[FirstBerry101]

Remeber the Passport leaked with snapdragon 800 but launched with the 801. I take spec rumors as rumors.

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[DrBoomBotz]

But don't abandon the faithful BlackBerry loyalists that have stuck around to keep the company above water!!

But the faithful Blackberry loyalists didn't keep Blackberry above water.

[tufcustomer]

Hey you guys

Will those phone be able to make calls and send text messages?

I greatly fear that the six CPU cores, 8GB of RAM and the enormous screen will not be enough to do things like make and receive calls and send and receive emails.

Thanx

Nope you need at least 16GB of RAM and a Deca Core processor. Why do you expect so much out of your phones? SMH.

Posted via CB10

[gillaz]

I totally agree. Too many issues with this strategy.

1. If security is so important then most BB fans wont buy this. That's presuming the phone comes with Google services. However this could be balanced out by ex BB users on Android changing back.
2. Sliders were never successful.
3. I dont know how much this phone is aimed at consumers. Maybe current or ex BB fans. Simply because they wont be able to compete on price. Android is known for high specs and low price. BB cant compete in that area

[anon(3732391)]

I had a moment of reality once and it scared the heck outa me!

[tufcustomer]

I totally agree. Too many issues with this strategy.

1. If security is so important then most BB fans wont buy this. That's presuming the phone comes with Google services. However this could be balanced out by ex BB users on Android changing back.
2. Sliders were never successful.
3. I dont know how much this phone is aimed at consumers. Maybe current or ex BB fans. Simply because they wont be able to compete on price. Android is known for high specs and low price. BB cant compete in that area

See my beef with this so called desire for security is that many who claim to need it so badly use social networks. How can you realistically be concerned for security of your personal data if you have it on a public domain in which you don't even know who has access to it?

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[mathking606]

The torch put BlackBerry in a coffin, I think the slider will be the nail to end it all

The torch had outdated specs, many issues with its hardware, and was running BB7. The fact that you would even compare the two devices is laughable.

[mathking606]

For everybody demanding the device to be skinned like BlackBerry 10 please remember the slider is not being developed for you. BlackBerry needs to attract new users.

[anon(9353145)]

Like to see:

1. Good specs, but don't have to be cutting edge like the latest Asian market produced Android device for less than $400. I'm happy to pay less, but it isn't a deal breaker - and I don't expect BlackBerry to be able to source the latest specs given their market position. Specs don't matter as much since Android has improved since Project Butter (not all the way there, but better).
2. BB10 Quick Settings would be nice. Android's Quick Settings are good (better than iOS), but not as good as BB10's.
3. Touchpad physical keyboard. This has to be part of the device, and they're nuts if they don't include it.
4. Actions / Shortcuts for PKB. Be curious to see if they can implement this 'across the board' for Android apps.
5. Swipe up predictions on letters for VKB.
6. The Hub obviously, ha. Although likely to be an app on Android.
7. Contacts 'Activity' History a la BB10.
8. Meeting Mode.
9. Growing numbers on Calendar based on planned events.
10. Stereo Speakers with whatever BB voice codec patent they use for speakerphone audio. Superb.
11. A firm commitment to upgrade to Android Marshmallow with selective (granular) app permissions!

If they release a BB10 version as well, not sure what I'll do as I'm not as dependent on third party apps on any platform. But definitely curious to see what they can do with skinning Android.

[BlackberryFan777]

Realistically speaking my current expectations are that it won't have a BB10 skin. It's going to be a well equipped device hardware wise running stock Android enhanced with the BlackBerry productivity suite. Nothing more nothing less. While the skin (to have some differentiation) is something I was hoping for it won't be a deal breaker for me.

Posted via CB10

That may be a good thing. Custom Android ROMS and themes are often not-performant. In the Android community, there's a sizeable majority who believe stock is pretty much always better.

I'm still holding out hope that Android is running in a hypervisor with Google Play Services and that there's a unity mode. I'm also hoping for substantial, visionary improvements to BB10, kind of what we'd expect from the Mike L and Thor roadmap. That may not be realistic and several people have said that Jolla Sailfish will become the platform that I want to use, but I'm still hoping.

Posted via CB10

[BlackberryFan777]

But the faithful Blackberry loyalists didn't keep Blackberry above water.

Not really true. BlackBerry didn't convert it's user base to BB10 the way the market would have like to see, but sales were not as bad under Thor as they have been under Chen, and still they amount to something around 40% of the company's revenues. Almost all those sales are BlackBerry consumers, aka the BlackBerry faithful. OnePlus is the darling of the tech media and OnePlus fans purchased fewer phones than BlackBerry fans last year. It's just that BlackBerry is a very large and terribly mismanaged company.

There's really no reason other than the keyboard for an Android user to buy the slider as rumored. Specs aren't as good as other Android devices.

Posted via CB10

[DrBoomBotz]

Not really true. BlackBerry didn't convert it's user base to BB10 the way the market would have like to see, but sales were not as bad under Thor as they have been under Chen, and still they amount to something around 40% of the company's revenues. Almost all those sales are BlackBerry consumers, aka the BlackBerry faithful. OnePlus is the darling of the tech media and OnePlus fans purchased fewer phones than BlackBerry fans last year. It's just that BlackBerry is a very large and terribly mismanaged company.

There's really no reason other than the keyboard for an Android user to buy the slider as rumored. Specs aren't as good as other Android devices.

Posted via CB10

Hardware division has been losing money for years.
I don't know what you are on about.

[dc2000]

Any chance we'll see something shown at IFA? Considering if they're launching it in November(still feel as if that's late, Aug/Sept is the best timeframe imo to compete with Samsung/Apple even though it would compete - but could steal a small % of marketshare back)

[MC_A_DOT]

The torch put BlackBerry in a coffin, I think the slider will be the nail to end it all

I had the torch...I thought that phone was amazing until it started crapping out on me.

[wilber1]

Had a 9810 little heavy keyboard was small an hard to type on .Liked it but it was buggey as hell had to put it down .

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Any chance we'll see something shown at IFA? Considering if they're launching it in November(still feel as if that's late, Aug/Sept is the best timeframe imo to compete with Samsung/Apple even though it would compete - but could steal a small % of marketshare back)

Compete with Samsung & Apple?

The OP said "let's talk reality".... we are so far down the list of manufacturers building Android phones... will be lucky to be mentioned with Vivo, Alcatel, Coolpad. And they all sell over 10 Million units a quarter.


This is about survival... and nothing more.

[ubizmo]

For everybody demanding the device to be skinned like BlackBerry 10 please remember the slider is not being developed for you. BlackBerry needs to attract new users.

It's not clear how they can expect to do that if they're offering something indistinguishable from what's out there. I realize that there are many Android purists who prefer stock/Nexus Android over Touchwiz, Sense, or other skins. Even so, most of the normal operations are the same on all of them. They mainly differ when you start drilling down into customization options, such as transitions, app drawer layouts, settings, and so on.

If BlackBerry goes with that approach, the UI will be familiar to any Android user, but also not especially interesting. If they are able to bring the Hub to Android, not as an app you tap to use but activated by a gesture from anywhere, that will be a true OS differentiator. We can't assume that people won't be interested because they weren't interested in BB10, because we have no reason to think it was the BB10 UI that put them off.

Yes, the drawback to the "thick skin"/custom ROM approach is that when Android is updated, there will be a lengthy delay getting the update to BlackBerrys. Nobody will like that. They don't like it when Samsung does it either, but people still buy Samsungs. Personally, I think the delayed update is a lesser downside than an OS that is indistinguishable from others.

In addition, if actual BlackBerry Android devices provide a more polished, integrated experience than the Experience Suite running on other Android devices, this provides some incentive for those who come to appreciate the Experience Suite to eventually move to BlackBerry hardware.

[chuck188]

It would be wonderful if it is waterproof and has a higher level of security. Good camera is also one aspect for it.

[Blacklatino]

The torch put BlackBerry in a coffin, I think the slider will be the nail to end it all

Problem is the latter Legacy OS devices were thrown at the market, and as always paired down from what "could have been" and always delayed......after months and months of hype. Ok, instead of moving forward with fresh ideas (Research In Motion), we got refreshes focusing on dollar signs. No other device has sold like the Curve series for BlackBerry and probably never will. The insult to injury. While we were waiting (for years and multiple name changes) for the 9900 to drop, the 9810 was literally dropped on the market by BlackBerry with a "take it or leave it" attitude. Some of us bought it after buying the 9800, most didn't buy it.....and left for other platforms. They never dreamed that the "late-to-market" Z10.....would tank. Go figure. At this point, I'm still undecided about getting a Slider and I've wanted another one for years now. I still want a FT. So, no, the Torch series didn't help the down slide, but, there were a lot of decisions made "prior to" their release that BlackBerry is still trying to climb out of a hole on a slippery slope......to exist. No bitterness here- never.......just keeping my money in my pocket. Besides, I've always looked past the hype- especially when we've heard about what is coming for many months, then oops! A delay, or two.

[Sequester#WN]

As long as I have the Hub and a physical keyboard I would easily switch to an Android version with the benefit to run all Android apps on a high end device.

And I would hope that there is an update to run Android on my passport as well. I am OS agnostic, I do only care about user experience. So, I would happily switch back to Android after some 30 months of using BlackBerry OS 10.

Posted via CB10

[ToniCipriani]

Nope you need at least 16GB of RAM and a Deca Core processor. Why do you expect so much out of your phones? SMH.

Posted via CB10

Dual Xeon or bust.

[Madhuchandran]

The torch had outdated specs, many issues with its hardware, and was running BB7. The fact that you would even compare the two devices is laughable.

Torch ran BlackBerry OS 6.

Posted via CB10

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Problem is the latter Legacy OS devices were thrown at the market, and as always paired down from what "could have been" and always delayed......after months and months of hype. Ok, instead of moving forward with fresh ideas (Research In Motion), we got refreshes focusing on dollar signs. No other device has sold like the Curve series for BlackBerry and probably never will. The insult to injury. While we were waiting (for years and multiple name changes) for the 9900 to drop, the 9810 was literally dropped on the market by BlackBerry with a "take it or leave it" attitude. Some of us bought it after buying the 9800, most didn't buy it.....and left for other platforms. They never dreamed that the "late-to-market" Z10.....would tank. Go figure. At this point, I'm still undecided about getting a Slider and I've wanted another one for years now. I still want a FT. So, no, the Torch series didn't help the down slide, but, there were a lot of decisions made "prior to" their release that BlackBerry is still trying to climb out of a hole on a slippery slope......to exist. No bitterness here- never.......just keeping my money in my pocket. Besides, I've always looked past the hype- especially when we've heard about what is coming for many months, then oops! A delay, or two.

Sadly I think what drove the Curve to be a success (price) is what pushed BlackBerry to go cheap on the Classic and LEAP. But the market has changed and so has the enterprise customer. Over and over here we have seen people say they had a choice between full Flagship devices at their company. Most of the company issued phones I've seen a the latest iPhones.... I don't think price is the driving factor it was when the Curve was a success.

I think it is best to wait and see what BlackBerry releases with the SLIDER... then wait at least a month or two, to see if there are any "early adopter" issues. And that will also knock some off the retail price.

I think the Slider will be released on time (Nov launch, Dec release some markets.... next year for the rest). But will it have a BlackBerry SKIN? Will it have BlackBerry Experience with all the planned features? Those might need more time.

[Blacklatino]

Sadly I think what drove the Curve to be a success (price) is what pushed BlackBerry to go cheap on the Classic and LEAP. But the market has changed and so has the enterprise customer. Over and over here we have seen people say they had a choice between full Flagship devices at their company. Most of the company issued phones I've seen a the latest iPhones.... I don't think price is the driving factor it was when the Curve was a success.

I think it is best to wait and see what BlackBerry releases with the SLIDER... then wait at least a month or two, to see if there are any "early adopter" issues. And that will also knock some off the retail price.

I think the Slider will be released on time (Nov launch, Dec release some markets.... next year for the rest). But will it have a BlackBerry SKIN? Will it have BlackBerry Experience with all the planned features? Those might need more time.

The price and ecosystem was a non issue. My Curve(s) were great for emails and battery life(two days) on 2G (EDGE). That changed with the BOLD 9000 and 3G. I'm still thinking about getting Slider - later. Definitely waiting a few months. LOL, waited a few years on the Z30. Great while it lasted.

[anon(9353145)]

Sadly I think what drove the Curve to be a success (price) is what pushed BlackBerry to go cheap on the Classic and LEAP. But the market has changed and so has the enterprise customer. Over and over here we have seen people say they had a choice between full Flagship devices at their company. Most of the company issued phones I've seen a the latest iPhones.... I don't think price is the driving factor it was when the Curve was a success.

Well said. I think price is only part of the equation too. iPhones lead in enterprise and if cost was the only determinant they wouldn�t have the marketshare they currently enjoy.

I think the biggest barrier to Android dominating in enterprise is ongoing security concerns. Whether real or imagined (I have no idea frankly). If BlackBerry can convince enterprise that their Android flavour is secure I think it would benefit both BlackBerry and Android - at the expense of Apple obviously.


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