[Mbeni007]

I also noticed the Priv was pushed to the rear of the store for most AT&Ts. Initially they tried to push them but most reps seemed to think it was more of a novelty and for die-hard Blackberry folks. I think the Priv will do well overseas due to the nature of companies here in the US. As someone expressed earlier, with carriers no longer subsidizing phones, the price point is too high compared to an Iphone or a Galaxy phone. With most customers immediately recognizing the Iphone or Galaxy brands, the Priv just doesnt compare. Had they sold the phone at a lower price point, their sales would have been amazing. I also understand they weren't in a place to do so. It really is a good phone with some minor issues that hopefully get fixed. Maybe Priv 2.0 will be where it's at.

[hoytbowhunter]

What Att stores you going to? The Att stores I've been to have the Blackberry Priv on display and there selling like crazy..

Aaron's #BlackBerryZ10 🔟🆒

[jope28]

What Att stores you going to? The Att stores I've been to have the Blackberry Priv on display and there selling like crazy..

Aaron's #BlackBerryZ10 🔟🆒

Just a guess. Pulling it out my hiney.

I imagine (just speculation) that an AT&T store frequented by a 'younger' demographic that has only known touch KB might not sell as many Privs as one that is in a location where it has 'older' customers that like the idea of the pkb.

Like these presidential election primaries, it's all about local demographics lol.

 Passport/SQW100-3 .2876 CB10 

[Paraliotis3]

Here is my 2 cents, we can share the priv on our Facebook twitter and other pages we usemake people know about it. I will by for myself one for sure one day. Why if it will be the last BlackBerry then yes I want an upgrade for my current one. I will tell my Al friends about this device it's the best for BlackBerry ever done

[crackhd999]

The only people who know are BB folks and their not saying. Most of the rest of this seems to be confirmational bias. I guess it's kind of fun to speculate, but really, no one who actual knows can share this information publicly so at some point, there is no point to these threads.

[crackhd999]

BTW, my confirmational bias (being a happy Priv owner) says it's doing OK and is selling within BB's conservative expectations. My proof is that they haven't lowered the price and are continuing to roll it out across the world. If it was a dud, like the people who believe that less than 50K have been sold because of certain Google Play download counts, I would think they would be cutting their losses (like HP/WebOs). I'm also impressed that they've kept their promise (for 2 whole months!!!) on monthly updates.

[Kdm31091]

I doubt the sales have been anything explosive, but I do hope it catches on with some people (and it sounds like it has).

Most people who aren't too concerned about these things just go for an iphone or galaxy because it's the common thing to do. Not saying that's good or bad, but just reality. You hear about and see iphones and galaxy phones every day, so naturally, you think "they must be a good option" (and I'm not saying they aren't good options).

I don't think the Priv is positioned to overtake Apple or Samsung etc, but hopefully it will fill a niche. I think Apple and Samsung are seeing a decline because people are reluctant to spend $600+ on a new phone every year with only minimal improvements in features in many cases.

[tx ram]

I don't think the priv is doing any great numbers. Not in the Americas, not in Europe, not any where else.

They have the right strategy in launching an Android device. But have failed miserably with positioning of the product. It would have been a great phone for between 400-600 USD.
But its India pricing of 925 USD is a serious suicidal move. Their core business users who waited for more than a year for something like this now have moved to ios and Android for good and there is no way, they are ever going to come back to the blackberry for another year or two, by which time the devices business of BlackBerry will be nothing more than dead.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[hoytbowhunter]

Via AT&T Rep, She said in her store alone she can't keep them in stock fast enough, she said BlackBerry was back after 2 years of being dead, She said this is why you see us advertising BlackBerry for a change and that in their meeting it was said that BlackBerry was Here to stay, Shes using the BlackBerry Priv herself and said all att workers are going to all be using the Priv

Aaron's #BlackBerryZ10 🔟🆒

[Elephant_Canyon]

Via AT&T Rep, She said in her store alone she can't keep them in stock fast enough, she said BlackBerry was back after 2 years of being dead, She said this is why you see us advertising BlackBerry for a change and that in their meeting it was said that BlackBerry was Here to stay, Shes using the BlackBerry Priv herself and said all att workers are going to all be using the Priv

Once again,
Anecdote ≠ data

[Paraliotis3]

Once again,
Anecdote ≠ data

why you thing so of course people does not know about priv and if we can manage to commercialize this device we will have friends , family even enemies strangers with the priv . I mean why not??? Let commercialize this device as much as we can , comercializing the priv is just a simple movement Slide it out ! and people just look what is he doing? WE can help our favorite Blackberry to survive in this market not only BB users will buy it but also other phone users like aple and smg users .

[Mbeni007]

Via AT&T Rep, She said in her store alone she can't keep them in stock fast enough, she said BlackBerry was back after 2 years of being dead, She said this is why you see us advertising BlackBerry for a change and that in their meeting it was said that BlackBerry was Here to stay, Shes using the BlackBerry Priv herself and said all att workers are going to all be using the Priv

Aaron's #BlackBerryZ10 🔟🆒

Now the question becomes what town are you in? The Priv can be sold out all it wants but that may be due to them getting very few phones in. In Miami they were getting very very few Privs per store. So this makes it seem like the Priv was selling out. In fact, I just walked in to my ATT that is next to where I'm eating and there isnt a single sign showing the Priv. Could be due to my area being urban and favoring iPhone but I doubt it's doing really well. I think it's selling but not in these super blockbuster numbers.

[laid-back]

But I thought the latest reports says the overall market shrank as well?

Either way. To that point if "Android and iPhone markets are not growing", what makes BB10 the viable path anyways...

are you rethinking the Priv purchase/on the fence about it after all the reviews and issues with creaks and cracks?

[ToniCipriani]

are you rethinking the Priv purchase/on the fence about it after all the reviews and issues with creaks and cracks?

I don't care about those "creaks and cracks" really. C'mon I had an original Palm Pre. I'm committed to support phone makers that still do QWERTY. I just don't want to buy it then two days later there's a price drop, especially Chen said it.

[laid-back]

I don't care about those "creaks and cracks" really. C'mon I had an original Palm Pre. I'm committed to support phone makers that still do QWERTY. I just don't want to buy it then two days later there's a price drop, especially Chen said it.

in less than 3 weeks then you should get an idea.
i don't necessarily need a physical keyboard, but i like the fact i can use it as a track pad...and the hub

[gebco]

why you thing so of course people does not know about priv and if we can manage to commercialize this device we will have friends , family even enemies strangers with the priv . I mean why not??? Let commercialize this device as much as we can , comercializing the priv is just a simple movement Slide it out ! and people just look what is he doing? WE can help our favorite Blackberry to survive in this market not only BB users will buy it but also other phone users like aple and smg users .

This is the same kind of thing we talked about when the Z10 and Q10 came out.

Posted via CB10

[Omnitech]

One other factor, at least in the States, is the loss of subsidies by the carriers. I and my wife never had a problem paying the small amount plus a two year contract when upgrading. I did buy the Passport outright from Amazon but I won't be able to shell out that kind of money for a new phone for quite awhile.
When my wife saw how much it would cost to upgrade to the Priv she really balked at it. So I offered to and did pay the tax and the additional that will show up on our phone bill.
This loss is going to affect many people, possibly directing them to cheaper phones, than higher speced/more expensive phones than when there were subsidies coupled with extending the contract that made the latests and greatest phones more affordable and desirable.

When I failed to get a new on-contract phone from Verizon after I reached the end of my Z10 contract last March, Verizon offered me a $10-20/mo discount on my bill for not having a contracted device on the line any more. You can take that savings and apply it to one of these finance-plan things that the US carriers are pushing nowadays, and have about the same out-of-pocket expense for a new device. The only difference is that I think you need good credit to qualify for the financing deals, perhaps not with the contract bundling.

But the whole contract bundling thing has always been a massive market distortion, and it has the effect of completely twisting the public's perception of the value of what they are buying. It used to be illegal here in California for that reason, but they knuckled-under to mobile industry pressure back in the 1980s/1990s and let the industry do it here as well. I think in the long run it's better to know exactly what the hardware costs, but it will take people a while to acclimatize to the fact that they are probably spending more on their phone than they spent on their last laptop computer or HDTV.

[Omnitech]

Samsung and Apple are seeing declining figures because other OEMs are impinging upon their market. When the competition has that effect on Samsung and Apple, it stands to reason that somebody is seeing increased sales. There's still growth to be had. There's just a significant amount of competition.

That "somebody" is more or less these 3 vendors:

1. Huawei
2. Lenovo
3. Xiaomi

Note that they are all Chinese companies. China is the largest mobile market in the world and they have a "home turf advantage" for a variety of reasons. Another thing that's happening is the same thing that happened to motivate IBM to sell it's PC division to Lenovo in 2005: the market has become increasingly commoditized and only the lowest-cost producers are likely to make a profit in the sector.

Furthermore, BlackBerry in particular is nearly unique in the industry as they do NOT sell in China today. That is a big deal, given the fact that as stated above, they are giving up sales from the largest single mobile market in the world. (Tho at this particular moment it's not so bad as China's economy is in turmoil right now)

[Omnitech]

This is the same kind of thing we talked about when the Z10 and Q10 came out.

Yep.

I don't suppose you remember the infamous Thorsten Heins statement that BlackBerry would sell "millions and millions" of Q10's, do you?

Amazon is sold out. Only available through 3rd party sellers.

Says available in 1-2 MONTHS!

Oh, cool. Guess that means they can turn the lights back on at the factory and turn out another 500 of them, then.

[Smokeaire]

When I failed to get a new on-contract phone from Verizon after I reached the end of my Z10 contract last March, Verizon offered me a $10-20/mo discount on my bill for not having a contracted device on the line any more. You can take that savings and apply it to one of these finance-plan things that the US carriers are pushing nowadays, and have about the same out-of-pocket expense for a new device. The only difference is that I think you need good credit to qualify for the financing deals, perhaps not with the contract bundling.

But the whole contract bundling thing has always been a massive market distortion, and it has the effect of completely twisting the public's perception of the value of what they are buying. It used to be illegal here in California for that reason, but they knuckled-under to mobile industry pressure back in the 1980s/1990s and let the industry do it here as well. I think in the long run it's better to know exactly what the hardware costs, but it will take people a while to acclimatize to the fact that they are probably spending more on their phone than they spent on their last laptop computer or HDTV.

My wife and I already get a discount due to her connection with the University her, along with my bring your own phone discount, plus we lowered our bill by to a higher plan (go figure). So we have all the discounts we are entitled to. The purchase of the Priv added a $27.00 a month to our bill. If there had been the subsidy our bill would not have increased. We wanted a lower bill, not an increase.
Price is all about perception. That is why items are priced, for example, $11.99 instead of $12.00, ..... perception.

[Omnitech]

My wife and I already get a discount due to her connection with the University her, along with my bring your own phone discount, plus we lowered our bill by to a higher plan (go figure). So we have all the discounts we are entitled to. The purchase of the Priv added a $27.00 a month to our bill. If there had been the subsidy our bill would not have increased. We wanted a lower bill, not an increase.
Price is all about perception. That is why items are priced, for example, $11.99 instead of $12.00, ..... perception.

Well if your carrier was not lowering your bill after your last contract ended then (pick your semantics) they were either padding their profit or ripping you off.

Since the reason that USians pay the highest cellular fees in the world is largely because customers have been trained to expect to "buy" a new device for 1/3 to 1/4 of its actual "retail price" every couple of years, by subsidising that "purchase" (actually a lease) via inflated monthly rates.

[Smokeaire]

Well if your carrier was not lowering your bill after your last contract ended then (pick your semantics) they were either padding their profit or ripping you off.

Since the reason that USians pay the highest cellular fees in the world is largely because customers have been trained to expect to "buy" a new device for 1/3 to 1/4 of its actual "retail price" every couple of years, by subsidising that "purchase" (actually a lease) via inflated monthly rates.

I never wrote that my bill wasn't lowered, my point was that in the past my bill wouldn't have gone up with a device upgrade. Now it does. When people realize that the $700 device is going to cost them $700 (even if it is over time) they more than likely will choose a cheaper one, especially if it is a choice between a manufacturer they thought was extinct vs a well known brand such as Samsung.

[BoldBigWorm]

They won't release sales figures because if you notice blackberry is trying to buy back as much as their stocks as they can. If they release GREAT figures and their stocks go up they're shooting themselves in the foot until they get as many stocks back as they legally can I doubt they will bother releasing the numbers.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[John Gee]

I never wrote that my bill wasn't lowered, my point was that in the past my bill wouldn't have gone up with a device upgrade. Now it does. When people realize that the $700 device is going to cost them $700 (even if it is over time) they more than likely will choose a cheaper one, especially if it is a choice between a manufacturer they thought was extinct vs a well known brand such as Samsung.

Even as a BlackBerry loyalist (nut), I had second thoughts about buying a PRIV for this very reason. But I love it and I expect it to last me 3-4 years. So it is money well spent, IMHO)

I completely agree that this new direct pricing scheme will make it less enticing to try products from unfamiliar brands. I expect it to help further entrench the effective Apple-Samsung duopoly. But at least now, if BlackBerry *chooses* to compete on price, the carriers cannot really keep them from doing so. Price competition is a very risky game, though. So I hope BlackBerry avoids it.

PRIVateering since 2015.

[Mbeni007]

I actually think the lower cost, mid-range phones will benefit most from this new nonsubsidized Era in the US. My Oneplus still works as well, or better than the Priv or my z5. It is pretty old, but it runs everything I need without issue. The Priv has the keyboard and the z5 has the waterproofing and less issues with apps. It's all about what you need. This will be interesting seeing how the market changes now.