[BCITMike]

What an uninformed comment. Wine price has a direct correlation with age and year. BlackBerry price is just disconnected from reality. Overpricing an Android device for an Android market is not good strategy.

What you don't get is that they DON'T want to be associated as just an Android device, but much more. And it is more and pricing needs to reflect that. It's not good for the brand to be priced at same level as inferior products.

[dejanh]

What you don't get is that they DON'T want to be associated as just an Android device, but much more. And it is more and pricing needs to reflect that. It's not good for the brand to be priced at same level as inferior products.

When you don't have a brand, you can't have a discussion about something not being "good for the brand". BlackBerry needs marketshare before they will even be on the radar.

[mad_mdx]

With the LG V10 coming in at $599 for t-mobile and at&t, I don't see how or why BlackBerry would charge anymore than that. Have you guys seen the specs for the V10? 64GB internal storage, and 4GB of RAM. Jeez
LG V10 - Full phone specifications

Yeah of course numbers mean everything, except they don't actually mean anything.
The priv has duel edged curved screens, no other phones other than samsungs have this. It also is literally the only device worth mentioning with a physical keyboard, which is also a capacitive physical keyboard. Again, no other device has this except the passport. It also has most likely the best speakers on any device, even if they reuse the same speakers on the passport of z30. Also a much bigger battery, and it's supposed to have one hell of a camera, and all the BlackBerry apps and launcher.

Oh one more thing, that LG is absolutely hideous. The priv actually looks great. Furthermore, with an amoled screen there's no reason for dual screens, since literally any pixel can be turned off and on without turning the entire screen on.

[mad_mdx]

Priv in Canada

899$ CAD
X 1.13 for sales tax in ontario
--------
+ 35$ approx for shipping

=1050$

This is by FAR the most expensive blackberry to date

I bought my Passport on launch day from telus and it was approx 800$


From the leaked info so far, this looks like one powerhouse of a device

Posted via CB10

The Canadian dollar was at almost par to USD back then. If you compared the REAL price and not the nominal I'd bet the passport was more expensive.

[BCITMike]

When you don't have a brand, you can't have a discussion about something not being "good for the brand". BlackBerry needs marketshare before they will even be on the radar.

BlackBerry has a worldwide recognizable brand and your ignoring of that fact makes it clear you don't understand marketing or the current situation.

[dejanh]

BlackBerry has a worldwide recognizable brand and your ignoring of that fact makes it clear you don't understand marketing or the current situation.

Not to the market that they are targeting. John Chen clearly stated that the highly secure market is not enough for BlackBerry to sustain its hardware business (I believe it was on re/code mobile). Therefore, they are targeting consumers again with the PRIV, just offering enhanced security. As far as consumers are concerned, BlackBerry died in 2011 (I exaggerate but the point stands). If there was any brand value left in BlackBerry, we would not be in as big of a rut as we are with BlackBerry 10, lack of apps and all.

[anon4226395]

The Canadian dollar was at almost par to USD back then. If you compared the REAL price and not the nominal I'd bet the passport was more expensive.

Excellent reminder. It isn't BBs fault the CDN $ is viewed as a petro currency and has tumbled with the price of oil.

[BCITMike]

Not to the market that they are targeting. John Chen clearly stated that the highly secure market is not enough for BlackBerry to sustain its hardware business (I believe it was on re/code mobile). Therefore, they are targeting consumers again with the PRIV, just offering enhanced security. As far as consumers are concerned, BlackBerry died in 2011 (I exaggerate but the point stands). If there was any brand value left in BlackBerry, we would not be in as big of a rut as we are with BlackBerry 10, lack of apps and all.

None of what you said means they should lower their prices. Having to reduce pricing because they haven't been doing so well the last couple of years is not a valid reason. Having low price for a premium phone sends the wrong message and isn't what they want to do. You're just a negative ned or you just want price lower to be affordable. Why is everyone discounting the slider keyboard? That thing is premium and unique and special and should come with a premium attached. Not pricing it accordingly is slapping that technical feature in the face and devaluing it.

I don't know where you are from, but in Canada, BlackBerry brand is synonymous with security. Doesn't matter what happened in 2011 or the consumer market. BlackBerry is a well known brand for security. Full stop. They are not known for making cheap crap like a lot of low/mid Android phones and need to distance themselves accordingly. You're being emotional, not rational. Branding and the BB10 app ecosystem are two different topics and you're mixing things up where they don't mix. Many, many people like BB10, they just couldn't use it day to day due to lack of apps. Now that they should have the apps, why should they discount their product?

I am speaking from experience where a company in a similar situation came out with new products at competitive pricing to compete and try and make it up in volume and the regular, long-time customers looked at that very unfavorably, hands down it was a bad way to go. For years, the branding was for stable, ruggedness, reliability, etc and lowering the price just made people look elsewhere and didn't differentiate the product well enough. They didn't want the cheap thing, they wanted the premium product that they were always used to buying that was going to last them years beyond the cheap stuff without the hassles.

In summary:
PRIV is better than the generic equivalent spec'd phone in terms of value added software
PRIV has sliding keyboard that is not present on any other Android phone
+ more

If you price the same as phones without this, you are devaluing the technical edge that BlackBerry has spent significant resources investing in.

Strategy of "price low because nobody likes us anymore" is a failing strategy.

[zyad]

Meh... pricing schmicing...

$100 difference between what people are considering a steal vs. a ripoff works out to $8 a month if you keep your phones a year or $4 a month if you keep it two years...
For a device that I take out of my pocket or use almost 100 times a day, I could care less about the extra $100...
Not trying to sound stuck up, but just putting it in perspective.
If you can't afford the extra $100 to get all the features this device offers, then having this phone is probably the least of your monetary worries.
Just being real, sorry... not snooty.
Buy one less fancy latte a month and you'll be fine.

Posted via CB10

[ssilva7]

With the LG V10 coming in at $599 for t-mobile and at&t, I don't see how or why BlackBerry would charge anymore than that. Have you guys seen the specs for the V10? 64GB internal storage, and 4GB of RAM. Jeez
LG V10 - Full phone specifications

I know right? No one even knew this phone was a thing until early October and it's already coming to slay the Priv. I am like 95% sure I'm getting the Priv but the V10 pricing + special promo is making me doubt my decision again.

The LG V10 comes with a free 200 GB SD card, extra battery AND charging cradle for anyone buying it in the US in the first month that it's available. It doesn't matter what carrier you buy it from, as long as you have proof of purchase. On top of what you mentioned, the screen is curved, it's got 2 front screens, dual front cameras, beastly rear camera, full manual control during video capture (the first phone to do this), fingerprint scanner and it has military grade resistance to drops. And it's really nice looking in my opinion. But too big...

It's going to be available October 30th for T-Mobile @ $599. AT&T is launching it on the same day the Priv, November 6th. Blackberry must be silently seething at LG trying to steal their thunder. ESPECIALLY because they're launching it with "LG Gate" extra security for enterprises, very comparable to Knox.

... I can buy this in USD and still come out on top in Canada, even after Customs .

But I know the Priv will drop in price and I've had my heart set on the keyboard for a while now, so I probably won't change my mind. Too much of a gadget geek to not give LG props though, they're killing it this year, Samsung better watch out, they may be dethroned.

[Gadget Fann]

Motley Fool did a nice price comparison between the Priv and other phones today.

I can't post links yet (under 10 posts), but go to fool dot ca to see the article.

[anon4226395]

I know right? No one even knew this phone was a thing until early October and it's already coming to slay the Priv. I am like 95% sure I'm getting the Priv but the V10 pricing + special promo is making me doubt my decision again.

The LG V10 comes with a free 200 GB SD card, extra battery AND charging cradle for anyone buying it in the US in the first month that it's available. It doesn't matter what carrier you buy it from, as long as you have proof of purchase. On top of what you mentioned, the screen is curved, it's got 2 front screens, dual front cameras, beastly rear camera, full manual control during video capture (the first phone to do this), fingerprint scanner and it has military grade resistance to drops. And it's really nice looking in my opinion. But too big...

It's going to be available October 30th for T-Mobile @ $599. AT&T is launching it on the same day the Priv, November 6th. Blackberry must be silently seething at LG trying to steal their thunder. ESPECIALLY because they're launching it with "LG Gate" extra security for enterprises, very comparable to Knox.

... I can buy this in USD and still come out on top in Canada, even after Customs .

But I know the Priv will drop in price and I've had my heart set on the keyboard for a while now, so I probably won't change my mind. Too much of a gadget geek to not give LG props though, they're killing it this year, Samsung better watch out, they may be dethroned.

The LG is being slammed in Korea

[anon4226395]

Motley Fool did a nice price comparison between the Priv and other phones today.

I can't post links yet (under 10 posts), but go to fool dot ca to see the article.

You should investigate the business model of "fool" and its northern affiliates. They are stock promoters and meaningless wannabees. I'm sure most intelligent readers here are aware of these idiots' opines.

[ssilva7]

The LG is being slammed in Korea

It launched at $680 USD in Korea. Interestingly, the price is being blamed for poor sales. It's just too high. This is their "ultra premium" offering, and it's also only 5 months after the launch of the (old) flagship LG G4. So it's not very surprising. They reacted quickly for the US market though, hence the $599 not even 1 month later. Blackberry will probably have to do the same.

[joshua_sx1]

If there is one thing that BlackBerry consistent with, that is 'pricing their devices at premium prices' (as if they are still leading the race)... they are also consistent in reducing their 'premium price' if is not going to be sold as they expected...

Where BlackBerry now, is because of their 'consistency'...

Posted via CB10

[Gadget Fann]

You should investigate the business model of "fool" and its northern affiliates. They are stock promoters and meaningless wannabees. I'm sure most intelligent readers here are aware of these idiots' opines.

I don't doubt that for a second, but it's hard to be biased in a price comparison. The price chart they feature on their site has legit prices for comparable devices. If their editorial is biased, that wouldn't surprise me, but that's irrelevant with regard to pricing.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[dejanh]

In before "but it has a keyboard, surely that's worth the premium" and "BlackBerry is on a different plain man".

Posted via CB10

[jevinzac]

Because you don't sell a Porsche at the price of a Chevy.

Priv hardware specs are up there with Sony Z5 Premium, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge plus, and kill iPhone 6S Plus. Those phone are more expensive. That makes Priv a bargain. Priv has expensive parts and they all add up.

Why does everyone want a high end BlackBerry and expect it to be Q5 priced? I don't get it.



Posted via CB10

Porsche and BlackBerry, can never be compared, please! Porsche has got a huge reputation, BlackBerry has got none!

S6 edge+, and Sony Z5 premium have better specs than a Priv. iP6S Plus processor has one of the best processors on the planet, better than Snapdragon 808(dont compare cores, if you don't know what a core is and how cores are used).

Nobody wants it to be Q5 prices, if it was priced like a passport at launch, then yeah, it would have been better.

How did Nexus become so much popular? Sold the best specc'd phone with a mid range pricing! Now that Nexus has built a reputation of how good a phone it is, they increased its price, and people are still buying it.

Posted via CB10

[Croberry1989]

What an uninformed comment. Wine price has a direct correlation with age and year. BlackBerry price is just disconnected from reality. Overpricing an Android device for an Android market is not good strategy.

Direct correlation? Wow. Then you really don't know anything. They price these things on the basis of their brand, and nothing else. Do you think that the price of Dom Perignon Champagne is in direct correlation to age and year? Some go as high as 3000 pounds. Price often make people believe that is due to very good product. Do you think iPhone is worth that money?? Made in China.

Posted via CB10

[yhamaie]

I have been expecting the lower end of US$ 600 - US$ 700 range.

(BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition is presently priced at US$ 549, while BlackBerry Passport is presently priced at US$ 499. The latter was originally launched for US$ 599 last year.)

[BGRS]

It's like with wine. If you put a big price tag on it people really think it is a superb specimen. People are dumb. BlackBerry has a good strategy here.

Posted via CB10

Well that did not work well with Z10 or other BB10 devices. However worked well with iphone.

[bluetroll]

It's easier to lower the price than to raise it.

Posted via CB10

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

It's easier to lower the price than to raise it.

Posted via CB10

1st impressions are what count.

Have to wonder if some carriers, once they learned of the price might have then passed on the PRIV. Have to wonder how many Z10 and Q10 owners that have been waiting months for a true upgrade... learned of the price and have already moved on. Have to wonder how many reviewers will let the price cloud their overall review (great camera but for the price the X is a better...).

It's is very possible that BlackBerry plans to wait a month and then drop the price by $100.... and while that mean the made some extra profit on those early adopters. You have to consider how many sales they might loose.... and IF the PRIV is in retail stores, how that price might affect it's placement in the store and the salespeople's attitudes.

It's an Android phone... that is all anyone is going to see it as. UNLESS they are SURE that the KEYBOARD is a highly valued feature.... they have made a mistake.

[totaldynamic]

Surely for anybody who has used a BlackBerry it isn't difficult to come to terms with being charged a premium price?

I spent just 4 months with a Sony Xperia on Android and it was enough to turn me back to BlackBerry for good.

Quite simply, it's a premium price because its a premium product, regardless of their brand or market share.

[bitek]

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like this is Blackberry's last shot with smartphones. It's 5 million phones or bust, right? Therefore, isn't $699 a risky strategy? I'm not implying they should under-value the Priv, but if you're really going to put all your smartphone chips on the table, should you not create a device that has a good chance to penetrate the market? Instead of 5 million phones at $699, why not shoot for 10 million phones at $499 or $399?

Blackberry makes solid smartphones. So, device performance and quality is not their problem. What IS a problem is over-coming their brand... their own name... and the best way to cure that is to create as many happy consumers as possible. Get people talking. Make the name visible again in the public... with more people holding a smartphone that reads "Blackberry". This should be about volume. I'm just not sure a high-end, $699, device is the ticket that will make that happen.

5 millions all together. This includes BB10 phones. Between Priv and Passport and other blackberry phones BlackBerry should be able to move 5 milion phones a year ?

Posted via CB10