I wondered if it's verified. It was said that the Mercury is going to be a Mid-Range smartphone, not a Flagship device in reference to specs. It left me scratching my head, if this is true.
With the rumors of this being possibly one of the last BlackBerry Smart phones, and with the talk of improvements to the Camera,Operating System functionality and Form-factor (including a PKB with Fingerprint Scanner), why not try to be the complete Quintessential Blackberry Device, especially if this is one of the last attempts to get it right.
Why leave room for unnecessary criticism or reasons not to consider a great device concept?

A BlackBerry Fan!!!

Simple answer is, a key part of failure of BlackBerry 10 is they priced themselves out of the market. Phones must be priced to entice more than just the hardcore BlackBerry fan.

Posted with my  Classic

[kcdberry]

Because people will never be pleased, especially with BlackBerry devices.. I myself get annoyed sometimes when I need to snap a good picture with my Passport and it ends up not focusing (usually on up-close objects).

Posted via CB10

[2 TONES]

Okay, let's examine your statement. Is the assumption that smartphones have to cost as much as they do. Or that there's a ton a new innovation associated with the Mercury's design where R&D has to be recuperated immediately to justify a price like that of an IPhone or the Galaxy.

Well, we do know that the names associated with those other devices help to justify their price. But since BlackBerry no longer has the strength of their former name recognition, perhaps it's time put out a unit that offers more for less than the competition does, to catch the consumers eye similar to what Alcatel, OnePlus and others have done.
Because in the past as you mentioned other BlackBerrys haven't seem to be competitively priced for the consumer to be willing to pay for those devices over the competition. But historically, once they go on sale (as with the Passport, Z30, Classic, the Priv, Dtek50 and soon the Dtek60) unit sales increase.
But also like the Passport, Z30, Classic, the Priv, and the Dtek's; there's always an excuse why (whether an usual Form-factor, lack of competitive features or complaints of being underpowered for the price) they fall short of "initial" sales expectations. But they do sell, as the Passport is still doing (even though it's OS is coming to an end).
So why not eliminate the traditional reasons not to consider a great BlackBerry device, giving it a better chance to sell?

A BlackBerry Fan!!!

+10

[early2bed]

Okay, let's examine your statement. Is the assumption that smartphones have to cost as much as they do. Or that there's a ton a new innovation associated with the Mercury's design where R&D has to be recuperated immediately to justify a price like that of an IPhone or the Galaxy.

There is a very simple answer to this question - R&D costs a lot more per unit if you sell 200,000 units than if you sell 20 million. Not to mention that fact that if you're the 20 million unit buyer then you get first (and sometimes all of the) dibs on whatever technology you want. Marketing costs also are influenced by the same economy of scale issue.

It's not about recouping these costs immediately - it's about recouping these costs ever. All indications are that the Passport is a one-and-done device so whatever marketing and R&D went into it has to be spread over a couple million handsets in order to not be a money-loser. And, one thing that John Chen promised that he wasn't going to lose money on smartphones. Hence the pricing.

BlackBerry smartphones actually cost more to develop, distribute, market , and everything else on a per-unit basis than Apple's or Samsung's. If you're going to charge less then the competition then you're going to need to use much less expensive components.

[KNEBB]

I understand your point. But actually, by all means, this might very well be the perfect BlackBerry. For me (and I believe, for a lot of other people) a Blackberry means Great Battery life. I personally don't care about the CPU inside as long as it's smooth. What I Care more is the Battery life and ergonomy of use. At the end of the day, when all the Android or Iphone fanboys already had to plug their phone twice. We'll be running high, without loosing time or carrying extra power packs

But what's to say BlackBerrys couldn't possess great battery life and a superior CPU at a reasonable price point. And become a Game Changer once again. It's possible it's not Mr. Chen goal, but it's not to say it's not Viable .

A BlackBerry Fan!!!

[KNEBB]

There is a very simple answer to this question - R&D costs a lot more per unit if you sell 200,000 units than if you sell 20 million. Not to mention that fact that if you're the 20 million unit buyer then you get first (and sometimes all of the) dibs on whatever technology you want. Marketing costs also are influenced by the same economy of scale issue.

It's not about recouping these costs immediately - it's about recouping these costs ever. All indications are that the Passport is a one-and-done device so whatever marketing and R&D went into it has to be spread over a couple million handsets in order to not be a money-loser. And, one thing that John Chen promised that he wasn't going to lose money on smartphones. Hence the pricing.

BlackBerry smartphones actually cost more to develop, distribute, market , and everything else on a per-unit basis than Apple's or Samsung's. If you're going to charge less then the competition then you're going to need to use much less expensive components.

Good points, that's why I was wondering is there any significant R&D invested in the Mercury design or has it been adapted from previous BlackBerry series. Is it's keyboard new technology or an adaptation of the Passport, Classic or the Priv PKB design, which would reduce any R&D cost.
Is the Dtek technology similar to the Dtek50 and 60, because again you're spreading the cost of the R&D over a series of devices.
And since BlackBerry,no longer is shouldering the total cost of manufacturing, that cost structure has changed.

So being that a lot of the traditional cost factors have been adjusted, which theoretically could be use to effect the asking price. Which could effectively sell more initial units, distributing out the cost per unit farther.

A BlackBerry Fan!!!

[early2bed]

The cost structure has changed in that there are now two companies that need to make a profit on these handsets - BlackBerry and TCL.

As far as spreading out R&D costs, if you look at the BlackBerry portfolio you see a mix of slabs, PKV, VKB, hybrid PKB/VKB, squares, rectangles, sliders, fingerprint reader, etc. Not to mention two completely different operating systems and different manufacturers and models for different regions. Apple and Samsung also have tablets to spread out a lot of their R&D. BlackBerry is at a significant R&D disadvantage because they have been floundering around with no consistent hardware strategy.

Throwing tens of millions of smartphones out there and hoping that they sell is what cost the previous BlackBerry CEO his job. Smartphones have to be ordered many months in advance so you can't just hope they sell. You have to do focus groups and test different price points and pretty much know what you can charge and how many you can sell.

My point is that BlackBerry has been told what features it can afford, what they can charge for their handsets, and roughly how many they can expect to sell. That's the main reason why the hardware program has lasted this long despite the BB10 disaster.

[stlabrat]

I believe BB main target is corp IT business (CTO), who need to provide justification for phone that priced correctly. If it is mass purchace, the CTO/CIO will need to provide 3 compatitive bid to justify the selection of BB (easy for a kb phone and security) in terms of price, function, volume, support, and of course, security and net work efficiency - if the corp use data sharing. You really can not have a over the top Jewel phone... with justification, "impress my girl friend, play game, stream movie, gamming, etc." go over board with latest processor - without proven reliability is killer for not to be selected - risk mitigation matrix for unknown is infinite... (insurance killer... too).

[mutigbeere]

I also believe they should target mainstream and get the numbers up. Having something that sells in good numbers would create good press and good media coverage.

[tnewton3]

When I see CrackBerry Kevin post that playing with this phone "brings back the warm and fuzzies he used to get in the good ol days of BlackBerry" I'm thinking this device has a chance. Let's hope for a decent marketing campaign so that when we show the Mercury off we at least have a few people who know BlackBerry was never dead and is continuing on in the business. Through TCL of course.