[yohannrjm]

The naysayers are out on CB ---- especially regarding the Priv. They claim that the switch to Android was a horribly bad idea and that only 10,000 units (or thereabouts) have sold. Of course, this gets a rise from those of us who want the Priv to succeed (and who have one, maybe).

Anyway, I wish BlackBerry all the best, and I hope that their business strategies pan out.......regardless of what those business strategies are. Still, I have a Priv and I don't really care how many they sell - or not much, anyway.

That's because I have one, and it's great! I loved BB10 and I still love it. However, I know (and any reasonable person on here also knows) that it was a dead-end! It may be the greatest mobile OS out there, but if nobody bought into the ecosystem it was going to die off. The people who did buy into the ecosystem are not going to keep the company afloat. And no! an all-touch BB10 device wouldn't save them.

Going Android was a bold move and one that they knew would alienate some of the BB fans (and it has infuriated them). Still, the calculation was that the Android switch would cause people to take BlackBerry devices seriously again, and to not just dismiss them out of hand. That approach seems to have succeeded somewhat.

Will this translate into adequate sales? I think it will, but I don't really care.

An Android phone with a great physical keyboard is something I've wanted for a long time. Now I've got it. Not only does it have a great keyboard, but it has a good processor, decent RAM, expandable storage, a decent camera, some BB software, etc. For my uses, this is almost a perfect device. More importantly, even if BlackBerry disappears tomorrow, I know apps will continue to be made for the platform and my phone will continue to be useful until I decide to retire it in a few years. App developers are not watching to see how long BB sticks around....they're making apps for Android. When new apps are released, I'll have the option to install them.......immediately!!

So, I don't really care how many units BlackBerry sells........or not much anyway. I do want them to succeed, as I think BlackBerry has something to offer the Android world. I would like to see OS updates, and maybe a more BB10-like launcher, and a better Hub etc. For this to happen, this phone has to sell well.....so I care how many phones they sell, to some extent.

However, if they never ever released an update and disappeared tomorrow, I'd still have my Android phone with the PKB and with close to ideal specs. I never thought this would happen and I'm glad it did.

[bluetroll]

Get this man a beer! Praise be!

Posted via CB10

[nokia4life]

Well said, well said and I think that is the point some folks are missing.

[jope28]

I think that everyone here is rooting for the Priv and understands that it was the only viable direction to go from a business perspective.

I think the misunderstanding is that not everyone here sees Android as being where they would go after BB10 ceases being an option.

I can't imagine anyone here not rooting for the Priv to sell like crazy. I myself am trying to push all my Android friends to the Priv, but would personally prefer to hold on to BB10 for as long as possible and then see what the mobile landscape looks like at that time.

I own Android devices (tablets) and just don't think Android is what I'd want on my phone. Just personal preference & choice.

I've "sold" 3 Priv's to friends so far (meaning I convinced them to go that route ahahahaha).

Well, it wasn't such a tough sell, because they were coming off contracts and were fans of the physical KB before jumping ship to Android from their Bolds and Curves.

But not my cup of tea lol



 Frosty White Q10/10.3.2.2813 CB10 

[Gadget Fann]

Thank you. I would have paid triple the price I paid for my Priv for an Android phone with a physical keyboard that has the same features as the Priv. You know why I couldn't pay even $2000 for phone like the Priv? That phone doesn't exist. There literally is no competition. I find it funny when I read speculative posts about the Priv's sales on the one place on the Internet where people are actively using a Priv that they purchased while they read the posts.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Priv

[Tech4you]

OK, you don't care but I care.

[d a elliott]

Half of the threads on this forum give me a case of the lulz.

"I'm switching to [Microsoft / Deprecated BlackBerry Device]!!!" - Okay. Have fun. Please let us know what you're using two years later because I promise it will be neither unless you're a stubborn anti-conformist / tech hipster.

"I'm switching to Apple, and here's why!" - This is a Priv forum. Not only did nobody ask, nobody cares except for confused BBOS fanatics.

"I'm switching to [LG / Samsung Device]!!!"- See preceding response. Go for it.

"Android is for kids" - Have you used an Apple device?

"You can't do [insert productivity wish]" - No, you can. You just haven't accepted that it's user error or that you're Android ignorant.

Whenever I need a good pick me up, I can count on the BBOS fanatics in the Priv forum to give me the giggles. It kind of helps me get through my day, along with using my Priv for messaging, sending and receiving emails, waking up, web browsing, watching videos, keeping appointments, opening PDFs, scanning documents that I've signed, checking the weather, making investments in the market, getting reminders, checking off my "to do" list, setting a timer for cooking, chatting with people, listening to the radio, downloading music, and doing my banking.

But screw it, I'm probably going to return it because it can't make me dinner.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[yohannrjm]

I think that everyone here is rooting for the Priv and understands that it was the only viable direction to go from a business perspective.

I think the misunderstanding is that not everyone here sees Android as being where they would go after BB10 ceases being an option.

I can't imagine anyone here not rooting for the Priv to sell like crazy. I myself am trying to push all my Android friends to the Priv, but would personally prefer to hold on to BB10 for as long as possible and then see what the mobile landscape looks like at that time.

I own Android devices (tablets) and just don't think Android is what I'd want on my phone. Just personal preference & choice.

I've "sold" 3 Priv's to friends so far (meaning I convinced them to go that route ahahahaha).

We'll, it wasn't such a tough sell, because they were coming off contracts and were fans of the physical KB before jumping ship to Android from their Bolds and Curves.

But not my cup of tea lol



 Frosty White Q10/10.3.2.2813 CB10 

I agree with you here - if I had my preferences, then BB10 would live forever, and would be supported by all developers. Even without the support, it was perfectly usable to me.

I've pretty much always kept trying all phone OS's - even though I pretty much only really stuck with BB10. The Priv is the first non-BB10 phone that I've really liked, and I'm glad I do because the writing is on the wall as far as BB10 goes.

And good job on selling the Priv to others. The more it sells, the better for us all, really. My wife is threatening to take my Priv, but I cannot afford a second one, so I hope she doesn't insist on it.

[meltbox360]

Sadly due to the death of app support on BB10 I'll be moving to the priv too. But I've gotten so productive on my Z10 that I'm kind of sad to be leaving. Wish we could have had BB10 with full android app support. I guess if they migrated all the gestures I wouldn't even be upset at all. Here's to hoping the features slowly trickle over. I had an inkling to try windows phone but in the meantime android got smoother and Windows phone growth seems to have stalled out. It just seems like BB10 repeating itself and I don't want to live that twice, or three times if you count the PlayBook os...

Posted via CB10

[tw1g_007]

Sadly due to the death of app support on BB10 I'll be moving to the priv too. But I've gotten so productive on my Z10 that I'm kind of sad to be leaving. Wish we could have had BB10 with full android app support. I guess if they migrated all the gestures I wouldn't even be upset at all. Here's to hoping the features slowly trickle over. I had an inkling to try windows phone but in the meantime android got smoother and Windows phone growth seems to have stalled out. It just seems like BB10 repeating itself and I don't want to live that twice, or three times if you count the PlayBook os...

Posted via CB10

I probably sound like a broken record by now but you seriously don't need to get rid of your BB10 device. It's perfectly reasonable to use two devices for two different needs. It's been working out for me splendidly.

вιaсĸвεггч� ᕵαssρσяτ SE via CB10 (cricket OS 10.3.2.2474) вιaсĸвεггч� ᕵяiv via CB for Android 2.0.3 (TMo OS Lollipop 5.1.1)

[qwerty4ever]

The 10 000 download count in Google Play Store is not a reliable metric for determining sales. Besides there is a range which includes 10 000 so it is not an upper limit. Until and unless BlackBerry releases actual sale numbers we are speculating. The price might hinder mass appeal even among Google Android enthusiasts; a price of 499.99 off-contract would have been more appealing to smartphone users other than Apple iPhone loyalists.

BlackBerry Priv with CrackBerry App for Android

[Gadget Fann]

Play store downloads are counted based upon new downloads of an app, not updates. No one with pre-installed apps on a Priv already should be counted as a new download, which is why it isn't a measure of sales. There are several developer forums that explain how downloads are counted.

If they counted updates, just think of how many developers would game the system by updating their apps more frequently just to increase their download count. That would be a terrible system.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Priv

[JulesDB]

Thinking that going Android was the only choice to make is absurd: remember that Apple has flourished thanks to iPod that has nothing to do with smartphones.

There were at least 100,000 different choices to be made and going Android was only one of them. If Priv doesn't sells and the handset division is stopped, someone among us must realize that -perhaps- he was wrong...

[Gadget Fann]

Thinking that going Android was the only choice to make is absurd: remember that Apple has flourished thanks to iPod that has nothing to do with smartphones.

There were at least 100,000 different choices to be made and going Android was only one of them. If Priv doesn't sells and the handset division is stopped, someone among us must realize that -perhaps- he was wrong...

It was the only choice. 80% of new devices sold are android smartphones.

If nothing else convinces you that android was the only choice, read this... http://bgr.com/2015/11/05/blackberry...-market-share/

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Priv

[JulesDB]

It was the only choice. 80% of new devices sold are android smartphones.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Priv

This you say, there aren't only smartphones in this World and Android market is an hi competitive one, the worst maybe.

But ok, let's take it as an axiom and let's see how many Privs will be sold (it does not seem to me that well but I can be wrong)...

[d a elliott]

Thinking that going Android was the only choice to make is absurd: remember that Apple has flourished thanks to iPod that has nothing to do with smartphones.

There were at least 100,000 different choices to be made and going Android was only one of them. If Priv doesn't sells and the handset division is stopped, someone among us must realize that -perhaps- he was wrong...

That's a naive view of why iOS captured so much of the handset market. It's not *because* of iPod.

Seven years ago, the handset market was just reaching a mature stage. At that time, there were still a fair share of people who not only had landlines but who still used them with regularly. Unlimited calling during peak hours wasn't even common.

Apple succeeded for a variety of reasons. It wouldn't be inappropriate to draw on clich�s like "the stars aligned." At the time, nobody managed to launch a successful device with a capacitive touchscreen. Apple not only made one pretty responsive, it was actually perceived to be technologically groundbreaking as far as the mass market was concerned. The marketing, also, was novel, playing on people's desires and fantasies to be successful and sophisticated. Windows was still on top of the world, but it was feeling stale and people desperately wanted an alternative. Microsoft was painted as the "evil empire," trying to stifle competition (remember the lawsuit with Netscape over bundling IE with Windows?). Apple still had a very large fan base from people purchasing Macs and feeling like they were part of something. There's a really good reason why the term "Apple fan boy" was coined. True, old-school Apple enthusiasts were arrogant and zealous. Smartphones, too, were just coming into their own as far as possibilities go and "apps" were unheard of. Everyone wanted a Motorola Razr (a flip phone) before the iPhone. Apple paved the way for the average consumer showcasing exactly what one can do with a smartphone, making it look as if it is a computer / phone hybrid, the future. Jobs marketed it perfectly, as if he could actually see the future.

The market is totally different now. Both iOS and Android are firmly entrenched while both Microsoft and BlackBerry dragged their feet when the opportunity was there. I remember picking up a BlackBerry 990whatever back in 2006 or 2007 and returning it within 2 weeks because it seemed inferior in every way to what was available on the market. If you're gambling, the odds are strongly against recapturing a solid footprint in this market. Even if BlackBerry can capture 3% of the Android market, it will prove more profitable than the 1% that BBOS was holding. Given that Android has the hot hand, that actually seems prudent, and if Samsung ever gets the stones to go full Tizen, the Android market would be wide open and there for the taking. Besides, the Android market is beginning to feel Samsung fatigue. Android users want an alternative, which makes the market more favorable for a player like BlackBerry to come in and win over some support.

So were there alternatives? Sure, but you're begging the question that any of those alternative were better, financially speaking, than this one, let alone simply good.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[Gadget Fann]

Thanks for the above post. The graph you included looks like US market share by OS. Globally Android is still above 80% at least according to Forbes.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Priv

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Thanks for the above post. The graph you included looks like US market share by OS. Globally Android is still above 80% at least according to Forbes.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Priv

Problem with the Global market... is most of those Android wins come from sub $100 phones. Which is not a market that the PRIV will be able to compete in. In the highend premium market where the PRIV exists, I'm not sure what Android marketshare is. But the average retail price for a Android phone is only $254..

I was looking at Amazon's phone rankings when someone said the PRIV had made the top 50 or something. The iPhone 4 is currently the top seller, we are talking about five year old phone being the biggest seller on Amazon right now. If Apple made a $100 phone.... not sure if Android would exist for very long.

[yohannrjm]

Thinking that going Android was the only choice to make is absurd: remember that Apple has flourished thanks to iPod that has nothing to do with smartphones.

There were at least 100,000 different choices to be made and going Android was only one of them. If Priv doesn't sells and the handset division is stopped, someone among us must realize that -perhaps- he was wrong...

Jules -

I get what you're saying: that the market is saturated, and joining it is a big risk. However, BlackBerry is a mobile tech company - so they really will be playing in the Smartphone space. In that space, there are two ecosystems: iOS and Android. All the other ecosystems are dead as long as we depend on apps that need to be written separately on each OS. iOS is closed, so Android is the only place that they can play in.

I also don't think that BB is trying to capture 20+% of the market. They know that they need to move from the 0.8% or whatever they have to 3-5% and they will be successful. That's going to be very hard to accomplish, but sticking with BB10 would have meant an ever-diminishing proportion of the market. Android gives them a chance to get there.

[Gadget Fann]

Problem with the Global market... is most of those Android wins come from sub $100 phones. Which is not a market that the PRIV will be able to compete in. In the highend premium market where the PRIV exists, I'm not sure what Android marketshare is. But the average retail price for a Android phone is only $254..

I was looking at Amazon's phone rankings when someone said the PRIV had made the top 50 or something. The iPhone 4 is currently the top seller, we are talking about five year old phone being the biggest seller on Amazon right now. If Apple made a $100 phone.... not sure if Android would exist for very long.

Great point. We all know apple won't ever make a $100 phone, so global market share is likely to increase for Tizen before it increases for iOS. The problem for Tizen is still apps, though. It will be interesting to see what happens if blackberry releases a sub $300 device.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Priv

[undone]

Closing the handset division would have made more sense especially if the devices sold end up being lower than BB10 devices.

[d a elliott]

Closing the handset division would have made more sense especially if the devices sold end up being lower than BB10 devices.

More sense relative to what?

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[dolco]

The 10 000 download count in Google Play Store is not a reliable metric for determining sales. Besides there is a range which includes 10 000 so it is not an upper limit. Until and unless BlackBerry releases actual sale numbers we are speculating. The price might hinder mass appeal even among Google Android enthusiasts; a price of 499.99 off-contract would have been more appealing to smartphone users other than Apple iPhone loyalists.

BlackBerry Priv with CrackBerry App for Android

Play store downloads are counted based upon new downloads of an app, not updates. No one with pre-installed apps on a Priv already should be counted as a new download, which is why it isn't a measure of sales. There are several developer forums that explain how downloads are counted.

If they counted updates, just think of how many developers would game the system by updating their apps more frequently just to increase their download count. That would be a terrible system.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android on the Priv

I think that both of you are wrong (and articles too). By your logic, if (first) updates (of preinstalled) apps are not counted there will be 0 downloads of BB hub from Google play.
Next ER will confirm that Google plays download numbers are relevant.

[Myedvyed]

I love the Priv, and I wish BlackBerry keeps making Androids with PKBs for a long time. So in that regard, I wish that the Priv sells well.

But secretly..

I also like using an obscure phone that can't be found anywhere else and turns heads :P

Either way, I'll be enjoying my Priv!

Reminds me of smartwatches somehow. The Moto 360 is my fifth smartwatch, but I've already seen several people with it in the wild so it feels less special. And the only remarks I get about it are "Is that an Apple Watch?", or, even worse (mostly by people whose tastebuds are surgically replaced with Jony Ive's): "I think the Apple Watch looks nicer". Ugh. But before that, I was the only one around with a smartwatch, nobody knew what those things were, and somehow that made me enjoy it even more than I do now.

[Mark Sb]

I think that both of you are wrong (and articles too). By your logic, if (first) updates (of preinstalled) apps are not counted there will be 0 downloads of BB hub from Google play.
Next ER will confirm that Google plays download numbers are relevant.

I think everybody is wrong. Let's look at this logically. Do you really think only 10,000 - 50,000 Privs have been sold since launch...including all pre orders...online sales and retail stores across North America?

Let's just do Canada
*Retail stores X sales per day estimate = Total sales per day X days since launch = Total sales
1,350 x **1.04 = 1,404 x 35 = 49,140

So there you have it....Canadian retail stores alone could account for 50,000 downloads.
This tells me that only new google account updates are being counted...not existing google account updates.

*not including Wind mobile and maybe others.
**When I did my walk around I calculated the average sales per day per store to be 1.04.
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...mbers-1050450/